Canadian Students' Experiences During a Health Promotion Without Borders Excursion to Mongolia: A case study

Introduction: International service-learning (ISL) excursions involve service work with international communities, coupled with academic learning and reflection for the students involved. There are anecdotal descriptions that this can result in cultural dissonance as part of the learning and service provision process. The Health Promotion Without Borders (HPWB) program at Laurentian University in northern Ontario, Canada, provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to engage in ISL. However, no formal research has investigated HPWB participants' experiences of cultural dissonance. Thus, we used the HPWB excursion in 2017 to answer the research question: "To what extent was cultural dissonance experienced by HPWB participants during their excursion to Mongolia?" Approach: We used a case study approach to investigate HPWB program participants' experiences of cultural dissonance during an ISL excursion to Mongolia from May 21st – June 19th, 2017. During the excursion, participants were engaged in teaching health promotion lessons to women and children in the local communities. The students were required to keep daily journals of their experiences as part of the ISL component. Those journals were then made available for research under informed consent. The lead author then analyzed the transcribed excursion journals and identified and categorized examples of cultural dissonance within the HPWB participants' journals. These categories were reviewed and endorsed by the co-authors. Findings: We identified three categories related to the nature of cultural dissonance that were common for the HPWB participants: (1) Disruption to Personal Values, Routines, and Behaviours; (2) Application of Knowledge and Scope Limitations; and (3) The Role of Existing Relationships and Group Dynamics. Conclusion: Experiences of cultural dissonance were a central characteristic of the ISL excursion to Mongolia. This result extends the emerging literature on cultural dissonance in other ISL contexts. Future research should consider longitudinal and retrospective study designs to identify longer-term impacts and how these relate to the learning process. This could lead to developing an evidence-based theory on how cultural dissonance may enhance or diminish the educational process for ISL participants.