Get Your Foot in the Door by Getting a Plane? The ethical conundrum of Voluntourism in International Development.
This week Heather Carroll joins Dr. Bob Huish in the podcast studio to talk about voluntourism, the combination of volunteering, tourism, and academic credit. Is this the heart of development? Is it poverty tourism? Is it a multi-million dollar business? These two educators dive into the details. Thousands of students volunteer abroad every year. Is it a necessary rite of passage to enter the field of development? Is it outright exploitation? Heather is an elementary school teacher in Halifax, who has taught at the elementary level in Cambodia and in Fiji. She is a 3M National Student Fellow. Heather is currently attending the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She guest lectured for Dr. Huish at Dalhousie, and followed up with this chat in the podcast studio. Follow Dr. Bob on Twitter: @ProfessorHuish