Helena Meyer-Knapp

The site visits and the survey findings demonstrate a similar finding in all three countries: school tours take a distinctive form from place to place.

At Japanese and Korean sites, students visited in large groups 40 – 100 strong. Japanese students wore school uniforms. Classes and schools followed one another from one segment of the site to the next. They carried out similar activities – prayers at a shrine as they delivered strands of origami cranes, hearing advice and stories from a local docent, lunching in a specially assigned museum conference room out of identical bento boxes. Theirs were shared, school-oriented and common experiences.

Judging by their clothing and by their patterns of movement, Korean students were given similar guided experiences; their survey comments even often used identical words despite repairing from different schools. But Korean guides tended to be more informally dressed, and despite the reports, the visits seemed more casual and less pre-set.

US students suggested neither that their visit, say to Washington DC, was compulsory, nor that it linked into any particular sense that they were being socialized. On site they intermingled freely and sometimes indistinguishably with families on holiday and other ordinary tourists. American groups often wore matching T-shirts, but their slogans told many different stories: A senior high school trip, a school band on tour, a local school from Washington DC on a field trip. Once on site, large US groups quickly broke up into smaller sub-groups, each student often paired with a “buddy” for company, the smaller group with a parent “chaperone” wandering nearby. Students explored and toured displays as they chose. At meal times they gathered together as a large group once again, eating in public cafeterias with the rest of the visitors.

The numbers collected on the surveys add details to some parts of  this picture.

Participation: The American students were less likely to have been on a school sponsored, or band/sports/community organized trip, though many had been on educational vacations with family. The Japanese High School numbers are artificially low because some High School age respondents had not yet been on the planned class trip.

Japan	Percent	USA	Percent	Korea	Percent	School Level
yes	97.4	yes	44	yes	83.8	Junior High
yes	78.4	yes	63.4	yes	86	High School

 

Educational Benefit: The Japanese students were more likely to offer extended comments on specific educational benefits of the travel, though the patterns varied by topic  For comparisons sake, it is fair to double the Korean percentages since many High School age respondents did not offer open ended answers.

peace / war	behavior	history	regional culture	Nation
26.6	32.8	23.1	26.1	Japan
2.8	38.4	18.7	22	USA
1.1	15.4	14	9.6	Korea

 

Self: The numbers were small but there were some interesting results.  For comparisons sake, it is fair to double the Korean percentages since many High School age respondents did not offer open ended answers. Nonetheless more Korean students than any other found the experience difficult. In addition 4% of the Korean students explicitly mentioned missing their parents or realizing that home is the most comfortable place for them to be.

more independence (positive reactions)	displeased (negative reactions)	Nation
10.4	1.1	Japan
17.2	1.1	USA
3.3	3.3	Korea

 

Decision-making

The role the parents played was different in all three countries. Japanese parents were completely excluded from everything except finances. American parents were much the most likely actually to go on the trip — 30-40% of the travel included parents whereas NONE went in Japan and almost none in Korea. However, Korean parents clearly participated in setting up the trip in combination with teachers and/or students — 10% – 15% were involved for each function.

The percentages for participation in the different features of planning a trip are not easy to compare because of differences in the total number of answers for each question, but the following patterns were evident.

Where to go: American parents have considerably more say. In Korea and Japan that decision is made in schools, by teachers or by teachers and students together.

Schedule: That seems to be dominated by teachers in all three countries.

Hotel: In the USA and Korea that decision is made largely by teachers. Japanese trips consistently use travel agents, and this is where they were influential.

Packing: American tour groups see responsibility for this shared by parents, teachers and students. In Japan and Korea teachers have the most say.

Activities: Japanese students described themselves as having distinctly more influence over activities on the trip than American students. Korean students had least of all

Costs: Korean students knew who handled costs — a responsibility shared by parents and teachers. Japanese students often claimed they did not know, but those who did know said parents took charge of money In the USA, once again the parents were in collaboration with teachers and students.

Structured group behavior on site.

JAPAN

Small, supervised student groups keeping to tight schedules so as to remain synchronized with the large group, each small group completing similar tasks. Uniform clothes and set eating times. Japanese students learned to “cooperate.”

US

Small supervised groups completing their own agendas with shared “safety” standards and an agreed time to reconnect. Wearing their own clothes, with  matching T-shirts. Eating together when the group reassembled. American students learned “teamwork” and “leadership.”

KOREA

Mostly they toured as a whole group. Surprisingly young students toured war and colonization memorials, and they did not wear school uniforms. Older students tended to be in uniform. Most Korean sites were not equipped for large groups to eat on site. Korean students also mentioned “cooperation.”