Impact of study abroad on student openness to diversity: an evaluation study

2018-07-27Study abroad is a growing trend in higher education (Bollag, 2005; Rexeisen, 2012; Twombly, Salisbury, Tumanut, & Klute, 2012). Research on openness to diversity puts the disposition as an integral outcome of the undergraduate experience, but lacks sufficient credible evidence for the outcome (Bowman, 2014; Selmer, Lauring, & Jonasson, 2013). Assessment and research in the field of study abroad outcomes could grant academic merit and credibility, further strengthening the field’s relationship to academia (Anderson, Lawton, Rexeisen, & Hubbard, 2006; Bernstein, 2006; Collins & Davidson, 2002; Fischer, 2008; Hoffa, 2007; Petzold & Peter, 2013). The purpose of this project was to evaluate the degree to which Go Study Abroad (GSA), a pseudonym for the focus program of this study, achieved its goal of 100% of student participants demonstrating an increase in openness to diversity during time abroad. The analysis focused on knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to achieving the organizational goal. This goal spurred from the lack of data and evidence for study abroad outcomes across the recently popular field, specifically study abroad’s impact on student openness to diversity. This mixed methods study yielded rich data by integrating quantitative and qualitative research to best understand the problem of practice. ❧ Survey analysis utilized paired samples t-test for dependent groups, conducted to compare student openness to diversity change between Time 1 and Time 2 of GSA students without study abroad experience (n=23). There was a significant difference in the mean scores of students between Time 1 (M=4.23, SD=0.5) and Time 2 (M= 4.50, SD=0.44) for the Openness to Diversity and Challenge – Student subscale; t(22)=-2.88, p = 0.01. There was not a significant difference in the mean scores of students between Time 1 (M=3.97, SD=0.58) and Time 2 (M=4.20, SD=0.56) for the Openness to Diversity and Challenge – Faculty subscale; t(22)=-2.08, p = 0.05. These results from the first subscale suggest that significant change occurred among students in relation to openness to diversity between survey times, for students without study abroad experience. ❧ The diverse world of race, culture, language, and values requires students to effectively embrace and function within and across them, both personally and professionally (Clarke, Flaherty, Wright, & McMillen, 2009; DeJaeghere & Zhang, 2008; Flynn, 2005; Gerson & Neilson, 2014; Nguyen, 2012; Riley-Eddins & Alberta, 1999). Students in GSA learned to do so, through a variety of experiences, during and post their time abroad. GSA’s value of diversity, facilitation and encouragement of openness impacted students positively and provided opportunities for them to engage and interact in an unfamiliar context. Every student interviewed acknowledged that their study abroad experience left a lasting imprint on their lives, and that the relationships they made will be remembered. GSA students demonstrated gains in openness to diversity as well as their value of diversity, and self-efficacy to interact with dissimilar others. With openness to diversity as an integral outcome of the undergraduate experience, this study provides credible evidence for the disposition as an outcome for GSA students, aiding education’s endeavor to produce functional graduates and global citizens (Cabrera, Crissman, Bernal, Terenzini, & Pascarella, 2002; Clarke et al., 2009; Hobman, Bordia, & Gallois, 2004; Martin, Katz-Buonincontro, & Livert, 2015)