Over 240,000 American students studied abroad in the 2006 - 2007 academic year (Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, 2005). Despite the large number of students abroad and the breadth of the study-abroad literature (e.g., Dwyer 2004, Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006; Dewey, 2004; Milstein, 2005), there is relatively little work on the psychological ramifications of going abroad. Specifically, few studies investigate issues of identity change in students who study abroad. This dissertation was designed to provide an initial examination of these issues. Three theories of identity were applied to understand identity change in students abroad. Self-categorization theory (Oakes, Haslam, & Turner, 1994), which emphasizes the fluidity of identity and its dependence on social memberships, predicts that students will internalize the culture abroad and become very connected to it. Self-verification theory (Swann, 1997; Swann, Rentfrow, & Guinn, 2002) states that because people's personal identities give their lives coherence, meaning, and continuity, people are highly reluctant to change their personal identities. According to self-verification theory, students abroad will cling to their existing identities and remain connected with people from the country of origin. Identity negotiation theory (Swann & Bosson, in press; Swann, 1987) adopts a moderate position, suggesting that people retain their original identities but, under some conditions, modify them in response to exposure to the host culture. Students spending a semester abroad completed online questionnaires before they left the United States, and three times during the semester abroad. Students changed on several characteristics across the semester abroad. Students abroad changed more than a matched-control group spending the semester at the University of Texas at Austin. Personal characteristics, such as extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience, predicted degree of personal change, personal growth, and identification with the host country. Various social behaviors abroad, as well as living with a host family, were correlated with identity change. A model linking each theory with data about various choices of living arrangements, social behaviors, and identity outcomes is presented. / text

The purpose of the study was to determine the educational priorities of parents with children enrolled in American Sponsored Overseas Schools in South America, and to compare those priorities with their perceptions of school performance. Responsiveness was defined as the relationship between priorities and perceived performance. Parents of secondary students enrolled in member schools of the Association of American Schools in South America, Inc. were the population for the study. A purposive sample of four schools located in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay were surveyed. A low response rate reflected the nature of the population. Characteristics of non-response in overseas settings are discussed. Results were biased in favor of the politically interested/active parents. Frequencies and crosstabulations were used to describe responsiveness levels, relationships between responsiveness and demographic characteristics, levels of parent satisfaction, and relationships between satisfaction and respondent characteristics. The findings indicate that respondents were a demographically homogeneous group. Parents responding were satisfied with their schools and felt that the schools were responsive to their needs. No significant predictors of either satisfaction or responsiveness were found. / Ed. D.

Three groups of Southern Baptist foreign missionary parents, career, former, and new missionaries, numbering 492, reported their perceptions of the cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of young missionary children by rating sixteen goals for a pre-departure orientation on the variables of importance, responsibility and attainability. Mean scores of each of the variables were used to compute a criticality quotient, based on the Westinghouse Needs Assessment Model, to be used in determining the priority of each goal. Data analysis included total response, group response, and response by geographic location of the respondents. Implications were then drawn for the development of an orientation program for missionary children. No one category of need (cognitive, social, emotional, or spiritual) emerged as the most consuming for young missionary children. Rather, the goals related to the categories were well dispersed throughout the priority ranking. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the views of school board members in selected K - 12 American Sponsored Overseas Schools in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean as to their concerns and the relationship of those concerns to the variable citizenship. A questionnaire was mailed to 148 school board members in 16 schools in nine countries. A return rate of 56.1% of the school board members was obtained. The survey used in this study was divided into two parts. Part I of the survey gathered personal information about the school board members. Part II sought to obtain school board members’ views about the school’s organization, school board role and responsibilities, curriculum and instruction, staff and parents, and concerns. Cross-tabulation procedures and frequency distributions were used to report the data. The analysis of host country and United States citizens responses revealed that beliefs regarding the concerns of the school are not generally divided along the lines of citizenship. There were differences reported between the citizenship groups in the areas of mission of the school, enrollment projection, tuition rate for host country students, satisfaction with physical facilities, similarity in academic requirements to United States schools, compensation of foreign hire teachers, substance abuse programs and the extra-curricular activity program. The recruitment of good teachers was rated as the number one concern of both citizenship groups. Tuition increases and school finances were also rated as number one concerns by many of the school board members. / Ed. D.

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There is a need in the field of international education to form sound assessment practices to provide support for the study abroad experience. This study conducted assessment research using the CrossCultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) as a pre and post-test as well as structured interviews to assess the impact and determine the cultural learning outcomes of the two main types of study abroad programs at Ball State University.According to the CCAI, there was meaningful cultural learning that occurred for the students who participated in study abroad programs for the Fall 2001 semester. The interviews revealed that the student participants experienced gains in self-perception, communication skills, and worldview concepts. Further implications include the continuation of assessment in the international education field and the move towards learning based study abroad models. / Department of Educational Studies

This study works with Rotary Youth Exchange to investigate the role of predeparture intercultural training in preparing students to study abroad so that they 5 positively integrate their experience to become interculturally competent people. The Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) along with an intercultural background survey were administered to each student during the first one to four months of his or her exchange to measure his or her intercultural competency development and to learn li about the student's intercultural background. Developing explicit evidence for the role of intercultural training through this study proved unsuccessful because of the students' Jack of knowledge about the subject. However, through analysis of students' answers to decipher the quality of training received and comparing that information to the students' IES scores, the vital role of intercultural training in predeparture orientation is implied.

“Not Drowning but Waving: The American Junior Year Abroad” explores and describes study abroad amongst college students while also showing the historical roots of study abroad. This thesis seeks to understand the history and current issues in study abroad while also giving a literary description of the experiences, personal changes, and development of insight in the students who decide to study abroad. The Introduction serves both as the introduction to my project as well as an overview of the history and current issues within study abroad. It is divided into three main parts. The first section discusses the impetus for the project, the research methodology, relevant literature, and the genre of creative nonfiction. The second section covers the history of American travel and study abroad, as well as the work of the Fulbright Program. The third section is a short survey of contemporary trends within study abroad, and addresses issues of gender, race, location, and student behavior while abroad. The creative portion of this thesis describes the study abroad students’ stories, experiences, and insights during and after a semester in Europe. The first three chapters of this section—“Leaving”, “Destinations” and “Guardians at the Gate”—describe some of the initial experiences during a semester abroad. Chapter one looks at the process of traveling to a new country and adapting to new cultural norms. Chapter two describes the study abroad destinations where I did my primary research for this project. Chapter three explores some logistical issues in study abroad, namely academics, finances, and housing. Chapter four explores the challenges students face after the initial excitement of study abroad wears off, and looks at the issues of student responsibility, danger, harassment, and alcohol abuse. Chapter five describes student travel habits, which is one of the most popular elements of study abroad but also one of the more problematic. Chapter six looks at the challenge of re-entry to North America for study abroad students, and chapter seven provides a conclusion to the piece.

Study-abroad in the United States traces its roots back to early colonial times. The concept of spending a semester or year abroad during the undergraduate degree programme is not a new one; however increasing emphasis has been placed upon the need for acquiring a global education to cope with the demands of an ever increasing internationalised world. The traditional locations for American undergraduates who chose to study-abroad have always been and continue to be Western Europe. Yet, with a culture similar to that of the United States, the question of what intercultural learning takes place is an apt one. Emphasis on non-traditional locations is increasing, yet few studies have been undertaken which examine the experience of American undergraduates who do choose non-traditional destinations for their study-abroad experience. This research examines, through a qualitative study, using in-depth, semi-structured descriptive interviews, the experience of six American undergraduates who chose to spend a semester in South Africa from January to June 2004. A focus group of professionals within the American university study-abroad setting was also interviewed in May of 2003 to determine factors of interest to professionals within the field. The major findings included: The traditional barriers to study-abroad were not applicable to the students studied, however, barriers dealing with lack of information or inaccurate information regarding South Africa and non-promotion of South Africa as a first world country were found to be relevant as deterrents to students choosing South Africa as a destination for study-abroad. The most relevant factors that influenced students to study-abroad in South Africa were found to be: prior academic coursework in African studies at the home institution, the perception that it was a destination that offered opportunities for personal enjoyment and learning prospects in a unique cultural setting in addition to the fact that the host institution's language of instruction was English. Based on these findings, relevant recommendations for further research in this field were suggested. / Educational Studies / DED (COMP EDUCATION)

Study-abroad in the United States traces its roots back to early colonial times. The concept of spending a semester or year abroad during the undergraduate degree programme is not a new one; however increasing emphasis has been placed upon the need for acquiring a global education to cope with the demands of an ever increasing internationalised world. The traditional locations for American undergraduates who chose to study-abroad have always been and continue to be Western Europe. Yet, with a culture similar to that of the United States, the question of what intercultural learning takes place is an apt one. Emphasis on non-traditional locations is increasing, yet few studies have been undertaken which examine the experience of American undergraduates who do choose non-traditional destinations for their study-abroad experience. This research examines, through a qualitative study, using in-depth, semi-structured descriptive interviews, the experience of six American undergraduates who chose to spend a semester in South Africa from January to June 2004. A focus group of professionals within the American university study-abroad setting was also interviewed in May of 2003 to determine factors of interest to professionals within the field. The major findings included: The traditional barriers to study-abroad were not applicable to the students studied, however, barriers dealing with lack of information or inaccurate information regarding South Africa and non-promotion of South Africa as a first world country were found to be relevant as deterrents to students choosing South Africa as a destination for study-abroad. The most relevant factors that influenced students to study-abroad in South Africa were found to be: prior academic coursework in African studies at the home institution, the perception that it was a destination that offered opportunities for personal enjoyment and learning prospects in a unique cultural setting in addition to the fact that the host institution's language of instruction was English. Based on these findings, relevant recommendations for further research in this field were suggested. / Educational Studies / DED (COMP EDUCATION)