College adds Scandinavia study abroad, spotlights world-renowned school system
The College of Education is broadening its study abroad programs to include Scandinavia, immersing students in the region’s rich history and culture — and Finland’s world-renowned education reforms.
The college is recruiting students for a 17-day trip to Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark next summer that is tailored to future educators in the Liberal Studies program but open to all students and even some staff, faculty and alumni.
Scandinavia joins Italy, Ireland and England as destinations in which the College of Education offers study abroad. The college is also recruiting students for its Italy trip in Winter 2026.
The university offers payment plans and scholarships to help make study abroad financially feasible for students.
“I think everyone should study abroad. It’s transformational,” said Hollie Schillig, a lecturer in Liberal Studies who leads the Italy, Ireland and Scandinavia trips. “You grow, you mature, you see things you’ve never experienced. You have a great time, and you get away from home.”
An education 'phenomenon'
The Scandinavian itinerary offers wide-ranging cultural and arts activities including museums, cathedrals, castles, literary tours and performances. Schillig wants to showcase the distinctiveness of each country, which sometimes surprises people given their similar demographics, she said.
Schillig will also emphasize ways in which students can apply what they learn in their future classrooms, a key component of all College of Education study abroad trips. Students will learn about the “Finland Phenomenon,” a 20-year transformation of the country’s educational system that made it one of the best in the world.
Finland’s system encourages students to learn through interdisciplinary projects, emphasizes the holistic development of children, de-emphasizes homework and testing, and gives teachers great autonomy.
Finnish society highly reveres teachers, which helps attract top talent to the profession, and expects students to take a very active role in their own learning, Schillig said.
“It’s the idea that students have as much obligation to their education as teachers do,” said Schillig, who will first have her students watch a documentary on the subject.
“I don’t think it will be fully achievable here in the United States for a few reasons,” she continued. “But we could get students on board with, ‘You are half of this equation. I will give you everything I’ve got but you have to give me everything you’ve got.’”
Students will also learn the history of the Vikings, experience the fjords of Norway and enjoy the white-sand beaches of the Danish Riviera during summer days that feature up to 18 hours of daylight.
Exploring Ireland and Italy
The College of Ed has long offered study abroad opportunities in England, Ireland and Italy.
On the Ireland trip, students explore Dublin, Limerick, Galway and Belfast, and build a deeper understanding of social studies topics taught in K-8 schools. Seeing the sites they’ve learned about in school and will teach about in the future is incredibly powerful, Schillig said.
The itinerary includes time at Mary Immaculate College, a prestigious teachers college in Limerick where students can observe student teachers from gallery windows constructed for supervision by master teachers.
The students not only observe teaching methods but the kinds of artifacts they can set up in their own future classrooms, Schillig said.
It’s also inspirational for them to see how appreciated teachers are in Ireland, she said. Teachers are expected to be good at their job or potentially look for another career.
“We don’t have that same culture in the United States,” Schillig said, “so it’s a cool experience for them to see how (teaching) is revered, how it’s respected.”
Students also learn about The Troubles, a violent, 30-year sectarian conflict over religion, economics and the status of Northern Ireland, and how it compares to racism and classism in the United States.
“Our students tend to think that most problems are based on skin color, and they don’t see the classism and sectarian problems that can be caused by religion or politics,” Schillig said.
The Italy trip, meanwhile, introduces students to the major cultural, economic, social and political characteristics of the world’s earliest civilizations. It focuses on the ancient and classical periods, following themes covered in California’s 6th grade social science curriculum.
The journey includes Rome, Naples and Florence.
Some excursions to historical sites help students build analytical skills, Schillig said. When visiting Rome’s Fountain of the Four Rivers, they explore how designer Gian Lorenzo Bernini used figures and objects to represent each river, based on the knowledge available in his time.
Studying art and artifacts like this encourages students to think more critically — an important skill that helps them become stronger educators, Schillig said.
“They can say to their students, ‘OK, this is what it is. But what does it mean?’’ Schillig said. “The search for meaning goes a lot deeper when we’re hands-on and we’re looking at things in person.”
A trip to 'her' England
College of Education Lecturer Victoria Bryan takes students on a journey through London — her birthplace — and Brighton — where her parents had a home — as part of an arts capstone course.
The course focuses on deepening students' understanding of key arts concepts, how the arts connect to society and current issues, and effective teaching methods for all education levels.
The itinerary gives students a chance to experience a wide range of English life — from the bustling metropolis of London, with its 10 million residents, to the quiet seaside village of Rottingdean, home to just 3,500.
Since arts and culture are such a big part of everyday life in the U.K., Bryan said, they treat each day as a cultural experience — not just the moments spent in theaters or museums. And that experience makes them better teachers, she said.
“The classes I teach are all arts-based, as I believe that the arts provide an amazing set of tools for teachers — and others — to accomplish their goals,” she said.
Bryan also finds that many of her study abroad students have not traveled much, and the group experience builds up their confidence to take future trips.
“The thing they often say is how much more independent they feel,” Bryan said.
'A completely different experience'
Yanira Mejia, a recent College of Ed bachelor’s degree and credential graduate, took the Ireland trip as a teaching assistant supporting students academically and emotionally.
Some students started out the trip homesick, but at the end had had so much fun that they didn’t want to leave, she quipped.
One of the most impactful aspects of the trip was the student-led learning model, where students watched movies related to their Ireland destinations and then taught what they knew to their peers at each destination.
The immersive cultural experiences strengthened her own teaching philosophy — particularly the importance of cultural awareness. She brought her Ireland experience into a kindergarten class on St. Patrick’s Day, sparking her students’ curiosity and excitement about the world.
“I talked about different parts of the country, what I saw and what I did, and how beautiful it was. And it intrigued my kids to know more,” Mejia said. “They were like, ‘I want to go to Ireland in the future,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I hope that you do.’”
For Sam Sage, a recent Liberal Studies grad and aspiring elementary school teacher, the College of Ed’s study-abroad trip to Ireland helped shaped both her teaching philosophy and career ambitions.
Sage took the Ireland trip as a student last summer and it resonated so much that she’s on it again this summer as a teaching assistant. One of the biggest insights she gained was the value of experiential learning.
“You can hear about and read about history, but when you’re walking through the streets and seeing where it happened for yourself, it’s a completely different experience,” Sage said. “You get a much better grasp on things.”
The concept applies to other subjects, too, she says, like taking kids outside to look at plants they’re reading about in a science textbook.
Sage also emphasized the value of traveling with an educated professional like Schillig, who provides genuine historical insights and quality experiences beyond typical tourist attractions. She noted that the course's collaborative structure—where students learn side by side, reflect on daily experiences, and engage in in-depth discussions—fosters a deeper connection to the material than a traditional semester course typically allows.
And the trip fueled a desire to learn more about how teachers in other countries teach and to infuse that into her own practice. Sage ultimately would like to pass that knowledge on to future generations of teachers as a professor of education.
“I don’t think the United States is done learning. I think we have a lot to learn from our European friends,” she said. “Sometimes, as a nation, we have this (sense of), ‘We’ve got it figured out. We’re solid. We’re the best.’ When in reality, we’re fairly new at figuring things out.”
