Reentry has become a more focused aspect of study abroad in recent years as the field has moved away from a laissez-faire approach and toward an emphasis on intervention and support of study abroad students in their efforts to make sense of their experiences (Vande Berg, Paige & Lou, 2012). Although not a new concept (Brathurst & La Brack, 2012), reentry in its more recent incarnation can be seen as an opportunity for students to ratify and reconstrue their encounters with a foreign culture in a way that enhances a sense of self in an intercultural world (Selby, 2008). Despite its history and current popularity, many concepts and ideas about reentry rely on anecdotal, non-research based theorizing. The current study attempts to quantify two important aspects of reentry (behavioral readaptation and emotional response) in the context of measured factors that might impact the intensity of reentry challenges.
Study Abroad Reentry: Behavior, Affect, and Cultural Distance