ERIC Number: EJ1136254
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0141-1926
EISSN: N/A
Strategic Escapes: Negotiating Motivations of Personal Growth and Instrumental Benefits in the Decision to Study Abroad
Trower, Holly; Lehmann, Wolfgang
British Educational Research Journal, v43 n2 p275-289 Apr 2017
Studying abroad is one way in which university students can develop personal capital and distinguish themselves in an increasingly congested graduate labour market. Data show that studying abroad indeed provides employment benefits, with evidence pointing to even greater positive effects for students from low socio-economic status backgrounds. Focusing on a group of Canadian students about to embark on a study exchange, we find no evidence that career-instrumental reasons played a role in participants' decisions to study abroad. Rather, they sought personal growth and escape from the everyday frustrations of being an undergraduate student. We argue, however, that these motivations nonetheless have to be understood as strategic, since going on a study exchange abroad allows students to escape temporarily, while "staying in the game" of becoming credentialed at home. We discuss the role of socio-economic status, as well as the policy implications of these findings.
Descriptors: Foreign Culture, Undergraduate Students, Study Abroad, Decision Making, Cultural Capital, Employment Potential, Educational Benefits, Student Development, Student Motivation, Socioeconomic Status, Educational Policy
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A