Factors Impacting the Decision to Study Abroad Among Students

192 Pages·2015·1.38 MB·English

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Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses
August 2015
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April H. Stroud
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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Stroud, April H., "Should I Stay or Should I Go?: Factors Impacting the Decision to Study Abroad Among
Students Who Have Expressed Intent" (2015). Doctoral Dissertations. 408.
https://doi.org/10.7275/6945357.0 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/408
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SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?:
FACTORS IMPACTING THE DECISION TO STUDY ABROAD
AMONG STUDENTS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTENT

A Dissertation Presented

by

APRIL H. STROUD

Submitted to the Graduate School of the
University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2015

College of Education

Educational Policy and Leadership
© Copyright by April H. Stroud 2015

All Rights Reserved
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?:
FACTORS IMPACTING THE DECISION TO STUDY ABROAD
AMONG STUDENTS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTENT

A Dissertation Presented

by

APRIL H. STROUD

Approved as to style and content by:

_______________________________________
Elizabeth Williams, Chair

_______________________________________
Ryan Wells, Member

_______________________________________
Timothy Lang, Member

____________________________________
Christine B. McCormick, Dean
College of Education
DEDICATION
For my children, Kiefer and Saskia

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Over the past nine years I have received support and encouragement from so
many people. Gary Malaney convinced me to apply to the doctoral program and regularly
reminded me to keep everything in perspective. I am so lucky to have had fellow
graduate students Karen Howard, Ethan Kolek, Raldy Laguilles and Dan Saunders for
friendship and a supportive, intellectually stimulating environment. During my data
collection and analysis, Ethan offered welcome encouragement and statistical insights.
My once office-mate, Rebecca Stone provided helpful input on my focus groups
transcripts. April Zenisky most generously proofread my manuscript and offered
invaluable advice before it went to my committee. Bradford Wheeler made weekends
writing in Hills South less lonely. He also brilliantly suggested and executed a live stream
of my defense.
Many thanks to my committee chair and advisor, Liz Williams, who is one of the
smartest women I know. I appreciate her wisdom, kindness, humor and friendship. I
would also like to thank my committee members for their guidance and thought-
provoking suggestions. I especially appreciated Tim Lang’s enthusiasm for my study and
careful editing and Ryan Wells’ sound statistical advice and willingness to serve on my
committee during his sabbatical.
JoAnn Bernhard and the wonderful staff at the International Programs Office
helped me realize my dream of working in Education Abroad and have been my
cheerleaders throughout my graduate school journey. They believed in me even when I
did not.
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My sister, Janice, family, friends and neighbors helped me more than they will
know by letting me both share my progress and lament about my struggles to juggle
family, work and my dissertation.
Most importantly, I want to thank my husband, Roel Ebling, for his expertise in
Excel and the numerous sacrifices he made in taking on far more than his fair share of the
parenting and household duties while I pursued this degree.
Finally, I thank my parents, Joseph and Mary Beth Stroud, for their love and
inspiration. They taught me about hard work and dedication.

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ABSTRACT
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?:
FACTORS IMPACTING THE DECISION TO STUDY ABROAD
AMONG STUDENTS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED INTENT

MAY 2015

APRIL H. STROUD, B.A., MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE

M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

Ed.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST

Directed by: Adjunct Assistant Professor Elizabeth A. Williams

Study abroad is recognized as a valuable and increasingly essential aspect of
higher education in America. Yet, for all the positive attention and high-profile initiatives
aimed at expanding participation, the percentage of U.S. undergraduate who studies
abroad remains small. Developing a better understanding of the factors that contribute to
or hinder study abroad participation is critical to expanding participation. The purpose of
this dissertation is to examine factors that influence participation among students at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst who have expressed formal intent to study abroad.
Specifically, this dissertation investigates who is more likely to study abroad and who is
less likely and why students who intend to study abroad do not. To answer these
questions, this study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods through
convergent parallel design.
Together, the results of the binary logistic regression analysis and focus group
interviews provide an abundance of information on the variety of factors that influence
participation among students who intend to study abroad. Positive influential predictors
include GPA, honors college membership, prior travel abroad 3 or more times and having
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studied a foreign language at the college level. Negative predictors are identifying an
interest in study abroad from University outreach, being a transfer student, citing money
as the biggest obstacle to study abroad, citing “other” as the biggest obstacle to study
abroad, citing not being able to graduate on times as the biggest obstacle to study abroad
and indicating at the time of completion of the study abroad profile that there is only
some chance that they will study abroad. Focus group findings reveal that cost, academic
barriers, and not wanting to miss out on time at the University deterred students who had
expressed interest in study abroad from actually doing so.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v

ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vii

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... xiii

LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiv

CHAPTER

1. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1

Introduction: Study Abroad and Its Growing Importance in Higher Education ......1
Research Question ...................................................................................................4

Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................5

Significance..............................................................................................................8

Summary ..................................................................................................................9

Definitions..............................................................................................................10

Study Abroad .............................................................................................10

Public Research University ........................................................................10

Program Duration.......................................................................................11

Study Abroad Profile .................................................................................11

Participant ..................................................................................................11

Applicant ....................................................................................................12

Withdrawn..................................................................................................12

2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..............................................................................................13

Introduction ............................................................................................................13
The Current National Study Abroad Climate ........................................................13

Globalization ..............................................................................................13

Internationalization ....................................................................................14

Government Efforts ...................................................................................15

Demographic-Specific Initiatives ..............................................................18

Duration and Types of International Study ................................................20

Study Abroad Research..........................................................................................22

Study Abroad Outcomes ............................................................................24

Foreign Language Acquisition .......................................................27

Specific Learning Outcomes ..........................................................28

Developmental Outcomes of Education Abroad ...........................29

Conceptual Framework ..........................................................................................31

BaileyShea’s Decision to Study Abroad Framework ................................31

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