The Effect of Study Abroad on Intercultural Competence Among Undergraduate College Students

Abstract

During the last decade higher education organizations and educational policy makers have substantially increased efforts to incentivize study abroad participation.These efforts are grounded in the longstanding belief that study abroad participation improves intercultural competence -an educational outcome critical in a globalized 21 st century economy. Yet decades of evidence that appear to support this claim are repeatedly limited by a series of methodological weaknesses including small homogenous samples, an absence of longitudinal study design, no accounting for potential selection bias, and the lack of controls for potentially confounding demographic and college experience variables. Thus, a major competing explanation for differences found between students who do and do not study abroad continues to be the possibility that these differences existed prior to participation.The current study sought to determine the effect of study abroad on intercultural competence among 1,593 participants of the 2006 cohort of the Wabash National Study on Liberal Arts Education. The Wabash National Study is a longitudinal study of undergraduates that gathered pre-and post-test measures on numerous educational outcomes, an array of institutional and self-reported pre-college characteristics, and a host of college experiences. The current study employed both propensity score matching and covariate adjustment methods to account for pre-college characteristics, college experiences, the selection effect, and the clustered nature of the data to both crossvalidate findings and provide guidance for future research.Under such rigorous analytic conditions, this study found that study abroad generated a statistically significant positive effect on intercultural competence; an effect 2 that appears to be general rather than conditional. Moreover, both covariate adjustment and propensity score matching methods generated similar results. In examining the effect of study abroad across the three constituent subscales of the overall measure of intercultural competence, this study found that study abroad influences students' diversity of contact but has no statistically significant effect on relativistic appreciation of cultural differences or comfort with diversity. Finally, the results of this study suggest that the relationship between study abroad and intercultural competence is one of selection and accentuation, holding important implications for postsecondary policy makers, higher education institutions, and college impact scholars. iii What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. These efforts are grounded in the longstanding belief that study abroad participation improves intercultural competence -an educational outcome critical in a globalized 21 st century economy. Yet decades of evidence that appear to support this claim are repeatedly limited by a series of methodological weaknesses including small homogenous samples, an absence of longitudinal study design, no accoun...

Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Study Abroad and Their Level of Achievement of Global Learning Outcomes

“…The use of the GPI instrument, as expressed in the literature review, does present certain limitations, which include the inability of the instrument to account for predemographic and attitudinal differences that may influence the decision of the student to participate in a study abroad program, choose a particular location, and predispose them to benefit from the experience (Salisbury, 2011). Having this kind of data is relevant as it may affect the scores concerning perceptions about the student's global awareness, perspective, and engagement.…”

“…He criticized the GPI instrument as dismissing student's motives and their personal backgrounds, which he believed could influence their decision to study abroad and predispose them to benefit from the experience (Salisbury, 2011). Thus, addressing these areas in this study made sense to the author.…”

“…Issues of reliability and validity are detailed in Chapter 3. One of the critiques of the instrument refers to the lack of measurement of student's background (beliefs, values, attitudes) prior to and their predispositions for studying abroad (Salisbury, 2011), which precipitated the inclusion of literature on qualitative factors following the study abroad phenomenon discussion.…”

“…Culture Kid" or "TCK" (Pollock & Van Reken, 2009 Salisbury's (2011) study of the effect of study abroad on the intercultural competence of undergraduate students nationwide added some academic light unto these thoughts. He criticized the GPI instrument as dismissing student's motives and their personal backgrounds, which he believed could influence their decision to study abroad and predispose them to benefit from the experience (Salisbury, 2011).…”

“…The question that begs recognition at this point: Does research bear out the argument that students perceive that by studying abroad they have increased their global competencies? Using a variety of methods and approaches, researchers have begun examining more closely study abroad and its correlation with cross-cultural skills, intercultural attitudes and competence, global citizenship, global learning, and world mindedness (Braskamp, Braskamp, & Merrill, 2009;Chickering & Braskamp, 2009;Cushner & Mahon, 2002;Danaher, 2011;Dolby, 2004;Douglas & Jones-Rikkes, 2001;Engberg, 2013;Hadis, 2005;Kitsantas, 2004;Lewin, 2009;Mapp, McFarland, & Newell, 2007;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005;Salisbury, 2011;Sutton & Rubin, 2010;Vande Berg, 2007;Zhai & Sheer, 2002).…”