{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127483"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/127483","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"If you want to understand it, go and see it: Teacher perceptions of the value of participation in a two-week study tour","abstract":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","abstract_html":"Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled &#x27;Closed Access&#x27;, the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McClanahan, Laurel Marie"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Witt, Mary A","Huang, Wenhao","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Liu, Wei"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-12-04","date_published":"2024-12-04","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:04Z","subjects":["Study Tours","Teaching Efficacy","In-service Teachers","Professional Development","Teacher Perceptions"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2024 Laurel McClanahan"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127483","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Witt, Mary A","Huang, Wenhao","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Liu, Wei"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McClanahan, Laurel Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2024-12-04","2024-12"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text","Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Study Tours","Teaching Efficacy","In-service Teachers","Professional Development","Teacher Perceptions"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2024 Laurel McClanahan"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127483"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","The student, Laurel McClanahan, accepted the attached license on 2024-12-02 at 14:33.","The student, Laurel McClanahan, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-12-02 at 14:54.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-12-04 at 13:31.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21451 on 2025-03-28 at 14:55:33","This dissertation investigates teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a two-week, fully-funded study tour in Germany as a professional development opportunity to improve teaching efficacy. This research aims to explore the perceived benefits and limitations of in-service teachers participating in a two-week study tour in Germany. Extensive literature exists on study abroad in the college setting for pre-service teachers; however, the literature exploring the effects of a study tour on in-service teachers is growing but still limited. The study employs a qualitative case study approach to explore the teachers’ in-depth perceptions through two semi-structured interviews. In addition, the teacher’s lesson plans and the study tour itineraries are included in the analysis. The participants in the study include ten American social studies teachers who were selected as Fellows for a study tour in Germany. The findings reveal a high level of perceived effectiveness of study tours as professional development. Because of this positive perception, most teachers believe the experience will improve their practice through increased connections with students and families, a greater understanding of content knowledge, and a sense of rejuvenation in the teaching field. The research contributes to global studies in education by adding to the limited information concerning in-service teachers studying abroad. Overall, this study brings to light potential ways to conduct and improve study tour programs for in-service teachers and highlights the efficacy of these programs as professional development for United States-based social studies educators."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["If you want to understand it, go and see it: Teacher perceptions of the value of participation in a two-week study tour"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Witt, Mary A","Huang, Wenhao","Kang, Hyun-Sook","Liu, Wei"],"dc:creator":["McClanahan, Laurel Marie"],"dc:date":["2024-12-04","2024-12"],"dc:description":["Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2026-12-01","The student, Laurel McClanahan, accepted the attached license on 2024-12-02 at 14:33.","The student, Laurel McClanahan, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-12-02 at 14:54.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-12-04 at 13:31.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21451 on 2025-03-28 at 14:55:33","This dissertation investigates teachers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of a two-week, fully-funded study tour in Germany as a professional development opportunity to improve teaching efficacy. This research aims to explore the perceived benefits and limitations of in-service teachers participating in a two-week study tour in Germany. Extensive literature exists on study abroad in the college setting for pre-service teachers; however, the literature exploring the effects of a study tour on in-service teachers is growing but still limited. The study employs a qualitative case study approach to explore the teachers’ in-depth perceptions through two semi-structured interviews. In addition, the teacher’s lesson plans and the study tour itineraries are included in the analysis. The participants in the study include ten American social studies teachers who were selected as Fellows for a study tour in Germany. The findings reveal a high level of perceived effectiveness of study tours as professional development. Because of this positive perception, most teachers believe the experience will improve their practice through increased connections with students and families, a greater understanding of content knowledge, and a sense of rejuvenation in the teaching field. The research contributes to global studies in education by adding to the limited information concerning in-service teachers studying abroad. Overall, this study brings to light potential ways to conduct and improve study tour programs for in-service teachers and highlights the efficacy of these programs as professional development for United States-based social studies educators."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127483"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2024 Laurel McClanahan"],"dc:subject":["Study Tours","Teaching Efficacy","In-service Teachers","Professional Development","Teacher Perceptions"],"dc:title":["If you want to understand it, go and see it: Teacher perceptions of the value of participation in a two-week study tour"],"dc:type":["text","Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:04Z"}