Implementing Successful Study Abroad Programs: Strategies and Recommendations for Faculty Members in the Social Sciences

Authors

  • Nilufer Medora California State University, Long Beach
  • Sarah Taylor California State University, Long Beach
  • Tiffany L. Brown California State University, Long Beach

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v34i2.563

Keywords:

preparing faculty, study abroad, cultural immersion, orientation meetings

Abstract

This paper presents recommendations for faculty mentors interested in conducting a study abroad program in the social sciences. The recommendations discussed in this paper aim to support faculty in pre-departure planning, during the study abroad experience, and after the study abroad experience concludes. The strategies presented in this paper aim to enhance the quality of the study abroad program, while creating an enjoyable, stimulating, and memorable experience for the students and faculty mentor.

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Author Biographies

Nilufer Medora, California State University, Long Beach

Dr. Nilufer Medora is a professor and certified family life educator in the area of child development, family studies, and family life education at California State University, Long Beach, California. She has conducted numerous, short-term study abroad programs to New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, London, Scotland, Ireland, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Slovenia.  She has participated in four Semester at Sea programs, and has taught for a semester in London, via the CSU London Consortium.

Sarah Taylor, California State University, Long Beach

Dr. Sarah Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Child Development and Family Studies at California State University, Long Beach. She received her Ph.D. in Human Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE). Her research focuses on cross-cultural family well-being, intimate partner violence, gender roles in the family context, and the development of study abroad programs.

Tiffany L. Brown, California State University, Long Beach

Dr. Tiffany L. Brown holds a Ph.D. in Child and Family Studies from Syracuse University and has a M.A. in Social Science and a B.S. in Psychobiology from Binghamton University. Currently, she teaches in the Family and Consumer Sciences Department at California State University, Long Beach. Research interests include contextual influences on developmental outcomes for ethnic minority adolescents as well as the development and implementation of study abroad programs within the social sciences.

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Published

2022-08-31

How to Cite

Medora, N., Taylor, S., & Brown, T. L. (2022). Implementing Successful Study Abroad Programs: Strategies and Recommendations for Faculty Members in the Social Sciences. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(2), 161–182. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v34i2.563

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Section

Research Articles