Diversity and Intercultural Awareness: U.S. Minority Student Experiences in Study Abroad Programs

• In Event: 58.067 - Unequal Access and Cultural Intelligence: Global Student Engagement and Study Abroad Experiences

Abstract

Intercultural Competence has become a commodity in higher education, and study abroad is also problematic. The representation of U.S. minority students continues remain low, despite overall increases in U.S. students abroad. What affects the involvement of minority students in study abroad? What role do successful long term programs have in development of intercultural competence? How do U.S. study abroad programs aid or impede diversity in study abroad? Through qualitative inquiry, this paper explores interviews with professors and administrators engaged in short (Israel, Cyprus) and long-term term (France, Spain, Japan and Austria) study abroad programs. Policy recommendations for increasing minority representation, and auto-ethnographic inquiry are also employed.

Author

• Dinah Armstead, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign