scholarly journals Academics as Arbiters: Promoting Equity and Cultural Responsibility in Group-based Study Abroad

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-144
Author(s):  
Christopher Johnstone ◽  
Tiffany Lachelle Smith ◽  
Jodi Malmgren
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Difficult Conversations ◽  
High Impact Practice ◽  
Group Programs

Study abroad is a high impact practice, touted as a tool for developing global and intercultural awareness. In 2017/18, of the nearly 350,000 U.S. students who studied abroad, sixty-five percent participated in “short-term” programs (IIE, 2018). Short-term programs are often administered as group opportunities, in which students undertake experiential education activities with fellow classmates in a host country. In this study, students from populations that have been historically under-represented in study abroad reflected on their experiences within group programs by centering their unique identities and analyzing how particular identities influenced their experiences within the group and host country. Experiences ranged from agentic and empowering to prejudicial and isolating. For example, some students relied on faculty members to mediate interactions among and between the group and host society. In some cases, instructors provided supportive facilitation while, in others, instructors avoided challenging confrontations and difficult conversations. The group itself, and the group leader, are critical units of analysis for understanding the educational and cross-cultural dimensions of study abroad. Abstract in Spanish El estudio en el extranjero se define como una actividad de alto impacto y se promueve como herramienta para desarrollar tanto la conciencia global como intercultural. En el año 2017/2018, el sesenta y cinco por ciento de los 350.000 estudiantes estadounidenses que estudiaron en el extranjero participaron en programas de “estadía corta” (IIE 2018). Los programas de estadía corta son desarrollados como oportunidades para interactuar en grupo donde cada estudiante vive experiencias educativas junto a sus compañeros en un país anfitrión. En este estudio, se pidió que estudiantes provenientes de poblaciones que, históricamente, no han estudiado en el extranjero reflexionaran sobre sus experiencias en programas grupales de estadía corta. La reflexión se hizo desde sus propias identidades y el análisis de cómo sus identidades influenciaron las experiencias dentro del grupo y en el país anfitrión. Los estudiantes reportaron experiencias que les dieron agencia y empoderamiento y otras que fueron perjudiciales o provocaron sentimientos de aislamiento. Por ejemplo, algunos estudiantes esperaban que sus profesores mediaran las interacciones entre el grupo y con el país anfitrión. En algunos casos los instructores proveyeron ayuda que facilitó dichas interacciones. En otros casos, los instructores evitaron tener conversaciones difíciles. Tanto el grupo como el líder del grupo son unidades de análisis que se deben incluir para entender las dimensiones educativas e interculturales del estudio en el extranjero. 

scholarly journals Faculty Engagement in Cultural Mentoring as Instructors of Short-Term and Semester Study Abroad Programs

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Niehaus ◽  
Jillian Reading ◽  
Matthew J. Nelson ◽  
Ashley Wegener ◽  
Ann Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study was to explore what cultural mentoring looks like in practice in short-term study abroad courses, how frequently instructors engage in cultural mentoring, and what demographic and background variables might predict the extent to which faculty members engage in cultural mentoring. Using data from a survey of 473 faculty members from 72 U.S. colleges and universities who had recently taught short-term study abroad courses, we identified four types of cultural mentoring behaviors – Expectation Setting, Explaining the Host Culture, Exploring Self in Culture, and Facilitating Connections. We also identified key predictors of the frequency with which participants engaged in cultural mentoring, including rank, race/ethnicity, and discipline.

Intercultural Awareness and Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

2020 ◽  
pp. 31-56
Author(s):  
David Starr-Glass
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Intercultural Awareness ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
And Function ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Study Abroad Program ◽  
Fundamental Requirement

One of the desired and anticipated outcomes of study abroad is that participants, who are exposed to difference, will develop a deeper appreciation of intercultural awareness. For students about to graduate and function in an increasingly globalized world, intercultural awareness is a fundamental requirement and a valued asset. Although greater intercultural awareness is associated with longer study abroad experiences, the historical and current reality is that students predominantly chose shorter stays. To optimize intercultural awareness gains for students and their faculty, and to provide greater benefits for the internationalization of their colleges and universities, it is suggested that short-term study abroad programs focus on the inherent liminality of the experience. This chapter explores liminality and the opportunities and challenges associated with the liminally-centered study abroad program.

scholarly journals Developing Cultural Humility During Short-Term Study Abroad Immersion

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Katheryn R. Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Cultural Immersion ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Culturally Congruent ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
High Impact Practice

Background: Cultural humility is an essential part of nursing education and practice today. We often teach cultural competence but do not take it further to develop the cultural humility needed for an understanding of being and becoming in today’s global environment. Method: This article describes a ten-day immersive study abroad experience to Mexico using strategies to develop cultural humility. Cultural immersion is a high impact practice and was used along with reflective writing and debriefing. Results: Cultural humility did emerge because of the trip to Mexico. Strategies used to develop this were reflective writings, discussions, debriefing and cultural immersion. These emerged as strong strategies to use in study abroad experiences. Conclusion: Nursing students can develop cultural humility during short-term immersion trips to Mexico. Further study of these strategies are needed to develop further knowledge of cultural humility and its impact on developing culturally congruent health care, reducing health disparities and promoting health equity.

Cultural Awareness of Students in Communication Sciences and Disorders: A Mixed-Methods Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 1231-1242
Author(s):  
Celeste Domsch ◽  
Lori Stiritz ◽  
Jay Huff
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Global Awareness ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Short Term Study

Purpose This study used a mixed-methods design to assess changes in students' cultural awareness during and following a short-term study abroad. Method Thirty-six undergraduate and graduate students participated in a 2-week study abroad to England during the summers of 2016 and 2017. Quantitative data were collected using standardized self-report measures administered prior to departure and after returning to the United States and were analyzed using paired-samples t tests. Qualitative data were collected in the form of daily journal reflections during the trip and interviews after returning to the United States and analyzed using phenomenological methods. Results No statistically significant changes were evident on any standardized self-report measures once corrections for multiple t tests were applied. In addition, a ceiling effect was found on one measure. On the qualitative measures, themes from student transcripts included increased global awareness and a sense of personal growth. Conclusions Measuring cultural awareness poses many challenges. One is that social desirability bias may influence responses. A second is that current measures of cultural competence may exhibit ceiling or floor effects. Analysis of qualitative data may be more useful in examining effects of participation in a short-term study abroad, which appears to result in decreased ethnocentrism and increased global awareness in communication sciences and disorders students. Future work may wish to consider the long-term effects of participation in a study abroad for emerging professionals in the field.

Emplacing Berlin: Digital Itineraries and Short-term Study Abroad in the City

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Apgar
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
The City

As destination of choice for many short-term study abroad programs, Berlin offers students of German language, culture and history a number of sites richly layered with significance. The complexities of these sites and the competing narratives that surround them are difficult for students to grasp in a condensed period of time. Using approaches from the spatial humanities, this article offers a case study for enhancing student learning through the creation of digital maps and itineraries in a campus-based course for subsequent use during a three-week program in Berlin. In particular, the concept of deep mapping is discussed as a means of augmenting understanding of the city and its history from a narrative across time to a narrative across the physical space of the city. As itineraries, these course-based projects were replicated on site. In moving from the digital environment to the urban landscape, this article concludes by noting meanings uncovered and narratives formed as we moved through the physical space of the city.

The role of immersion learning in the acquisition and processing of L2 gender agreement

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Klassen ◽  
Aline Ferreira ◽  
John W. Schwieter
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Selection Task ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Short Term Study

Abstract In this paper, we examine the effects of learning environment on second language (L2) gender agreement. English speakers learning L2 Spanish participated in a self-paced reading task and a picture selection task prior to and after a short-term study abroad experience. The results from the self-paced reading task showed that their reliance on the masculine article as the default (e.g., McCarthy, Corrine. 2008. Morphological variability in the comprehension of agreement: An argument for representation over computation. Second Language Research 24(4). 459–486) was reduced over time abroad. Findings from the picture selection task showed that the learners did not attend to the gender of articles unless it was their only cue, but that after the study abroad experience they began to use gender as an anticipatory cue for lexical selection. We interpret these results as support for an adapted version of the Shallow Structures Hypothesis (Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006a. Grammatical processing in language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 27(1). 3–42; Clahsen, Harald & Claudia Felser. 2006b. How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10(12). 564–570) and the notion that in immersion contexts L2 learners shift their parsing strategy to be more communicatively focused (Schwieter, John W. & Gabrielle Klassen. 2016. Linguistic advances and learning strategies in a short-term study abroad experience. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education 1(2). 217–247).

scholarly journals The Ebb and Flow of Study Abroad: A Comparative Analysis of PRC and International Students in Taiwan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5844
Author(s):  
Amy Roberts ◽  
Gregory S. Ching
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Cross Tabulation ◽  
Pacific Community

The dialogue about study abroad is a contemporary trend. Since 2011, enrolments from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have gradually increased and PRC students have now become one of the largest groups of incoming study abroad participants in Taiwan. In this study, investigators explored the characteristics of PRC students in comparison with other international students studying in Taiwan universities. Data were collected from 1870 study abroad students. Data collected include the various study abroad goals, prior study abroad experiences, the Short-term Study Abroad Situational Change Survey, the revised East Asian Acculturation Measures, the Study Abroad Acculturative Hassles, and their overall study abroad satisfaction. Data analyses included computation of the mean, frequency, cross-tabulation of respondents’ responses for identified questions, and various group comparisons. Implications suggest that the characteristics of PRC students are valuable and potentially transformative markers for sustainable cross-strait ties. Study abroad programs in Taiwan are noted as one piece of the emerging discourse for sustainable co-existence between Taiwan and the PRC. As such, PRC study abroad participants along with faculty and students in Taiwan universities have an opportunity to play a role in reshaping future exchanges as well as transforming themselves into stewards of a trans-Pacific community.

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