Offer domestic study away alongside study abroad and community-engaged learning to broaden intercultural access¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 6 claims (2 for, 4 mixed) · 2 studies (2 review), q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The review recommends that educators expand the portfolio of intercultural program options beyond international travel. Given the diversity of cultures within the United States, the authors "urge educators and students alike to consider new types of programs and models in addition to study abroad and community-engaged learning", positioning domestic study away as a viable opportunity that can reach students underrepresented in study abroad. The strategy rests on reviewed evidence that domestic programs attracted male and minoritized students who had declined study abroad.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programs must provide academic credit in return for participation, per the review's working definition of study away

Constraints¶

• The review found study away is often ill-defined and understudied, so programs should be clearly defined and their outcomes assessed

Target Learners¶

• postsecondary students, including those underrepresented in study abroad

Target Learning Goals¶

• intercultural development
• psychosocial growth
• attitudes and values

Claims¶

• Domestic study away experiences with experiential and cross-cultural elements can be as effective as international experiences for multicultural competence and critical thinking [+W]
• Intercultural development progress occurred for students in intentionally designed courses regardless of whether study away was a component [+W]
• National Student Exchange participants showed higher pretest psychosocial development but no statistically significant pretest-to-posttest growth [~W]
• Review reports exposure abroad alone does not guarantee gains in social-change competencies, calling the learning mechanism a black box [~W]
• Domestic study away is most often left undefined in both empirical and professional literature [~W]
• Most domestic study away programs described in the literature are short term, under a semester [~W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Natalie I. Cruz & Melissa Whatley. (2024). Domestic Study Away in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review. Review of Educational Research. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543241279296