Global Programs in Sustainability: A Case Study of Techniques, Tools and Teaching Strategies for Sustainability Education in Tourism

Abstract

This chapter describes the pedagogical approach adopted by the Discover Abroad’s Global Programs in Sustainability (GPS) and its growth from a concept in 1999 to the largest single education abroad program for students at UGA and one of the most popular in the country. Focusing on broad questions of human–environment sustainability, GPS uses a module-based pedagogical approach to deliver inter-disciplinary, faculty-led, study abroad programs for students from virtually every major on campus to a range of destinations. The mission of GPS is to foster humility through programs that address sustainability, conceptualized as the “meaning of progress”. Quantitative evidence of GPS student learning outcomes has been published in several leading journals and suggests that a one-size-fits all approach cannot be justified in study abroad. Rather than encouraging students to simply go abroad, academic advisers should attend to the needs of students beyond their desired country of destination and academic goals, to include professional development including higher-order outcomes such as global citizenry.