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• Divergent views on the benefits of studying abroad:
Academy and Faculty Vs Student expectations – a false divide?
• (Creating and) Using student out-of-class experiences as a platform
for self-reflexive and academic learning
• Integrating the study abroad experience into the home campus
curriculum and student research projects
Utilitarian Developmental
Divergent views on the benefits of studying abroad
Edwards (2000) and Toral (2010) warn of a growing gap in perceptions between
policy makers, faculty, parents, and students on the value of study abroad.
Policy makers believe the ultimate goal of study abroad is to create more
productive workers - teach skills useful for the marketplace, including
foreign language competency.
According to Brewer and Cunningham (2010) and Selby (2008)
Faculty may be supportive, but more likely ambiguous or discouraging…
They may be sceptical of the academic value of taking a course in the
student’s major when abroad.
They may simply ‘allow’ the student go as it is “good for them” and thus,
not see ‘studying’ abroad as integral to their educational development…
(danger of educational trades and tariffs)
Disciplinary learning in a different cultural context can illustrate
culturally-ingrained research biases and can also lead to a
demonstration of the application of previously gained disciplinary
knowledge in a new context (Bollen & Martin, 2005).
Bennett (2008) strongly argues a need for students to be culturally
and internationally competent and intellectually adaptable… citing
the US Supreme Court 2003:
“What nations don’t know can hurt them. The stakes in study
abroad are that simple…and that important. For their own future
and that of the nation, college graduates today must be that
internationally competent”
Parents and students see study abroad more as an opportunity for individual
self-maturation and attainment of greater self-confidence.
intercultural competence
global citizenship
language learning
enhancement of CV and
to gain an advantage in graduate school applications
Erasmus in the words of students:
"I realised that the experience made a whole new person of me and that I would never look at the world and Europe, my home, as I did before."
"It is true – when you're in ERASMUS, you find out a lot about yourself."
"ERASMUS is a lot more than a studying experience. For me it is a way to look at the world with new eyes, to feel and discover new emotions and learn what is not written in the textbooks."
"If I look at my experience from a distance, I can say that I would definitely do it again, and that apart from (or maybe because of) minor problems along the way, this semester has made me a stronger and more enthusiastic person!"
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc80_en.htm
“International educators all too often leave it to
serendipity to bridge [them]…” (Selby, 2008)
According to CIEE (2009) “study abroad is about
cross-cultural competence and it doesn’t happen
by osmosis”
Comfort Zones, Mental Maps,
the Internet and Ambi-location
Out-of-class experiences can be mediated through an academic framework
that is linked with and reinforces in-class learning… and effective in
breaking down the false dichotomy between classroom and street and
between “high” culture and “low” culture.
Students as intentional, critical observers can deconstruct the meaning(s) of
their study abroad sites by approaching what they see in a focused and
systematic way.
The city as classroom and testing ground for academic work
Mental Maps; photo essays and mapping projects
Quantitative and qualitative research projects
Service learning
The project’s value lies in fieldwork that requires
interaction with local environments and people and takes
into consideration the local, national, and international
context of their research, in turn testing and adding to
their disciplinary learning.
International Relations Senior Thesis at Beloit College, WI: A Case study
Macey (2005) notes the excitement the students feel when their
academic studies come alive for the first time because of the physical
proximity they have to their subjects. He argues that when students
conduct research abroad and then complete a senior thesis at home
with the appropriate literature, this represents the epitome of the
liberal arts experience, “integrating” in the most complete way the
student’s time abroad with the home school curriculum.
Conclusion
• Faculty, Service Providers and Student expectations of study abroad can be complimentary.
• Intercultural competencies and personal maturation do not necessarily occur by accident, but by design.
• Considering and fostering students’ study abroad learning as
part of their educational development and integral to their
home campus programme can aid their capstone / dissertation
research, which is beneficial for future postgraduate study and
future employment.
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