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Combining Volunteer Tourism and Development Studies A case study of development students’ reflections on volunteering in the Global South

Edström, Frida LU (2014) STVK12 20141
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Volunteer tourism (VT) has over the past decades rapidly increased and many young individuals travel to the Global South with intentions to develop communities and travel. Critique has however indicated that unskilled young individuals do not contribute to the development of the community, rather the opposite. This study examines how students of development studies at Lund University reflect back on their volunteer trip, as they hold knowledge within both the field of development and volunteer tourism. The study has used a qualitative case study design to interview students by conducting two focus groups. The material has been analysed based on three frameworks; cosmopolitanism, neo-liberal critique and development education. The findings... (More)
Volunteer tourism (VT) has over the past decades rapidly increased and many young individuals travel to the Global South with intentions to develop communities and travel. Critique has however indicated that unskilled young individuals do not contribute to the development of the community, rather the opposite. This study examines how students of development studies at Lund University reflect back on their volunteer trip, as they hold knowledge within both the field of development and volunteer tourism. The study has used a qualitative case study design to interview students by conducting two focus groups. The material has been analysed based on three frameworks; cosmopolitanism, neo-liberal critique and development education. The findings of this study indicated that development students reflect back on their VT experience with insightful critique towards VT in relation to post-colonial critical theories. Some of the students’ reflections indicate a developed pessimism and cynicism towards the field of development in general. Although students were critical of VT, students also show insightful reflections of potential cultural befits of VT, they however reflect on themselves gaining more cultural knowledge than the host communities. This research contributes academically by increasing the understanding of VT and its outcomes for volunteers and host communities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Edström, Frida LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK12 20141
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Volunteer tourism, development studies, cultural exchange, post-colonial critique, practical learning
language
English
id
4451387
date added to LUP
2014-06-18 12:19:43
date last changed
2014-06-18 12:19:43
@misc{4451387,
  abstract     = {{Volunteer tourism (VT) has over the past decades rapidly increased and many young individuals travel to the Global South with intentions to develop communities and travel. Critique has however indicated that unskilled young individuals do not contribute to the development of the community, rather the opposite. This study examines how students of development studies at Lund University reflect back on their volunteer trip, as they hold knowledge within both the field of development and volunteer tourism. The study has used a qualitative case study design to interview students by conducting two focus groups. The material has been analysed based on three frameworks; cosmopolitanism, neo-liberal critique and development education. The findings of this study indicated that development students reflect back on their VT experience with insightful critique towards VT in relation to post-colonial critical theories. Some of the students’ reflections indicate a developed pessimism and cynicism towards the field of development in general. Although students were critical of VT, students also show insightful reflections of potential cultural befits of VT, they however reflect on themselves gaining more cultural knowledge than the host communities. This research contributes academically by increasing the understanding of VT and its outcomes for volunteers and host communities.}},
  author       = {{Edström, Frida}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Combining Volunteer Tourism and Development Studies A case study of development students’ reflections on volunteering in the Global South}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}