The Development of Study Abroad Programs in Culturally Difficult Situations

The benefits of study abroad to develop cultural understanding have been clearly stated by numerous world leaders and academics, yet cultural norms of certain cultures make these programs difficult to develop. This is particularly true for women from Islamic countries. To development a study abroad program for women at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, focus groups with the students and their parents were used to determine the critical issues that needed to be addressed. These focus groups identified five main issues that needed to be addressed: appropriate chaperones, availability of female doctors for students at the study abroad site, halal food availability, appropriate housing and appropriate oversight of students. Solutions to each problem were developed in consultation with the parents of students, resulting in a study abroad policy that was approved by the University and the Minister of Education. From the first trip to Scotland in the summer of 2003, the program grew to 11 different study abroad trips in 2006-2007. These trips not only increased cultural understanding of the students going on them, but also locals in the countries they visit who interacted with the students. Only through understanding the specific cultural norms and issues can study abroad programs be developed for students from culturally restrictive countries