Assessing the Transformative Learning Impact of International Study Tours in Clinical Legal Education

International study tours have an important role in undergraduate education, due to their capacity to foster students as global citizens, facilitate critical reflection and support the development of professional identity. By situating students’ learning within authentic and unfamiliar contexts, they present students with disorienting dilemmas, opportunities for critical reflection, and engagement in diverse professional and personal roles. These learning processes align with elements of transformative learning as proposed by Mezirow (1978) and later transformative learning scholars. This paper reports on a transformative learning student experience study embedded in a clinical legal education international study tour. The tour focused on wildlife law and protection in Vietnam and the clinical experience program was designed in collaboration with a non-government organisation. A student assessment completed post-tour provided the main source of qualitative data, augmented by survey and focus group data collected longitudinally. Narratives identified within the assessment were interpreted using Mezirow’s steps of transformative learning as a thematic frame. The analysis demonstrated a strong alignment between student narratives and the early stages of Mezirow’s steps. The findings carry significance for tertiary educators involved in supporting the development of students’ professional identity, ethical sensibility, and disciplinary skills.