Categorizing Qualitative Insights from an Itemized Inventory of Interest in Study Abroad

Walter Brett R.

Kabir Russell S.

広島大学大学院人間社会科学研究科紀要. 教育学研究

Bulletin of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University. Studies in education

[ISSN] 2436-0333

[NCID] AA12909086

Study abroad is a transformative life and learning opportunity that is thought to motivate student expectations of the university and cross-cultural travel experience. Few studies, however, ask students directly about what they desire to know prior to embarking on a study abroad sojourn. Here, we report on qualitative findings from an interest inventory of feedback given by university students who responded to a standardized worksheet designed to align student and teacher expectancies about the expectations and provisions of learning experiences. Categories were summarized according to fit and similarity with factors discussed in studies of intercultural awareness, pedagogical design, and study abroad assessment. The results showed that students generally“ wanted to know” deeper domain knowledge about their host culture (New Zealand) and expressed being motivated to obtain a broader understanding about demography with authentic experiences. Implications for study abroad program design and assessment are discussed.

Study Abroad

Student Interest

Intercultural Awareness

eng

広島大学大学院人間社会科学研究科

Copyright (c) 2020 人間社会科学研究科

[ISSN] 2436-0333

[NCID] AA12909086