Education Abroad:
Bridging Scholarship and Practice
EDUCATION ABROAD: BRIDGING SCHOLARSHIP AND PRACTICE
Introduction
Recent decades have seen unprecedented growth in the number of students traveling abroad for the purpose of short-term academic study. In the United States, for example, over 325,000 U.S. students participated in education abroad programming in 2015-16, allowing them to earn academic credit in fulfillment of home institution degree requirements. During that same academic year, approximately 30,000 students from Australian universities studied abroad as part of their Australian degree programs. And finally, since the establishment of the Erasmus Programme thirty years ago, more than 3 million higher education students have studied abroad within the framework of that exchange program within Europe. Thus, this volume focuses on student mobility within such programs, or more specifically on the education abroad programming that occurs during post-secondary education whereby students earn credit abroad that is utilized to fulfill home institution degree requirements. In reference to such programming, the term “education abroad” is preferred over others to more accurately reflect the emerging range of types of non-degree educational opportunities, which include study abroad, undergraduate research abroad, international internships, global service-learning, etc.
In a context characterized by a strong tendency towards internationalization, an increasing number of tertiary education institutions around the world seek to include education abroad as one of their key internationalization strategies. Consequently, there has also been an increase in scholarly interest in different aspects of the phenomenon. Today, scholars in different disciplines are now more actively pursuing rigorous research agendas with
the aim of providing a better understanding of the totality of the education abroad experience. The rapidly expanding body of scholarly literature on education abroad in recent years, however, also makes it difficult for new scholars to the field to get oriented quickly. Furthermore, among practitioners, it has now become an increasingly accepted position that it is no longer enough to claim that participation in education abroad is beneficial to students and their institutions, without also offering specific scientific evidence to support such assertions. As such, it is critically important that scholars and practitioners work together to produce empirical evidence that challenges and scrutinizes long-held claims and assumptions about the value and benefit of education abroad programming.
The editors have selected pertinent topics related to contemporary education abroad programming and practice and work with the contributing authors to provide careful analyses of existing global scholarship that informs each topic, with the goal of extending scholarly discourse and engagement. Organized around five central themes, with section introductions by the editors, the proposed volume addresses topics such as curriculum integration, intercultural competency development, advancing faculty engagement, access and opportunity for traditionally underrepresented populations, and host community impact. Although the treatment of these topics may have broad appeal to higher education administrators, researchers, faculty members, policy makers, and graduate students, the main target audience are scholars who are new to the field as well as education abroad practitioners and others who need access to an accessible, succinct and critical analysis of existing research and scholarship in these areas.
Central purpose of the book
The central purpose of this volume is to provide a succinct and critical analysis of existing research and scholarship on the major topics related to post-secondary, non-degree education abroad with the primary goal of supporting education abroad practitioners and emerging scholars and informing education abroad programming and practice.
UNIQUE ANGLES
Although there are an increasing number of well-written and well-received publications focusing on a wide range of education abroad topics, the vast majority are country-specific and/or oriented either as specialized scientific articles or practitioner reference guides. Generally, they offer little in the way of presenting a synthesis of how the current global research and scholarship potentially informs programming and practice. Furthermore, whereas the practitioner reference guides often refer to the burgeoning empirical scholarship on education abroad, many existing texts rely heavily on qualitative case studies, personal anecdotes or individual narratives, and professional best practice.
This proposed volume selects the most critical topics within the education abroad field and profession and will be the first of its kind to provide in one volume a desk-top compendium of succinct analyses of the existing research and scholarship that informs each of these topics. Distinct chapters will build on the existing literature to provide both scholars and practitioners alike with proposed research models for further study that can be replicated across institutions with the aim of informing strategic best practices in education abroad programming and practice.
TERMINOLOGY
Education abroad is known by several names, including learning abroad, study abroad, student exchange, international student mobility, and so on. For the purposes of this volume, however, the term “education abroad” is preferred over other terms to more accurately reflect the emerging range of types of outbound educational opportunities, which include study abroad, undergraduate research abroad, international internships, global service-learning, etc. Thus, this volume will utilize the broader category of education abroad and reference study abroad only as a distinctive experience type. As appropriate, studying abroad may be used as the action verb inclusive of all experience types.
Given the diverse and often conflicting use of terminology, a final section will provide a brief glossary of key terms used throughout the volume.
SCOPE
The collective focus of this edited volume will be on key issues in post-secondary education abroad research and scholarship and their implications for professional practice. Authored by well-regarded and widely-acknowledged education abroad experts, each chapter will provide an overview of the existing global literature focused on a specific topic of relevance to education abroad practice, with the goal of synthesizing what is already known and what needs further research. Chapters will build on the existing literature to provide meta-analyses, reports of previously unpublished research that has external validity, or proposed research models for further study that can be replicated across institutions. Chapter authors will analytically synthesize existing research with the purpose of promoting future study and informing professional practice. Chapters will avoid overly technical language and prioritize succinctness and accessibility for active utilization by practitioners and emerging scholars.
Due to the differences in national higher education systems, it is important to note that this volume will be focused specifically on education abroad programming that occurs during post-secondary education whereby students earn credit abroad that is utilized to fulfill home institution degree requirements. International degree seeking mobility will be outside the scope of this publication. The editors will encourage perspectives that draw upon international comparisons in the effort to extend the appeal of the publication to international higher education audiences around the world.
Structure of the book
BOOK & CHAPTER FORMAT
Each chapter follows a similar orientation, structure and style. Each of them is tentatively organized as follows:
BOOK & CHAPTER FORMAT
To maximize user accessibility, each chapter will include an introductory textbox summarizing the chapter’s key points and/or highlights. Moreover, each chapter will also include a textbox with 3-5 suggestions for further in-depth reading on the specific topics addressed.
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Introduction and chapter overview
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Key questions to be addressed
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Synthesis of the global literature (subsections permitted)
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Evaluation of the research methodology/methodological considerations (if applicable)
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Implications for practice (noting specific regions of the world, as appropriate)
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Directions for future research/new questions
Introduction A Brief Overview of Research in Education Abroad
The introduction provides a brief overview of the major trends in education abroad research, highlighting some of the major methodological and design challenges common to education abroad research, major theoretical models that have traditionally informed education abroad research, and the conceptual frameworks from related disciplines that may further extend education abroad research. Notable gaps in the existing research and needed directions are also discussed.
Table
Series Editor Foreword
Preface Framing Education Abroad within an International Context
Building upon the work of Knight (2011), de Wit (2011), the American Council on Education and others, the preface frames education abroad within its international context and position non-degree, education abroad programming and practice as one strategy among many leveraged in institutional internationalization efforts.
Part One - Participation
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Decision Making.
Rachel Brooks, University of Surrey
Johanna Waters, University of Oxford
2. Demographics.
Nicolai Netz, German Centre for Higher Education and
Science Research
Michelle Barker, Griffith University, Australia
Daniel Klasik, George Washington University
Part Three - Student Outcomes
5. Academic Development.
Joshua McKeown, SUNY Oswego
Heather H. Ward, American Council on Education
Maria Luz Celaya, University of Barcelona
6. Language Proficiency
Jane Jackson, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Martin Howard, University College Cork
John W. Schwieter, Wilfred Laurier University
7. College Student Development.
Chris Glass, Old Dominion University
Mark Holton, Plymouth University
8. Global Citizenship, Identity & Intercultural Competence.
Neriko Doerr, Ramapo College of New Jersey
Uichi Kamiyoshi, Musahino University
David Puente, ISA Granada
Darla Deardorff, Association of International Education
Administrators
9. Employability.
Jannecke Wiers-Jenssen, Nordic Institute for Studies
in Innovation, Research and Education
Martin Tillman, Global Career Compass
Cheryl Matherly, Lehigh University
Part Two - Programming
3. Program Types.
Kate Moore, Academic Internship Council, Toronto
Jason Kinnear, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Rebecca Pisano, Stevenson University
Darin Menlove, University of California, Berkeley
Jessica Evert, Child Family Health International
4. Program Components.
Nick Gozik, Boston College
David Rudd, Arcadia University
Susan Oguro, University of Technology, Sydney
Part Four - Institutional Outcomes
10. Institutional Impact.
Nico Jooste, Nelson Mandela University
Hiroshi Ota, Hitotsubashi University
Lisa Helmin Foss, St. Cloud State University
Yukiko Shimmi, Hitotsubashi University
11. Curriculum Integration.
Betty Leask, La Trobe University
Brenda García, Monterrey University
12. Faculty Engagement.
Jos Beelen, The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Hans de Wit, Boston College
Betty Leask, La Trobe University
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Part Five - Societal Outcomes
13. International Education Policy Outcomes.
Jeroen Huisman, Ghent University
Adinda van Gaalen, Ghent University
14. Host Community Impact.
Christopher Ziguras, RMIT University
John Lucas, International Student Exchange Program
Yaso Nadarajah, RMIT University
Jose Celso Freire, São Paulo State University
Conclusion Future Directions for Education Abroad Research and Scholarship
This succinct chapter provides a synopsis of the key questions raised throughout the book with the aim of providing directions for practice and further study. Additionally, the chapter will feature a list of emerging hot topic issues in education abroad research and practice as identified by contributing authors in the volume.
Glossary
References
About the Contributors