The research on which this article is based explores the logic that study abroad has long-term impact on participants’ professional development. It investigates the professional outcomes and benefits of studying abroad as perceived by study abroad alumni ten years following their undergraduate experience. Through the use of a survey, phone interviews, and email follow-up, study abroad participants were questioned about the skills, knowledge, and self-awareness they acquired and maintained from their study abroad experience. Inquiries were made into how and if these acquisitions proved professionally applicable, influenced career paths, and contributed to success.
Findings confirm that gains resulting from studying abroad are professionally applicable in the form of intercultural competencies, foreign language use, and personal growth. Evidence showed that a large majority of study abroad alumni gravitate toward a line of work with an international or multicultural dimension. The experience increased competitiveness as a job applicant and led to professional opportunities. The data further indicates that many alumni are influenced by their study abroad experience in choosing a career path. With knowledge of these outcomes, this study aims to highlight the value of study abroad and support a socially and economically driven movement to increase study abroad opportunities.
The socialization of Black doctoral students has been studied from many theoretical and conceptual standpoints, with the exception of information theory. In this paper, the conceptual and theoretical frameworks of small worlds and the Theory of Normative Behavior developed by information behavior scholar Elfreda Chatman are used to illuminate the information behaviors that are implicit in the socialization of Black doctoral students. Doctoral student socialization is enacted through faculty and peer relationships that communicate the norms, values, and expectations for performance that facilitate academic and social integration in graduate school in preparation for faculty roles in the academy. Despite the importance of socialization for student success, research indicates that Black doctoral students experience racism, isolation, and hostile climates in predominantly white institutions, which jeopardizes their chances for a successful outcome. Through a review of literature about the socialization of Black doctoral students in the United States, viewed through the lens of Elfreda Chatman’s theoretical frameworks, this paper examines doctoral education as a small world characterized by social and cultural norms that facilitate or hinder the socialization of Black doctoral students. Given the absence of an explicit focus on race in Chatman’s research, the salience of race as a context for the experiences and information behaviors of Black doctoral students is discussed. Areas for future research about the socialization of Black doctoral students in library and information studies are also identified.
Pre-print first published online 10/11/2020
This study builds on the body of research on Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Latinx student outcomes, and uses Garcia et al.’s (2019) conceptual framework of servingness. Using multiple years of data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), we examined the extent to which HSIs serve Latinx students in terms of 6-year graduation rates at not-for-profit 4-year institutions. Key findings suggest that the average 6-year graduation rates for Latinx students are lower at HSIs than at non-HSIs. HSIs and non-HSIs have vastly different institutional characteristics, such as the organizational environment experienced by students and the structural capacity of institutions to respond to students’ needs. Moreover, we find that, at HSIs, neither the share of Latinx students nor the share of Latinx instructional staff promote Latinx students’ 6-year graduation rates. The graduation rates, however, are positively associated with increased institutional spending on research, academic support, and institutional support, which are organizational structures that can respond to students’ needs for academic success, as well as with higher institutional selectivity approximated by an offering of no remedial courses.
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