Study Abroad Levels: Toward a Classification of Program Types

Authors

  • Lilli Engle
  • John Engle

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v9i1.113

Keywords:

Study abroad, program types

Abstract

As we begin to gather assessment data about study abroad outcomes, how can we analyze it intelligently when we have no precise language to differentiate or categorize the types of study abroad experiences associated with that data? How can we contribute to the clear articulation of educational goals in study abroad, goals that can serve as a counterweight to more and more prevalent “student client” expectations? How—drawing students out of their “comfort zones” instead of creating such zones abroad—can we bring renewed value and prestige to the rewarding difficulty and essential challenge inherent in the process of adaptation to cultural difference?

As the statistics of Open Doors each year reveal, overall numbers of U.S. overseas study participants have increased steadily and, at times, impressively during the last two decades. And, with study abroad becoming each year a more attractive “recruiting tool” in the “market” for prospective students, such increases in numbers will likely continue. Unfortunately, the road toward rising student participation is insufficiently mapped and signposted as it traverses an international education landscape made ever more complex by choices in program focus, destination, duration, participant preparation and ideal outcome. To articulate and refine our understanding of the differences that characterize this terrain, we will need guides of greater precision.

Clearly, it is time to draw distinctions of a qualitative sort—time for international education professionals to consider seriously the elaboration and adoption of one such guide, a hierarchical classification of program types.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Lilli Engle

Lilli Engle is the co-founder and Director of the American Center of Provence and President of International Cultural Services. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Experiment in International Living (France) and is former president of the home exchange network, HomeLink International.

John Engle

John Engle is the co-founder of the American University Center of Provence and maître de conférences and tenured faculty at the Université de Toulon et du Var. He has written extensively on international education, and has taught at UCLA, Occidental College, Illinois Wesleyan University and the Université de Provence

References

Bennett, Janet Marie, and Bennett, Milton James. “Multiculturalism and International Education: Domestic and International Differences” in Gary Althen, ed. Learning Across Cultures. Washington: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1994.

Bennett, Milton J. “Toward a Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity,” in R. Michael Paige, ed. Education for the Intercultural Experience. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1993.

Citron, James L. “Short-Term Study Abroad : Integration, Third Culture Formation, and Re-entry.” NAFSA Conference Paper, Phoenix, June 1996.

Hall, Edward T. The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time. New York: Doubleday, 1983.

Hoffa, William and John Pearson, eds. NAFSA’s Guide to Education Abroad for Advisers and Administrators, 2nd edition. Washington: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1997.

Open Doors 2001/2002: Report on International Educational Exchange, www.iienetwork.com

Kim, Young Y. Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters, 1988.

Soneson, Heidi M., Lochner-Wright, Cheryl, and Navari, Joseph. “Program Designs and Strategies,” in William Hoffa and John Pearson, eds. NAFSA’s Guide to Education Abroad for Advisers and Administrators, 2nd edition. Washington: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1997.

Szekely, Beatrice Beach, and Krane, Maria. “The Current Demographics of Education Abroad,” in William Hoffa and John Pearson, eds. NAFSA’s Guide to Education Abroad for Advisers and Administrators, 2nd edition. Washington: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 1997.

Downloads

Published

2003-08-15

How to Cite

Engle, L., & Engle, J. (2003). Study Abroad Levels: Toward a Classification of Program Types. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 9(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v9i1.113

Issue

Section

Research Articles