Assessing Impacts of the Study Abroad Experience Using Propensity Score Matching

• In Event: Roundtable Session 78
  In Roundtable Session: Postsecondary Student Experiences and Outcomes

Abstract

The number of U.S. students studying abroad has almost tripled during the past two decades. However, very few studies provide evidence about the types of impacts of study abroad on students’ academic and non-academic outcomes. This study aims to estimate the effect of study abroad experience on student outcomes using survey data of students who entered a northeastern comprehensive university in 2006. The authors used propensity score matching to match treatment and comparison students to generate the least biased impact estimates. Results with matched data show that the study abroad experience has a positive impact on habits of mind, social self-concept, civic-awareness, and social-agency involvement.

Author

• Ning Rui, Westat