The Decision to Study Abroad : A Case Study on the Individual Rationales of US Liberal Arts Students in Japan

The Decision to Study Abroad : A Case Study on

the Individual Rationales of US Liberal Arts

Students in Japan

著者名(英)

Sarah Renee Asada

journal or

publication title

The Kyoritsu journal of international studies

volume

35

page range

191-202

year

2018-03

Introduction

Whenweexploretheinternationalizationofhighereducation,itisimportantto understandthecontextandenvironmentalfactors（Innis&Hellsten,2004）.Globali za-tionhaschangedthelandscapeoftheworld.Internationalizationisnotonlyinfl u-encedbyglobalizationbutalsoavitalactoringlobalization.Internationalization・s twopillars,・at-home・and・abroad・,allownations,sectors,andinstitutionstointegrate international,intercultural,and globaldimensionsinto highereducation（Knight, 2008）.Aswemoveforwardinthe21stcentury,ourworldisnotfocusedexclusively oneconomiccompetitiveness.Thereisalsoanemphasisoncooperationforeconomic, security,andglobalissues.Thepotentialpersonaloutcomesofstudyabroadplaceit asapivotalstrategyfornationstodevelopindividualsequippedwithintercultural skillsandinternationalmindsetstoachievetransnationalcooperation.Despitethis emphasisontheimportanceplaceduponstudyabroadtomeettheneedsofourever globalizingandintertwinedworld,individualrationalesforstudentmobilityremain anunderresearchedarea（Llewellyn-Smith& McCabe,2008;Nyaupane,Paris,& Teye, 2010）.

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SarahReneeAsada

In the US,a wide range ofstakeholders,including the federalgovernment,non-governmentalagencies,andhighereducationinstitutions,realizetheimportanceofequi p-pingstudentswithinternationalandinterculturalcompetencies.Studyabroad,aform of internationalizationofhighereducation,iswidelyviewedasamethodtoachievethesegoals. ComparedtootherinstitutionaltypesintheUS,manyliberalartscollegeshaveahighstudy abroadparticipationrate.Liberalartscollegesprovideauniquecontexttoexplorestudy abroadduetotheirfocusonundergraduateeducationandtheimportanceplaceduponstudy abroadasoneofthemaincenterpiecesofinternationalizationefforts.Withthegrowing focusonincreasingstudyabroadparticipationrates,thisexploratorycasestudyexamines therationalesofliberalartscollegestudentsfrom theUSwhostudiedabroadinJapanfor oneyear.Empiricaldatafrom qualitativein-depthinterviewsidentifiedthefollowi ngemer-gentthemesintheindividualdecision-makingprocess:homeinstitution,family,ethnicheri -tage,futureambitions,hostinstitution,andliberalartseducation.

Withinthiscontext,thisexploratorycasestudyonaselectstudyabroadprogram inJapanaimstounderstandtherationalesandexpectedoutcomesthatinfluencedUS liberalartscollegestudentsintheirdecisiontostudyabroadinJapanforoneyear. Qualitativein-depth interviewswith asemi-structured,open-endedapproach were conductedwith10respondents.Theempiricalevidenceprovidesinsightsintothe decision-makingprocessandidentifiedthefollowingemergentthemes:homeinsti tu-tion,family,ethnicheritage,futureambitions,hostinstitution,andli beralartseduca-tion.

LiteratureReview

InternationalizationofHigherEducationandStudyAbroadintheUnitedStates Sincethe19thcentury,internationalizationofhighereducati onandstudentmo-bilityhasbeenanimportantelementofUShighereducation（Altbach,2005;DeWit& Rumbley,2008）.Awiderangeofstakeholdersacrosssectors,includingpolicymakers, researchers,andpractitioners,haveurgedUShighereducationtorecognizeitsvital roleofprovidingmoreUSstudentswithinternationalexperiencesandskills（Norris & Gillespie,2009）.AccordingtoKnight,・internationalizationatthenational/sector/ institutionallevelsistheprocessofintegratinganinternational,interculturalorglobal dimensionintothepurpose,functionsordeliveryofhighereducationattheinsti tu-tionalandnationallevels・（2004,p.21）.Thedecentralized,mainlybottom-topprocess ofinternationalizationintheUSfocusesonstudyabroadasameansofinternationali -zation.Studyabroadiswidelyrecognizedasameanstomeetthechallengesofthe 21stcenturybycultivatinginterculturalcompetenciesandinternati onalunderstand-ing（Altbach& Teichler,2001;Daly& Barker,2005;Kean& Hamilton,2008）.Thisis supportedbythemostcommonlycitedbenefi tsofstudyabroad:broadenedperspec-tiveandknowledge,foreignlanguageskills,interculturalcompetencies,interpersonal skills,andabilitytoengagewithdiverseculturalsituationsindailylifeandwork（e.g., Akande& Slawson,2000;Alfred& Byram,2002;Chao,2000;Dolby,2004）

Ifthecorefunctionoftheinstitutiondiffers,thentherationalesforinternationali -zationandpromotionofstudentmobilitymayalsodeviate（Knight,2008）.Liberalarts collegespresentauniquecontexttoexploreinternationalizationandstudentmobility giventheircharacteristicsofhavingasmallstudentpopulation,emphasizingteaching andfacultycontact,student-centeredsmallclasssizes,broadcurriculum,andaninsti -tutionalfocusonthedeliveryofhighqualityundergraduateeducation.Intwoprevi -ousstudies（Hayward & Siaya,2003;Green & Siaya,2005）,theadvantagesand disadvantagesforliberalartscollegesininternationalizationareexami ned.Thead-vantagesnotedaretheclosefacultycontact,smallercampusandclassrooms,and activenessintherecruitment,financialsupportandgeneralsupportofinternational students.Furthermore,thereisoftenaninternationaldimensioninthecurriculum

withinternationalorientedcoursesandforeignlanguagerequirements.However,the smallnatureofliberalartscollegesalsopresentchallengestointernationalizationas well.Thedisadvantagesincludelesshumanresourcesandadministrativestructures tomonitorandimplementinternationalizationandinsufficientarticulatedcommi t-menttointernationalization.

IndividualRationalesforStudyAbroad

Studyabroadprogramsstem from theearlypost-WWIperiodtoprovidestudents theopportunityofajunioryearabroad.Theoriginalpurposeofthejunioryear abroadwasforstudentstospendoneacademicyearimmersedinanothercountryto developthefollowingareas:・curricular（todevelopforeignlanguageskill s）;cross-cultural（tolearnaboutotherculturesasameansofpreventingfuturewars）;andde velopmental・（Twombly,Salisbury,Tumanut,andKlute,2012,p.15）.Severalrati on-alesidentifiedbyNyaupaneetal.（2010）includepromotingworld-windednessand internationalunderstanding,educationalgoalsofforeign languageproficiency,i n-creasingcompetitivenessandcareeropportunities,andexploringclassesandsubject areasnotavailableathomeinstitutions.Otherrationalesincludeunderstandingmore aboutthehostcountry,viewinghomecountryfrom acomparativeperspective,cul -turalenrichment,culturalskills,personaldevelopment,anddesiretotravel（Teichler & Steube,1991）.

Today,manyhighereducationinstitutionshavehopestoincreasestudyabroad participationrates.Furthermore,studyabroadisnow beingincorporatedintothe academiccurriculum moresothan before（Fry,Paige,Jon,Dillow,& Nam,2009）. Despitethisgrowingemphasisofincreasingstudyabroadparticipationratestoculti -vate intercultural competencies and foster internationally-minded individuals, Nyaupaneetal.（2010）statethattheliteratureexaminingthemotivationsofstudy abroadparticipantsisremainslimited.Atthecoreofstudentmobilityandthedeci -sion-makingprocessthatleadstostudyingabroadistheindividual.Therefore,the rationalesthatfacilitatestudentmobilityontheindividuallevelareimportantto recognize.Inaddition,Llewellyn-SmithandMcCabe（2008）highlighttheimportance ofunderstandingindividualrationalesbecausetheglobaleducationmarketplaceis becomingincreasinglycompetitivewithmorestudentscrossingbordersandmore studyabroadoptions.

TheContextofJapanforUSStudyAbroadStudents

TheUSandJapanhavealonghistoryofmutualacademicexchange.Historically, Japanisthetopnon-traditionaldestinationforUSstudyabroadstudentssincethe 1950suntilitwassurpassedbyChinaattheturnofthe21stcentury（Instituteof InternationalEducation2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015）.Inaddition,theUSistheone countryfrom outsideofAsiainthetopsendingcountriestoJapan（JASSO 2015）.

DespitetheprominenceofChinaasahostdestinationandemergingpopularityof SouthKorea,thenumberofUSstudyabroadstudentschoosingJapanastheirhost countrycontinuestoincreaseatthesameoverallincreaserate.

Inthelastthreedecades,Japanhasimplementeddifferentplanstoineffortsto internationalizationitshighereducationsystem andattractinternationalstudents. Theeducationreformsinthe1980saimedtocontinuesocialandeconomicprosperity andfurtherdevelopmentasaleaderoftheworld（Yonezawa,2003b）.Duringthistime, the・100,000by2000・planaimedtoincreasethenumberofinternationalstudents studyinginJapanto100,000bythe21stcentury.Thisplanwasachievedin2003.In 2001,the・21stCenterofExcellencePlan・wasestablishedtofosterworld-classresearch universities（Yonezawa,2003a）.In2008,the・300,000by2020・planwasinitiatedwith amissiontocreate・AJapanThatisOpentotheWorld・aspartofthecountry・sglobal strategyandboostnumberofinternationalstudentsto300,000andsupportsJapan・s internationalhuman resourcepoolwhilealso building human networksbetween Japanandothercountriesandenhancingmutualunderstanding（MEXT,2009）.In 2009,the・Global30Project・selected13universitiesimplementmajoruniversitylevel internationalization strategiesduring thefirstfive-yearcycle（Kato,2010;MEXT, 2011）.InJapan・sinternationalizationefforts,thereisanevidentfocusontherecrui t-mentofinternationalstudentsfrom allregionsoftheworldinthestrategies.

Methodology

Thisexploratorycasestudyemployedqualitativein-depthinterviewsinorder understandtherationalesandexpectedoutcomesthatinfluencedAmericanliberal artscollegestudentsintheirdecisiontostudyabroadinJapan.Semi- structured,open-endedquestionswereutilizedtocollectdatainthestudyabroaddecisionmaking processwiththeprimarygoalofidentifythemainmotivatingfactorsthatinfluences studentstochoosetheirhostcountryandstudyabroadprogram.Eachinterview was digitallyrecordedforaccuracyandlastedapproximately90minutes.

Conveniencesamplingwasusedbytheresearcheronasel ectstudyabroadpro-gram.Anemailelicitingvolunteersfortheresearchwassentto28studentsfrom U.S. liberalartscollegesofwhom justarrivedinJapantostarttheirstudyabroad.Outof the28students,atotalof10interviewswereconductedinthefallof2010.Atthetime ofthestudy,therespondentshadspenttwoweeksinJapan.Alltherespondentswere participantsonthesamestudyabroadprogram andplanneddurationattheirhost institutionwasoneyear.Participantsofthisresearchstudyincluded7femalesand3 males.3oftherespondents・majorswereJapanesestudies,2wereEastAsianStudies, and1wasAsianStudies,Additionally,thereweremajorsofCulturalAnthropology, Art,andHistory.Duetotheexploratorydesignofthisstudy,thisstudydoesnot representtheaveragestudyabroadparticipant.Thestudyaimstoshedlightuntoone

particularsubsetofstudyabroadparticipants:studentsofliberalartscolleges. Thecollecteddataweretranscribedverbatim andfirstcodedusingopencodingto identifyemergentthemes.Thenextstepinthecodingprocesscategorizedthecodes bygroupingthem aroundphenomenadiscoveredinthedata.Theinterview datawas organized intodifferentthemesand issuestofurtherconceptualizetheemergent themesby codinguntiltheoreticalsaturation wasreached. Quotationswerethen selectedfrom theinterviewsthatilluminatedthethemesandissues.

DataAnalysisandFindings

Thedataanalysisfoundthefollowingemergentthemesinrelationtothestudents・ studyabroaddecision:homeinstitution,family,ethnicheritage,futureambitions,host institution,andliberalartseducation.Althoughthethemesarelistedseparately,it mustbenotedthatthethemesinteractwith each otherthroughoutthedecisi on-makingprocess.

DecisiontoStudyAbroad

Therearetwotimeframeswhenrespondentsdecidedtostudyabroad:before enteringcollegeandafterenteringcollege. ・Sincehigh schoolIwantedtostudy abroadsomewhere.So,goingintocollegeIknew itwassomethingthatIwasgoingto do・（R1）.Forrespondentswhoidentifiedthattheywantedtostudyabroadbefore theyenteredcollege,they・oftenmet...exchangestudentsinhighschool...always thoughtthatsoundedawesome・（R3）.Themajormotivationsforstudyabroadfor theserespondentsincludedmeetingexchangestudentsinhighschool,havingfamily memberswhoparticipatedininternationalactivities,andlanguagecl assestakendur-ingtheirsecondaryeducation.

Theabilitytostudyabroadwasamajorfactorintheirdecision-makingprocessof selectingtheirhomeinstitution:・studyabroadwasdefinitelyonmylistofthingsmy collegehadtohave・（R3）.Forsomerespondents,theydecidedtostudyabroadafter enteringcollegewhenthey・foundoutaboutthedifferentprogramsthatwereoffered・ （R5）.Theyfoundinformationabouttheavailablestudyabroadprogramsthrough

languageclasses,studyabroadfairs,andfaculty. HomeInstitution

Asignificantinfluenceforalloftherespondentswastheirhomeinstitution.Their homeinstitutionsencouragedthestudentstostudyabroad.R6tellsofanenvi ron-mentthatencouragesandcultivatesstudyabroadthatalltherespondentsexperi -encedintheirhomeinstitutions.Shefeltthatthroughhearingaboutotherstudents・ studyabroadexperiencesher・sparkwasignitedandwitheverystory［her］flame wouldgrow biggerandbigger.・Thisreflectsthefactthatliberalartscollegeshavea

highstudyabroadparticipationrates（Green& Siaya,2005）.Thecharacteristicsof liberalartscollegesalsocontributetostudentsfeelingthat・junioryearisjusttheyear wheneveryonegoesoffanddoessomething（abroad）・（R3）.Giventhatliberalarts collegeshavesmallenrollments,smallclass-sizes,andareresidential,therearemore opportunitiesforstudentstointeractwitheachotherandrelytheirexperienceswith studyabroadcomparedtootherinstitutionaltypeswithalargestudentpopulation, largerclasses,andmanystudentswhodonotliveoncampusthatcanresultinless opportunitiestosharestudyabroadexperiences.

Thehomeinstitutionalsoaidedandfacilitatedintheprocessoffindingi nforma-tion,preparations,andapplicationforstudyabroad.Manyrespondentssharedthat theyattendedstudyabroadfairsandstudyabroadprogram representativesvisiting languageclasses.・Ididn・tfeellikeIwasdoingitbymyselforanything.Theywill workforyoutoseethebestwaytogoaboutdoingitandhelpingwithclassestomake suretheytransfersokay,likeclassesandstufflikethat・（R2）.Thedisseminationof studyabroadopportunitiesalongwiththeadministrativesupport,asdescribedbyR2, providesanenvironmentconductivetothepromotionofstudyabroadparticipation. Family

Familialinfluencewasamajorpartofthedecisiontostudyabroadformanyof therespondents.Forsomerespondents,theyhadpreviousexperienceoftravelling abroad,siblingswhohadstudyabroadexperiences,orfamilymemberswhoworked abroad.Therespondentsalsoidentifiedtheirparentsasbeingsupportiveintheir decisiontostudyabroad.However,foronerespondent,therewasabarrierinthe beginning.・Theydon・tunderstandwhyIwanttostudyabroadmostofthetime,but theyarelike,・ifthatiswhatyouwanttodoandthat・syourdream,Iknow thatyou・ll behappyaboutit・（R5）.AccordingtoR5,thefamilyeventuallyacqui escedandsup-portedthedecisiontostudyabroadtocultivategloballeadershipneededinherfuture career.

EthnicHeritage

Ofthetenrespondents,threeidentifiedwithhavingfamilialtieswiththehost country.Fortheserespondents,comingtothehostcountrywas・comingbackto（my） roots.WhileIam here,hopefullyIcancheckoutsomerelativesthatstillliveherethat I・venevermetbefore.So,Ithinkitismoreofthatkindofthing,myownpersonroad aswelltocomehere・（R2）.ForR1,・asIwastakingtheseclasses（mymother・snative language）Igotmoreinterestedinmymother・sculture.So,IstartedthinkingthatI wantedtogotoJapan.Especially,myfamilyhere（inJapan）istryingtotalktome, anditwouldbereallyinterestedifwecouldbecomecloser.・Bystudyingabroadinthe hostcountry,thethreerespondentsfelttheycouldbecomeclosertotheirethnicheri -tageandreconnectwiththeirfamilyonadeeperlevel.

FutureAmbitions

Alloftherespondentsindicatedstudyingabroadwouldaffecttheirfutureand ・alwaysknew studyingabroadwouldchange・them（R8）.Forsome,theycould・see how thefeelingishere（inthehostcountry）andif（they）likeit.Justgetanideaand testthegrounds・（R2）bystudyingabroadinthehostcountry.Somerespondentsfelt likeR4:・Ididn・treallyknow whatIwanttodointhefuture,sopartlycominghereI partlyhopedthatImightstumbleonsomethingthatImightthinkIwanttodo.・.R5 echoestheview ofstudyabroadasanigniterofinterestinacareerpathasshe thought・Iwouldprobablyfoundoutduringmytimestudyi ngabroadbecausesome-thingwouldprobablysparkmyinterestsomewhere.・Forrespondentswhowerenot sureoftheircareerplans,they・werehopingthatbytheendoftheyearIwouldhave anideaofthekindofcareerIwouldwanttogointo・（R8）.

Inadditiontofindingguidancefortheircareerpath,respondentsfeltthatthey wouldgaininterculturalcompetencethatwouldbetterequipthem toenterthework-forceupongraduation.Below,notonlydoesR3recognizetheskillsstudyingabroad willgiveher,butshealsoreferstothecompetitiveedgeshethinksshewil lhavecom-paredtothosewhoneverstudiedabroadwhensheenterstheworkforce.

R3:Ithinkalotofcompanies,especiallytheonesIam interestedinthefuture, reallywantssomeonewhoiswellroundedassupposedtosomeonewhojust studied.Someonewhocantalktopeoplewithopendoors,someonewhohas beenthroughchallengingtypesofexperiencesthataren・ttherunofthemill. （Peoplelikethat）hasmoreofashotinwhateverkindofthingstheywantto

dointhefuture.Yeah,definitelyIthoughtstudyabroadwouldhelp.

Thereputationofthehostinstitutionwasanimportantfactorwhendecidingon thestudyabroadprogram andtheirfutureambitions.R7statesthenamevalueofthe hostinstitutionisimportantforhim.Thehostinstitutionhasahighbrandvalue comparedtohishomeinstitution.Thisisechoedbymanyrespondentswhoalsoshare thatthenamevalueoftheinstitutioncouldbeimportantwhenapplyingforjobs relatingtoJapanandAsia.R1alsonotestheimportanceofthehostinstitution・sname valueandconnectionsmadeforthefuture:・peoplewhogotothishostinstitution sometimestheya.learnmoreandb.inthefuture,theyhavebetterconnectionspartly becauseofthenameandprestigeofthehostinstitution...inTokyo,youcanmakea lotofconnections.・

Severaloftherespondentsalsoidentifiedthei rundergraduatestudyabroadexpe-rienceasasteppingstoneforfuturestudiesatthegraduatelevel.・Afterschool,Iam thinkingofapplyingforresearchgrantstodosomeofmystudiesinJapan.Iam also planningtogotograduateschool,possiblywithinJapanortheEastCoast・（R1）.

HostInstitution

Thethemeofcoursesatthehostinstitutionwasprevalentintheinterviews.The hostoffersacademiccoursesinEnglish.Therespondentswerelookingforwardto taking・alotofclassesthatweren・tavailableatmycollege・（R5）and・gettingadi ffer-entperspectiveofhow professorsteach,whichisinteresting.Ilikehavingalotof differentexperiences・（R4）.Overall,therespondentswere・excitedaboutlearning・at thehostinstitution（R6）.

However,manyrespondentsvoicedconcernsaboutthecoursesatthehostinsti tu-tion.Manyoftherespondentstalkedwithpastpartici pantsofthestudyabroadpro-gram.R6recountshertalkwith・studentswhohadgoneinthepast,theyhadsaidthat thecoursesarenotasdifficultincollegesinJapancomparedtoatmycollege...They saidthattheclassesarehelpful.But,youhonestlylearnalotoutsideoftheclassroom too.So,Iwasn・treallyworriedaboutthelevelorthedifficulty.・R6isleadtobelieve classesatthehostinstitutionwouldnotbecomparabletoherhomecollege.Shethen recognizestheimportanceofexperiencingdailylifeinthehostcountrytogaina deeperunderstandoftheculture.AsR2states,・justlivinginthesociety,youcanget moreinformationIthink.Byjustobserving,Icanseetheroles.Ithinkitallcanhelp me.・

Otherconcernsrespondentshadpertainingtotheacademicexperienceattheir hostinstitutionincluded:・goingfrom suchasmallschooltosuchabigschool,itis muchmoreimpersonal・（R4）.R4continuestodiscussthedifferencesofherhome institutionandhostinstitutioninregardstothestyleoftheclass.Becauseherhost institution,likemostliberalartscollege,hassmall,discussionstyleclasses,shewas concernedabout・havingtheopportunitytoheardifferentpeople・spointsofviewsand notjusttheprofessors・becausetheprofessorsknow alotbuttheyarenotinfallible.・ R4divulgesthatshewas・not...necessaryworriedifIwoulddowellacademically,but morejustthatitwouldbeabigchange...alotofclasses（atthehostinstitution）are gradedonamidterm andafinaltest.Atmyhomecollege,therearenotalotofmi d-termsandfinals.Thegradingismorespreadoutoverthesemester.・Thestyleof coursesofferedattherespondents・homeinstitutionandhostinstitutiondiffered. Althoughtherespondentswereanxiousabouthow theywouldfareinlarger,l ecture-basedclasses,theywerealsoeagertoexperienceandembracethecoursesatthehost institutiontogainnew perspectivesfrom facultymembersnotonlyfrom Japanbut aroundtheworldinatrulyinternationalclassroom.

StudyabroadinaLiberalArtsEducation

Alloftherespondentscommentedthatstudyabroadwasanimportantpartof theirliberalartseducation.Whenposedwiththequestion,・How doyoufeelstudy abroad fitsinto yourliberalartseducation?・,allrespondentsshared theirown

definitionofliberalartseducation.Someofthekeyphrasesthatwerereoccurringin theirresponsesareasfollows:establishingagoodfoundation;becomingwellrounded bystudyingabroadscopeofdifferenttopics;broadeningyourworldview;finding yourinterests;andopeningyourminduptheworldanddifferenttopics.

Whentherespondentselaboratedonthemeaningofstudyabroadwithinthe contextoftheirliberalartseducation,manyofthesamewordsandphrasesemerged repeatedlyineachinterview.Table1liststhereoccurringideasexpressedbythe respondents.Allofthephrasesoverwhelmingrefertointernationalandintercultural competenciesthestudentshopetoacquireduringtheirstudyabroad.Thisfinding stronglysupportsstudyabroadasastrategytocultivateindividualsequippedwith interculturalcommunication skillsand aglobalperspectiveforglobalhuman re-sources（Daly& Barker,2005;Kean& Hamilton,2008）.

DiscussionandConclusion

Thesalientfindingsidentified,asillustratedinfigure1,from thequalitati veem-piricaldatacollectedthroughin-depthinterviewsrevealsthatstudyabroadpartici -pantsaregenerallyoptimisticabouttheirstudyabroadprospectsandenvisiontheir study abroadasboth an academicsojourn andapersonalsojourn. A ccordingto Nyaupaneetal.（2010）,Americanstudentsaremotivatedbynon-academicdesiresfor internationaltravelratherthetraditionalbenefitshighlightedbyinstituti onsasaca-demicandcareeroriented.However,thefindingsofthisstudycontradictthisand findsthatstudentsstudyabroadnotonlyforapersonalsojournbutalsoforacademic, futureprospects,andinterculturalandinternationalmindedness.Thisfindingmaybe theinfluencedtheacademicemphasisplaceduponstudyabroadinliberalartscollege andacademicmajorsrelatingtothehostcountryand/orregion.

Table1 StudyAbroadinaLiberalArtsEducation

PhrasesAssociatedwithStudyAbroadinaLiberalArtsEducation

Increaseindependence Thinkmoreglobally

Gainanew academicexperiencewhileattainingpersonalgrowth Self-discoveryandrolewithintheworld

Challengepersonalviewsandcontinuallypushtounderstanddifferentcultures Erasestereotypesandnegativity

Cultivatesopen-mindedness

Essentialtoreceiveawell-roundedliberalartseducation Broadenhorizons

Partoftheoverallcirclethatisliberalartsandwhatitallcontains A pieceofoneofmanyaspectsthatisrequiredforaliberalartseducation

Whiletheempiricaldatadidnotidentifymajorconcernsorbarrierstostudy abroad,itshouldbenotedslightconcernsabouttransferofcreditstowardsmajor, financialmatters,andlifeintheirhostcountrywereraisedbyseveralrespondents. However,asaresultoftheirhomeinstitutionsgeneralsupportiveatmosphere,these issuesdidnothindertheirparticipationinstudyabroad.Nonetheless,iti sworth-whileforinstitutionstobetteraddresstheseissuesandprovidefurthersupportfor studentsinordertofacilitatestudyabroadforallstudents.Thisconclusionisfurther supportedbyGarverandDivine（2007）thatadvocateforinstitutionstorecognizethe needsoftheirstudentsanddesignprogramstomeetthestudents・needsasawayto increasestudyabroadparticipationrates.

Theinquiryintotheroleofstudyabroadinaliberalartseducationresultedina unanimousrecognitionofstudyabroadasanintegralpartoftheirli beralartseduca-tionandtheimportanceofcultivatinginternationalandinterculturalcompetences throughstudyingabroadtobecomeaglobalcitizen.Thisfindingmaybearesultthat manyoftherespondentsidentifiedthattheirhomeinstitutionsandacademicadvisors highlyadvocateforparticipationinstudyabroadprograms.Therefore,studyabroad becomesanaturalcomponenttoaliberalartseducation.

Withintheinternationalizationofhighereducation,thereisastrongemphasison studyabroadasameanstopromoteinternationalunderstandingandintercultural competencies.Therealsoisagreatimportanceplaceduponstudyabroadasani nte-gralcomponentofaliberalartseducationtoprovidestudentswithaglobaloutlook, interculturalcompetence,academicgrowth,andpersonalsojournbasedontheempiri -calfindingsofthisstudy.Bothindividualsandinstitutionsrecognizetheneedof internationalunderstandingandinterculturalcompetencyinordertocompeteinthe globalknowledgeeconomy. Stridesarebeingmadein theinternationalization of liberalartscolleges.Bytakingintoconsiderationtheneedsoftheirstudentsand individualrationalesinthedecision-makingprocessforstudyabroadparticipation,

Decision to Study Abroad Family Host Institution Home Institution Major Liberal Arts Education Future Ambitions Ethnic Hertiage

liberalartscollegescanweaveinternationalizationandstudyabroadintothefabricof theirinstitution.

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