The Influences of a Rural-Focused Study Abroad Course on Undergraduate Students’ Place-Based Identity Development

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Rural Students Reimagined: Identity, Belonging, and Access in Higher Education

Abstract

Rural, first-generation students face barriers in access to study abroad. While scholars have called for increasing participation for underrepresented groups, little attention has been given to rural and first-generation student experiences in a critical place-based study abroad experience. This study aimed to learn how a rural-focused study abroad course shaped undergraduate students’ place-based identity development. Informed by rural literacies, Thirdspace theory, and poststructuralist theory of discursive identity, this study used narrative analysis to examine student narratives, reflective journal responses, and photographs. Preliminary findings demonstrated that students experienced a comfort-discomfort continuum critical to their place-based identity development. Moreover, findings suggested that a rural-focused study abroad curriculum can increase student awareness of dynamic relationships between rural, suburban, and urban places.

Author

• Josh Thompson, Virginia Tech