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Archives of Business Research – Vol. 8, No.8

Publication Date: August 25, 2020

DOI: 10.14738/abr.88.8816. Ward, J. G., Martin, M., & Ward, Y. D. (2020). A Phenomenological Study: A Pre-departure Study Abroad Course Interrupted by the

COVID-19 Outbreak. Archives of Business Research, 8(8). 1-24.

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A Phenomenological Study: A Pre-departure Study Abroad Course

Interrupted by the COVID-19 Outbreak

James G. Ward

Robbins College of Business & Entrepreneurship,

Fort Hays State University, USA.

Michael Martin

Robbins College of Business & Entrepreneurship,

Fort Hays State University, USA.

Yaprak Dalat Ward

College of Education,

Fort Hays State University, USA.

ABSTRACT

The original plan of this research was to collect multiple sets of data

from business students in a 2020 spring study abroad program

including the pre-departure course, the experiential learning in

Thailand and post experience. When the World Health Organization

(2020c) categorized the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the pre- departure course was interrupted, resulting in the remaining sections

of the program to be cancelled. To date, since no previous research was

available on a pre-departure course interrupted by a pandemic of this

kind, the experiences of the two faculty members teaching the course

became central to the research making this study phenomenological.

The experiences were captured by daily notes with reflections leading

to four key findings: 1. The course lacked skills training and needed to

be redesigned as it would be offered in spring 2021. Adding practical

applications to the comprehensive collection of materials would lead

students to start shifting their mindsets prior to the trip rather than

during the trip resulting in maximized experiences. 2. The COVID-19

outbreak was unprecedented in that it was not a short-lived occurrence

but an on-going crisis. The uniqueness of the situation brought

futuristic thinking and scenario planning to the forefront when

developing and implementing such global programs. 3. Faculty were

not prepared for an on-going crisis. To be able to cope with similar

uncertainties and act decisively, faculty leading such experiences

needed training in futuristic thinking and scenario planning. 4. Faculty

country-expertise strengthened student trust when teaching the

course. Developing, teaching such courses, and leading such

experiences need to be backed up by location-expertise to foster

confidence for optimal benefits.

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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/abr.88.8816 6

Ward, J. G., Martin, M., & Ward, Y. D. (2020). A Phenomenological Study: A Pre-departure Study Abroad Course Interrupted by the COVID-19

Outbreak. Archives of Business Research, 8(8). 1-24.

Keywords: Pandemic; Pre-departure study abroad course; Scenario

planning; 2020 Covid-19 Outbreak.

SETTING OF THE STUDY

Following the decision to categorize the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic by the World Health

Organization ([WHO], 2020c) on March 11, 2020, the original research plan of this study had to be

altered. Previously, the intent was to collect data from business students throughout a 2020 spring

semester-study abroad program including the pre-departure study abroad course and the faculty- led study abroad trip designed for Thailand and post experience. To date, there was no previous

research available on a pre-departure course interrupted by a pandemic of this kind, the

experiences of the two faculty members teaching the course became central to the research As a

result, the research shifted from a mixed method study to a phenomenological study. Both the

original and the current research were presented in the following section as certain sections of the

original research carried over to the current research.

Original Study

Originally, the purpose of the study was to explore and explain the attitudes of the six business

students in a faculty-led study abroad program. The intent was to collect both qualitative and

quantitative data from the students throughout the program in three contexts: During the pre- departure course at their university, a state university in the Midwest; during their experiential

learning in Thailand; and finally, upon completing the experience. The two faculty members

teaching the course, leading the trip, and acting as the researchers for the study would also journal

their lived experiences, perceptions and observations to assess and evaluate the program,

particularly, starting with the course, which aimed to prepare the students for experiential

learning.

The significance of the topic for the original study had derived from research findings on

developing skills such as empathy and intercultural communication competencies through

experiential learning. Since empathy was declining among college students (Konrath, O’Brien, &

Hsing, 2011) designing effective study abroad programs with experiential learning was

fundamental and the researchers had planned to explore and explain student attitudes throughout

the program. Regarding empathy “aside from volunteerism and charitable donations, other societal

trends support the claim that empathy is declining” (Konrath, O’Brien, & Hsing, 2011, p. 188).

Therefore, it was fundamental to design and develop study abroad programs “favoring the learning

attitudes and the means of bringing about changes in attitudes” (Gagne, Briggs, & Wager, 1992, p.

87) by means of experiential learning. The study had planned to use the Experiential Learning

Theory (ELT) defined by Kolb (1984) as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the

transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and

transforming experience"(p. 41).

Based on the multitude of benefits ranging from the developing cross-cultural competencies to the

improvement of cognitive empathy (Perlmutter, 2020, p. 72), a five-phased study abroad plan was

developed by faculty members. The first phase was the Program Planning and covered two field

trips to Thailand in 2018 and 2019 by faculty due to his expertise. This phase included planning a

field protocol from assessing risks and challenges, obtaining permissions to how students would

immerse in daily life and designing each experiential learning activity. In addition, video, and photo

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Archives of Business Research (ABR) Vol.8, Issue 8, August-2020

ethnography (Pink, 2013) enabled the faculty to document life in Thailand and collect artifacts to

provide insights for the pre-departure study abroad course. The second phase was the Designing

and Developing a Pre-departure Study Abroad Course and was based on the findings of the two field

trips and aimed to effectively prepare students for the experience. The first two phases of the plan

had already been completed (Ward, Dalat Ward, & Jones, 2019; 2020). The third phase was the

Teaching of the Pre-departure Study Abroad Course as a requirement to the trip but was interrupted

by the pandemic which led to the changes. As planned, the pre-departure course was implemented

on February 29, 2020 and was taught on campus, face-to-face by two faculty members. At this

point, the Covid-19 outbreak had already spread from China to Italy and was continuing to affect

other countries.

The intent of the course was to meet with the students for a total of four times prior to the trip and

expose students to the culture of the country and logistics of the trip. Many of the videos, photos,

forms related to the trip were available on Blackboard, the official learning management system of

the university. The second face-to-face meeting was completed on March 7, 2020. However, when

the COVID-19 outbreak was “categorized as a pandemic” on March 11, 2020 (WHO, 2020c, “WHO

characterizes COVID-19 as a pandemic” section), the campus was shut down and all classes were

suspended for safety reasons. The remaining sessions of the course was cancelled to be offered

again in spring 2021. The fourth phase, Faculty-led Trip to Thailand, planned for May 2020, had to

be cancelled as well, and the fifth phase, the Post-trip, which would evaluate and assess the

transformation of the students upon returning to the U.S., also became obsolete.

When the awareness of the pandemic became prominent, the two faculty members, who had been

the researchers, decided to shift the focus of the study to their own experiences omitting the

students as participants. The principal researcher, a country expert, had already been reporting his

experiences related to “program planning” since mid-December 2019, and continued to do so. The

second faculty member, co-planning and co-teaching the course, had also been reporting his

experiences since mid-February 2020. The experiences of the two faculty members made up the

current study as teaching during an outbreak was significant due to no available research to date.

Current Study

Based on the decision to postpone the study abroad program, the literature review, and the

methodology of the study shifted from students to faculty experiences. The central research

question became: What were the experiences of the two faculty members teaching a pre-departure

course during the COVID-19 outbreak? The phenomenological design was selected as the two

faculty members captured their “perceptions, feelings and lived experiences” (Guest, MacQueen, &

Namey, 2012, p.13) during the pandemic.

The significance of the current research derived from two sources: Faculty experiencing an

outbreak turning into a pandemic during the teaching of a pre-departure course as part of a faculty- led study abroad program to Thailand; and the unanticipated consequences (Patton, 2015, p. 9) of

the outbreak as it interrupted the course. There was no previous literature available to date on the

unique situation of a pandemic interrupting a study abroad course. Furthermore, although ample

empirical research on student outcomes in study abroad programs was available, particularly in

the recent years, there was limited literature on faculty experience when it came to leading study

abroad programs (Goode, 2007; Ingram, 2014). While Goode described faculty roles in faculty-led