Understanding the study abroad experience of university students

200 Pages·2017·0.6 MB·English

Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Dissertations
2009
Understanding the study abroad experience of
university students
Christine Lynne Gemignani
Iowa State University
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Gemignani, Christine Lynne, "Understanding the study abroad experience of university students" (2009).Graduate Theses and
Dissertations. 10624.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/10624
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Understanding the study abroad experience of university students

by

Christine Lynne Gemignani

A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Major: Education (Educational Leadership)

Program of Study Committee:
John H. Schuh, Major Professor
Larry H. Ebbers
Florence A. Hamrick
Kevin P. Saunders
Howard E. Van Auken

Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
2009
Copyright © Christine Lynne Gemignani, 2009. All rights reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................................................................................v

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

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................1

Introduction and Problem........................................................................................1

Purpose.....................................................................................................................4

Research Questions..................................................................................................4

Overview of the Study.............................................................................................4

Content Theory............................................................................................4

Theoretical Perspective of the Methodology...............................................5

Methodology................................................................................................6

Methods........................................................................................................7

Significance of the Research....................................................................................8

Limitations.............................................................................................................10

Delimitations..........................................................................................................10

Definitions..............................................................................................................11

Summary of the Introduction.................................................................................13

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW..........................................................................15

The State of Evaluation and Assessment in Study Abroad....................................16

Large-Scale Assessment Research in Study Abroad.............................................19

Small-Scale Assessment Research in Study Abroad.............................................27

Discipline-Specific Studies....................................................................................29

Methodological Issues in the Study Abroad Research Literature..........................32

The Position of This Study....................................................................................41
iii

Summary of the Literature Review........................................................................43

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY....................................................................................45

Theoretical Perspective of the Methodology.........................................................45

Methodology..........................................................................................................48

The Researcher’s Position..........................................................................49

Methods..................................................................................................................51

Methods of Data Collection.......................................................................51

Methods of Data Analysis..........................................................................57

Trustworthiness of the Research............................................................................61

Prolonged Engagement and Persistent Observation..................................62

Triangulation..............................................................................................62

Peer Debriefing..........................................................................................62

Negative Case Analysis.............................................................................63

Member Checks.........................................................................................63

Thick Descriptive Data..............................................................................63

Audit Trail..................................................................................................64

Summary of the Methodology...............................................................................64

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND INTERPRETATIONS..................................................66

The Vignettes.........................................................................................................67

Tara............................................................................................................69

Allen...........................................................................................................84

Johnny........................................................................................................92

Alivia........................................................................................................103

Diana........................................................................................................114
iv

Erica.........................................................................................................120

Summary of the Case Vignettes...............................................................129

Comparative Analysis..........................................................................................132

Personal Development.............................................................................134

Fulfillment of Expectations......................................................................137

Impact of the U.S.....................................................................................138

Travel.......................................................................................................142

People.......................................................................................................145

Open.........................................................................................................147

Limitations...............................................................................................150

Being There..............................................................................................152

Connection...............................................................................................157

Summary of Interpretations.................................................................................160

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS.....................................................................................164

Summary of Findings...........................................................................................164

Conclusions..........................................................................................................167

Relationship with Extant Literature.....................................................................171

Implications of the Study.....................................................................................172

Implications for Theory...........................................................................172

Implications for Additional Research......................................................174

Implications for Practice..........................................................................177

Implications for Assessment of Culture Learning...................................179

Implications for a National Agenda.........................................................180

REFERENCES...............................................................................................................185
v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank my major professor, Dr. John H. Schuh, who provided guidance
from the first day of my entry into the program in Educational Leadership and Policy
Studies through to completion of the dissertation. I also wish to thank the members of my
committee: Dr. Larry Ebbers and Dr. Florence Hamrick from the Department of
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Dr. Kevin Saunders from the Office of the
Executive Vice President and Provost, and Dr. Howard Van Auken from the Department
of Finance.
I thank my fellow graduate student colleagues who served as Peer Debriefers for
the dissertation, Craig Zywicki and Vijay Kanagala. I give a very important thanks to
Susan Posch of the Study Abroad Center, who served as both transcriptionist and editor. I
thank Trevor Nelson, Director of the Study Abroad Center, for allowing the staff of the
Center to participate in or otherwise support the research. I also thank the entire staff of
the Study Abroad Center for their support and understanding.
To the student participants in this study, my words cannot appropriately convey
the depth of my gratitude. The students were open and honest, and it was my great
pleasure to work with them. I am deeply contented that they came to know the
importance of their experiences abroad and equally grateful that they shared these
experiences with me.
I also thank my parents, Kennard L. Sieben and Sieglinde Sieben. They provided
early opportunities that ignited my interest in culture and they instilled in me qualities
that made it possible for me to persist to completion of this degree.
Last, but certainly not least, I thank Daniel J. Gemignani and Roberto K.
Gemignani. Daniel made it possible for me to pursue yet another advanced degree by
taking great care of domestic and child-rearing responsibilities and by foregoing his own
vi

opportunities. Roberto kept life in balance for me and never let me give up too much
family time. My degree belongs just as equally to them as to me. Without their support
and love I would not be writing this acknowledgement. Thank you.
vii

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of culture learning in study
abroad through the perceptions of undergraduate students who studied abroad. The study
is based in an interpretive qualitative research approach. Interviews were conducted with
13 undergraduate students who studied abroad in a variety of study abroad programs.
What students shared about their perspectives on culture learning is situated within the
context of their overall learning experience abroad, thus allowing for an understanding of
the meaning of the study abroad experience for students. The study is framed by the
theory of student involvement (Astin, 1985). This theoretical approach provides a means
to understand how studying abroad is often a profound learning experience for students.
The findings and interpretations of the study are presented in two ways. First, six
individual student case vignettes allow for understanding the study abroad experiences of
students in the entire context of the experience. Each of the students in the case vignettes
interprets the meaning of his or her experiences in a different way, demonstrating how
the study abroad experience is highly individualized and can be impacted by events that
are happenstance. Second, the results of comparative analysis across all 13 student cases
are presented in accord with nine themes that emerged from the analysis. The themes
reveal students’ perspectives on their learning abroad. The themes also indicate patterns
related to specific types of experiences and specific types of study abroad programs.
For the students in this study, culture learning was focused on perspectives,
including an acknowledgement of differing perspectives and their own changing
perspectives. When students’ experiences were centered on the people of the host culture,
they perceived their learning as occurring primarily in the context of their interactions
with people. The study abroad experience was most profound when students made a
connection to people in the host culture.
1
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Introduction and Problem
Over the past decade, the number of U.S. students studying abroad has more than
doubled. In the 2006-2007 academic year, 241,791 students studied abroad, an increase
of 8% from the previous year (Institute for International Education, 2008). While
participation rates in study abroad programs continue to rise each year, in terms of the
percentage of total college students, this level of participation currently represents 1-3%
nation-wide (depending on how this statistic is computed), a rate generally thought to be
low by higher education institutions and professional organizations (nafsa.org, April,
2008). In 2008, an American Council on Education [ACE] study asserted that most
institutions exhibited a low level of commitment to internationalization (American
Council on Education (ACE), Mapping Internationalization on U.S. Campuses, 2008).
Professional education associations including the ACE and NAFSA: Association of
International Educators advocate for increased internationalization in education (ACE,
Mapping Internationalization on U.S. Campuses, 2008; NAFSA: Association of
International Educators 2008).
Many comprehensive colleges and universities intend to increase participation in
study abroad. A 2006 report, Public Higher Education Reform Five Years After the
Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, concluded that
several institutions saw expansion in the numbers of students studying abroad and
increased innovation in the kinds of opportunities institutions made available to their
students. The report states, “several presidents mentioned that the Kellogg Commission
stimulated them to revisit their international goals and ultimately to expand them”
(National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 2006, p. 5).
Undergraduate students in the United States are interested in participating in study
abroad. The data suggest that student interest and intent far exceed participation rates.
2
The Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey [CIRP] (2007) asked
students to estimate the chances that they will participate in a study abroad program. The
data from all public universities show that 31.5% of students indicated this intent. The
survey also asked students how important it was to improve their understanding of other
countries and cultures. For all public universities, 54.4% of students indicated the
importance of this objective (CIRP, 2007).
Other comparable national surveys of undergraduate students have shown similar
findings. ACE conducted two key surveys in 2000, one of incoming college freshmen,
thus a similar group to the group targeted in the CIRP surveys, and the second on
attitudes of adults age 18 and older (ACE, 2001). The first survey found that of incoming
college freshmen, 48% expected to study abroad during their college or university years.
Over 70% of these students said it was important that their college offer study abroad
programs. In the general adult population survey, over 70% believed students should
have a study, work, or internship experience abroad some time during their college or
university education, and three out of four adults believed that international education
opportunities were an important consideration when selecting a college or university. A
set of secondary surveys was conducted in 2002 as a follow-up to these surveys to see if
attitudes had changed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (ACE, 2002). It
appeared that overall support for study abroad had not diminished but had increased
slightly.
New federal legislation hopes to significantly increase the participation of United
States university students in study abroad programs. United States House and Senate
Resolutions for this initiative passed in the spring of 2007 as the Senator Paul Simon
Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007. The expressed purpose of the act is
to significantly enhance the global competitiveness and international knowledge
base of the United States by ensuring that more United States students have the