22 - Assessing Study Abroad Programs - Application of the SLEPT Framework.pdf (original) (raw)
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Global Understanding through International Study: Learning from Experience at an American University
大阪女学院短期大学紀要, 2011
International educational experience is widely presumed to have a wealth of benefits for both students and participating institutions, yet the amount of empirical study has not reflected these trends. A means for assessing international experience was developed at a four-year university in the U.S. Northwest and initiated with both outgoing and incoming American and visiting Japanese students. Particular attention was directed to exploring potential impacts of international study experience for academic and career decisions as well as overall world view. This research also informs on how curriculum and program development can build on individual-level experiences and changes associated with study abroad.
The Importance of International Experiences
Colleges and universities around the world are valuing the goal of becoming more globally engaged and continuing to encourage their students to study abroad. What is the value behind those international experiences? Studies have shown that students who study abroad not only have higher grade point averages (G.P.A.s) but also develop the necessary skills to function in our interconnected world. According to Abrams (1960), "goals of higher education include intellectual and professional development, general education, personal growth, and the furtherance of the international understanding."
US Study Abroad from Periphery to the Center of the Global Curriculum in the Information Age
The Higher Education Act of 1965 for the first time gave discretionary authority to campuses to use federal financial aid in support of students studying abroad. Thereafter, US study abroad has thus evolved from the periphery to the center of the global curriculum. In 2005 the Lincoln Commission report proposed an ambitious goal of sending one million students abroad each year to promote educational and cultural exchange for intercultural understanding, peace and global citizenship. Following this recommendation a legislative and federal policy, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act was approved in June 2009 by the US House of Representatives authorizing generous funding for fiscal years 2010 & 2011 to the US Department of State and Peace Corps for innovative new programs that would enhance US capacity to engage with the world. The article traces this historic expansion effort, its link with the current pedagogical discourse on global citizenship and reflects on its relation to the ideology of curriculum to highlight the need to develop more critically reflexive curriculum and pedagogy. The article also reflects critically on the empirical research literature to highlight the gaps between the assumptions driving investment in Study Abroad and its learning outcome.
Journal of Global Awareness, 2022
Short-term faculty-led study abroad programs are high-impact pedagogical practices designed to enhance students' global competency. However, there is a gap in our understanding regarding the specific educational components of short-term faculty-led study abroad programs that promote global competency. This systematic review examined nearly two decades of research on such programs (n=86) to assess the educational components associated with increases in students' global competencies using Steinberg's (2017) educational components as a framework. Results indicated that the educational components included in global competency-building education abroad courses varied substantially across programs and global regions. The components most strongly supporting enhanced global competency were pre/post program sessions and meeting with experts in the host country. Overall, the study findings offer educators and administrators insights into best practices for designing, implementing, and evaluating short-term study abroad courses designed to enhance global competence among undergraduate and graduate students.
Journal of College Student Development, 2018
While the specific mission of master’s-level student affairs preparation programs (SAPPs) may differ, the overarching purpose is to pre pare graduates educated in student development to serve as leaders within higher education (Long, 2012; Nuss, 2003). As student populations evolve with increasing diversity, specifically in international populations (Farrugia, Bhandari, Baer, Robles, & Andrejko, 2017), SAPPs must seek ways to educate their graduate students in order to promote success in the current global environment. While an institution may assert internation alization as a goal, it will not become a reality unless the faculty, staff, policies, priorities, and opportunities are part of the infrastructure to support that goal (Schulz, Lee, Cantwell, McClellan, & Woodard, 2007). Given recent trends of increasing international student population (5.3% of overall higher education enrollment) and study abroad participation (10.4% of undergraduate students; Farrugia et al., 2017), developing culturally aware professionals to contribute to campus internationalization is increasingly paramount. The success of international students at US institutions and the promotion of study abroad and reintegration of students back to their home institutions require culturally competent student affairs professionals who are able to fulfill social justice and inclusion-related competencies (ACPA & NASPA, 2015). In response to the increasing internationalization of higher education, evidence exists of the inclusion of short-term study abroad experiences in SAPPs as a pedagogical approach to expose SAPP graduate students to higher education systems outside the country and expand students’ intercultural competence (Schulz et al., 2007). Previous publications related to this approach have focused on the structure of the courses, learning outcomes, and logistical considerations for such experiences (Haber & Getz, 2011; Yakaboski & Birnbaum, 2017) but are limited in exploring its influence on SAPP graduate students’ professional development. Thus, the following research question guided our study: How does participation in a short-term study abroad experience in SAPP curriculum influence graduate students’ intercultural competence, work with international students, and career development?
US Study Abroad from the Periphery to the Center of the Global Curriculum in the Information Age
Policy Futures in Education, 2012
The Higher Education Act of 1965 for the first time gave discretionary authority to campuses to use federal fnancial aid in support of students studying abroad. Thereafter, US study abroad has thus evolved from the periphery to the center of the global curriculum. In 2005 the Lincoln Commission report proposed an ambitious goal of sending one million students abroad each year to promote educational and cultural exchange for intercultural understanding, peace and global citizenship. Following this recommendation a legislative and federal policy, the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, was approved in June 2009 by the US House of Representatives authorizing generous funding for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to the US Department of State and Peace Corps for innovative new programs that would enhance US capacity to engage with the world. The article traces this historic expansion effort, its link with the current pedagogical discourse on global citizenship and reflects on its r...
Fostering Global Citizens Through Study Abroad- A Case Study
In today's increasingly globalized world, study abroad programs are receiving unprecedented attention as a significant part of international education. The mission of Soka University of America (SUA) is in line with the trend of producing U.S. graduates in higher education who demonstrate intercultural and international competence. SUA has joined the academic world in this growing area of interest and requires all its students to study abroad. Learning from other institutions and exploring its own path, SUA has developed a comprehensive study abroad program that seamlessly integrated in the liberal arts curricular of the university, which positively affected foreign language learning, improved students' abilities to function as global citizens, and opened various opportunities worldwide for the students. To insure students' study abroad experiences fruitful, the following aspects need to be considered: 1. systematic institutional support; 2. designated staff to work on study abroad affairs; 3. advising students about the courses to take while abroad; 4. students need support from the entire home institution; and 5. connect study abroad with a given institution's broader goals
2014
The 2011 QS Global Employer Survey of over 10,000 recruiters worldwide indicates that employers actively seek and give preference to college graduates who had studied abroad. Six out of ten employers said they give "extra credit" for a student's international experience and more than 80 percent said they actively seek graduates who had studied abroad. The value employers place on a student's study abroad experience grows significantly as program length increases. Though this study suggests there is a connection in employers' minds between overseas study and the development of certain interpersonal skills, students who participate in short-term programs need to make an extra effort to describe their experience in such a manner that convinces prospective employers their time abroad developed the intercultural competence employers expect. Today's students must be prepared to interact with people and cultural situations that may differ significantly from their ...