As an increasing number of U.S. corporations position themselves for international competition, the demand for cross-culturally competent employees is expected to rise. However, reports suggest that graduates of U.S. business schools lack cross-cultural skills, prompting employers to recruit international students. The authors designed a study…

International service-learning combines aspects of conventional study abroad with aspects of conventional service-learning, offering an exceptional degree of integration into a target culture and an intensive experience of community service. The present study describes an effort to establish, through qualitative assessment, the degree to which…

Conventional wisdom in the study abroad field has held that more is better; that is, the longer students study abroad the more significant the academic, cultural development and personal growth benefits that accrue. The standard assumption is that meaningful advancement in language learning and other academic disciplines using a culture-specific…

As national boundaries have lost their traditional significance over the past thirty years through increased travel, global telecommunications, and international trade and investment, it has become important for individuals to possess firsthand experience with other cultures. Traditionally, American undergraduates accomplish this by studying…

Given the growing emphasis on internationalizing higher education and the rapidly increasing number of students embarking on study abroad programs each year, research on student learning outcomes, especially those related to cultural learning, is assuming greater value and relevance. The author conducted a study that aims to enhance one's…

Academic officers at U.S. colleges and universities face a number of important decisions regarding how credits and grades earned overseas as part of a study abroad program should be incorporated into students' home academic records. The purpose of this article is to take a closer look at the way grades are handled at home institutions and the way…

Study abroad professionals have attempted in recent years to bring a statistical objectivity to the evaluation of the American study abroad experience. The complexity of international education is such that it is far from easy to move towards significant, objectively measurable, and comparable outcomes. This article presents a preliminary…

At Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) a Global Perspective Program (GPP) has evolved that provides an international experience for most graduates. Currently more than half of WPI students travel internationally to do academic work. WPI sends more engineering students abroad than any other U.S. university, and it is ranked second in the nation…

In this study, the authors explore the impact of the study abroad experience, in general, and the impact of a curriculum intervention, in particular, on students' intercultural development, second language acquisition, and culture and language learning strategies of 86 study abroad participants from seven Minnesota colleges and universities. They…

Provides insights into the views of the "other" in study abroad and how students affect a local culture and are in turn affected by it. Explores the effect that the study abroad experience of students in Santiago, Chile had upon three distinct groups' cultural perceptions and personal values. (Author/VWL)

Describes a French practicum course developed as part of the curriculum of the American University Center in Aix-en-Provence, France. (Author/VWL)

Examines an early form of study abroad and reveals that the issues that were at work within the study abroad experience of the seventh century, including the challenge of cultural integration, are similar to ones facing international educators today. (Author/VWL)

Outlines five concepts that are important when seeking to include students with disabilities in study abroad--individualization, barriers and accommodations, disability spread, inclusion, and collaboration. Addresses frequently-asked questions about disability issues and presents two vignettes of students with disabilities interested ins study…

Describes development of the IES Model Assessment Practice (MAP), a set of detailed criteria to use in evaluating IES study abroad programs and discusses how IES is beginning to implement MAP. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the wide array of variables and possible research approaches and techniques that need to be considered in conducting research that investigates the linguistic impact of the study abroad experience. Offers a framework that evaluates, assesses, and ensures the effectiveness of study abroad and also integrates and interprets the diversity…