SELF-AUTHORSHIP AND THE EFFECTS OF REVERSE CULTURE SHOCK IN POST-STUDY ABROAD U.S. COLLEGE STUDENTS: STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND

Traditionally, in our globally diverse and intertwined society, study abroad has served as a valuable, enriching, and life-changing aspect of college and university offerings and opportunities for students. Today, the lives of post-study abroad students will be defined by the ways they make sense of unexpected major events surrounding the history-changing COVID-19 pandemic and the contemporary protests against racism and social injustice. A large body of research exists on study abroad, culture shock, self-authorship, provocative moments, cross-cultural reentry, and reverse culture shock. A lack of research exists on what ways post-study abroad U.S. students make meaning of their experiences in emerging self-authorship, and research on post-study abroad students and the COVID-19 pandemic is rare. The overarching purpose of this exploratory inquiry was to describe in what ways, if any, that the post-study abroad experience facilitates the development of emerging self-authorship of U.S. college students. Self-authorship provided the theoretical framework for this inquiry. Clarke and Braun’s reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews and journals of two U.S. post-study abroad college students. The findings revealed that the post-study abroad experience facilitated the development of emerging self-authorship of U.S. college students through the themes of pain, partnerships, and perspective, with grief layered among each of these themes. The students eventually accepted their realities of post-study abroad, found meaning, and showed signs of nudging ahead in emerging self-authorship. The implications from this inquiry provided ways for stakeholders to support students through their post-study abroad experiences and support emerging self-authorship