A comprehensive overview of my Sociology Senior-year thesis project evaluating the study abroad programs at Augustana College. Survey research and data analysis carried out between August 2011 and March 2012.

1. BEYOND THE AUGIE BUBBLE:
AUGUSTANA STUDENTS AND
STUDY ABROAD BEHAVIOR
Nicole McCarthy

2. Purpose and Overview

3. Purpose and Overview

4. Hypotheses: Who studies abroad?
 Women will study abroad more than men
 (Summers 2011, Pedersen 2010, Goldstein & Kim 2005, Di Pietro & Page 2008,
Salisbury 2008, Talburt & Stewart 1999, King & Young 1994).
 The majority of students who study abroad will be
disproportionately white
 (Salisbury 2008, Talbert & Stewart 1999).
 Students with middle and high socioeconomic status are
more likely to study abroad than students with low
socioeconomic status
 (Goldstein & Kim 2005, Salisbury 2008, King & Young 1994).
 Social sciences and languages majors will study abroad more
than natural sciences and professional majors
 (King & Young 1994, Salisbury 2008, Goldstein & Kim 2005, Summers 2011).

5. Hypotheses: Foreign language vs.
English
 Students who study or practice a foreign language
abroad will be more culturally immersed, more culturally
aware, and have higher self-esteem than students who
did not study or practice a foreign language.
 (Goldstein & Kim 2005, Gorka & Niesenbaum 2001, Di Pietro & Page 2008,
Salisbury 2008, Nash 1976, Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966).
 Students who took intensive language courses will be
more satisfied with their experience abroad than
students who spoke only English
 (Goldstein & Kim 2005, Gorka & Niesenbaum 2001, Di Pietro & Page 2008,
Salisbury 2008, Nash 1976, Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966).

6. Hypotheses: Student Behaviors
 Students who live with host families will be more
culturally immersed and more culturally aware than
students who live in apartments or hotels
 (Gmelch 2010, Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966)
 Students who live with host families will exhibit party
behavior less than students who live in apartments
or hotels
 Students who spend time with nationals will report
higher levels of cultural immersion than students
who only spend time with American friends
 (Gmelch 2010, Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966)

7. Hypotheses: SA students vs. Non SA
students
 Students who have studied abroad will be more
culturally aware than students who have not studied
abroad
 (Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966, King & Young 1994, Nash 1976, Salisbury 2008, Di
Pietro & Page 2008, Goldstein & Kim 2005, Kitsantas 2004, Summers 2011,
Kowarski 2010).
 Students who have studied abroad will have higher
self-esteem than students who have not studied
abroad
 (Gullahorn & Gullahorn 1966, King & Young 1994, Nash 1976, Salisbury 2008, Di
Pietro & Page 2008, Goldstein & Kim 2005, Kitsantas 2004, Summers 2011,
Kowarski 2010).

8. Definition of Study Variables
 Gender
 Male: 1
 Female: 2
 Race
 White: 1
 Non-white: 2
 Socioeconomic Status
 Lower-working class: 1
 Middle class: 2
 Upper class: 3
 Major
 Natural
sciences/Professional: 1
 Social
sciences/Languages: 2

9. Definition of Study Variables Cont.
 Duration
 2-5 weeks: 1
 6-9 weeks: 2
 10 weeks or more: 3
 Self-esteem
 Likert Scale
 range between 3 and
12
 3 = lowest
 12 = highest
 Ex: I feel my future will
be a bright one, I set
goals and feel I can
accomplish them, etc.

10. Definition of Study Variables Cont.
 Cultural Awareness
 ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures as well as
the ability to be aware of one’s own culture, have attitudes towards
different cultures, and have cross-cultural skills
 Both Study Abroad and Non-Study Abroad students asked
 Likert Scale
 Range between 4 and 20
 4 = least culturally aware, 20 = most culturally aware
 Examples
 comfort in discussing beliefs with people of other cultures
 curiosity about new and different cultures
 feelings of being a global citizen
 remaining in contact with friends and host families of foreign countries

11. Definition of Study Variables Cont.
 Cultural Immersion
 the level of which a student submerges themselves into the
customs, traditions, language, etc. of a different culture
 Likert scale: range between11and 32
 11-20 = the least culturally immersed and 21-32 = the most
culturally immersed
 Examples:
 Eating native food, speaking a foreign language, spending
time with other Augie students, volunteering in the
community, having an internship, taking class taught by
Augie faculty, going on cultural excursions, etc.

12. Definition of Study Variables cont.
 Foreign Language
Competency
 sufficient ability to speak,
understand, read, and
write in a foreign
language
 Likert scale
 Range between 4 and 20
 4 = least fluent, 20 = most
fluent

13. Definition of Study Variables cont.
 Satisfaction with Abroad experience
 fulfillment of one’s wishes, expectations, or needs
in a given situation, in this case, studying abroad
 “My study abroad experience was a positive one
and shaped who I am as a person in a positive
way”
 Range between 1 and 4
 1 = least satisfied, 4 = most satisfied

14. Definition of Study Variables cont.
 Time with Nationals
 Amount of time
spent with host
family, friends, or
coworkers from the
native country (not
American)
 Likert Scale
 Homestay
 type of study abroad
program that allows
the student to rent a
room from a local
family to better learn
the local lifestyle

15. Definition of Study Variables cont.
 Party Behavior
 the cumulative time
spent drinking, having a
hangover, engaging in
sexual activity, using
illegal drugs, going to
clubs or discos, going to
parties, blacking out, or
walking home alone
while abroad
 Range between 8 and
40
 8 = high party
behaviors, 40 = lower
party behaviors

16. Population
 2,443 students of Augustana College
 57.56% female
 42.44% male
 Females and upperclassmen overrepresented in data
 Oversampled students who had studied abroad
 132 students in addition to random sample
 Tended to be female, upperclassmen

17. Sample
Classification Augustana Students
No. Percent
Questionnaires
No. Percent
Difference
Females
First Year 386 15.80 10 8.7 -7.1
Second Year 391 16.00 19 16.5 +.50
Third Year 302 12.36 24 20.9 +8.54
Fourth Year 327 13.39 38 33.0 +19.91
Total 1406 57.56 91 79.1 +21.54
Males
First Year 290 11.87 4 3.5 -8.37
Second Year 284 11.62 3 2.6 -9.02
Third Year 212 8.68 8 7.0 -1.68
Fourth Year 251 10.27 9 7.8 -2.47
Total 1037 42.44 24 20.9 -21.54
Percentage Total 100 100
Number 2443 115

18. Research Procedures
 Data Collection
 Online survey
 42 questions
 Random sample of 349
students in three waves,
oversample of 132 study
abroad students
 115 usable responses
 Response rate of 23.9%
 Protection of Human Subjects
 IRB approved
 Anonymous and confidential
 Personal info will be
permanently deleted
 Data Processing
 iSalientExcel SPSS
 Cross-tabulations
 Logic of Proof
 Gamma
 Chi-square

19. Findings: Gender
Not Significant
X² .636
Gamma -.111
StudyAbroad1 * Gender2 Crosstabulation
Gender2
Total1 Male 2 Female
StudyAbroad1 1 Yes Count 9 39 48
% within
Gender2
37.5% 42.9% 41.7%
2 No Count 15 52 67
% within
Gender2
62.5% 57.1% 58.3%
Total Count 24 91 115
% within
Gender2
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

20. Findings: Race
Not quite
significant
X² .149
Gamma .511
StudyAbroad1 * Race2cat Crosstabulation
Race2cat
Totalwhite
non-
white
StudyAbroad1 1 Yes Count 44 2 46
% within
Race2cat
43.6% 20.0% 41.4%
2 No Count 57 8 65
% within
Race2cat
56.4% 80.0% 58.6%
Total Count 101 10 111
% within
Race2cat
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

21. Findings: SES
Not
significant
X² .202
Gamma .064
StudyAbroad1 * SES2cat Crosstabulation
SES2cat
Total
lower/wor
king class
middle
class
upper
class
Study
Abroad?
1 Yes Count 11 27 12 50
% within
SES2cat
36.7% 50.9% 33.3% 42.0%
2 No Count 19 26 24 69
% within
SES2cat
63.3% 49.1% 66.7% 58.0%
Total Count 30 53 36 119
% within
SES2cat
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0
%

22. Findings: Major
Not quite
significant
X² .161
Gamma -.261
StudyAbroad1 * Major Crosstabulation
Major
Total
Nat. science
and
Professional
Social
sciences
and
Language
Study
Abroad?
1 Yes Count 22 26 48
% within
Major
36.1% 49.1% 42.1%
2 No Count 39 27 66
% within
Major
63.9% 50.9% 57.9%
Total Count 61 53 114
% within
Major
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

23. Findings: Language and
Immersion
Very
significant
X² .000
Gamma -.898
Immersion2cat * IntensiveLang2 Crosstabulation
IntensiveLang2
Total1 Yes 2 No
Immersion Low Cultural
Immersion
Count 2 21 23
% within
IntensiveLang2
11.1% 70.0% 47.9%
High Cultural
Immersion
Count 16 9 25
% within
IntensiveLang2
88.9% 30.0% 52.1%
Total Count 18 30 48
% within
IntensiveLang2
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

24. Findings: Homestay and Immersion
Very
significant
X² .000
Gamma -.765
Immersion2cat * LivingSituation Crosstabulation
Living Situation
Totalhomestay
non-
homestay
combinat
ion
Immersion Low Cultural
Immersion
Count 0 22 1 23
% within
LivingSituation
.0% 71.0% 33.3% 47.9
%
High Cultural
Immersion
Count 14 9 2 25
% within
LivingSituation
100.0% 29.0% 66.7% 52.1
%
Total Count 14 31 3 48
% within
LivingSituation
100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0
%

25. Findings: Time with Nationals and
Immersion
Very
significant
.000 x²
Gamma .846
reTimeWithNat2cat * Immersion2cat Crosstabulation
Immersion
Total
Low
Cultural
Immersion
High
Cultural
Immersion
Time With
Nationals
Low time Count 16 4 20
% within Immersion2cat 69.6% 16.0% 41.7%
High time Count 7 21 28
% within Immersion2cat 30.4% 84.0% 58.3%
Total Count 23 25 48
% within Immersion2cat 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

26. Findings: SA students vs. Non SA
students
 Cultural Awareness
 72.9% very high
 Self-Esteem
 58.3% very high
 Cultural Awareness
 58.8% very high
 Self-Esteem
 55.9% very high
Study Abroad Students Non-Study Abroad Students
+14.1% difference in Cultural Awareness
+2.4% difference in Self-Esteem

27. Interesting Findings
 All hypotheses concerning party behavior were
disproven
 About 33% of students displayed high party
behavior regardless of living situation, foreign
language, etc.
 Hypothesis concerning language and self-
esteem was disproven
 66.7% of students who did not study a language
had very high self-esteem, while only 44.4% of
students who did study a language had very high
self esteem

28. Generalizations
 Although not significant to .05
level, most did support my
hypotheses
 Typical study abroad student at
Augie:
 Female
 White
 Middle class
 Social science/language
major
 Need to find solutions to
encourage men, minorities to
study abroad
 Spending time with nationals
and living with host family are
two most important factors
concerning a student’s level
of cultural immersion
 These are the types of
programs we should promote at
Augustana
 No matter a student’s living
situation, about 1/3 will exhibit
excessive “party behavior”
while abroad
Demographic variables Behavior abroad

29. Generalizations cont.
 Very significant factor in
determining cultural
immersion
 Should promote foreign
language study in place of only
English if we truly value cultural
immersion during study abroad
 No effect on self-esteem as
hypothesized
 No one surveyed had low or
even medium self-esteem,
almost all med-high or very
high
 Students who study
abroad had:
 Significantly higher cultural
awareness
 Slightly higher self-esteem
 To prepare future leaders for
globalized world, every
student should study abroad
 Augie Choice
 Shorter programs
 Summer programs
Foreign Language Study
Study abroad vs. Non-study
abroad

30. Implications for further research
 Larger, more diverse sample
 Very general likert scales
 Students could have interpreted them differently,
could have led to skewed results
 Ex: duration and foreign language
 Would’ve liked more time to find out why students
chose not to study abroad
 89.7% said they wished they’d had the opportunity to study
abroad during college
 27 stated strict class schedule, 23 economic reasons as to
why they couldn’t study abroad

31. References
 CIRP freshman survey: Augustana College. 2007.
 Dennison Nash. 1976. "The Personal Consequences of a Year of Study
Abroad." The Journal of Higher Education 47(2):pp. 191-203.
 Gmelch, Sharon Bohn. 2010. “Let’s Go Europe: What Student Tourists Do
and Learn from Travel.” Tourists and Tourisms: A Reader. Waveland
Press: Long Grove, IL. pp: 73-87.
 Goldstein Susan B. and Kim, Randi I. 2005. “Intercultural Attitudes Predict
Favorable Study Abroad Expectations of U.S. College Students.”
Journal of Studies in International Education 265 (9): pp. 265-278.
 Gorka, Barbara and Richard Niesenbaum. 2001. "Beyond the Language
Requirement: Interdisciplinary Short-Term Study-Abroad Programs in
Spanish." Hispania 84(1):pp. 100-109.
 Gullahorn, Jeanne E. and John T. Gullahorn. 1966. "American Students
Abroad: Professional versus Personal Development." Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science 368 (Americans
Abroad):pp. 43-59.

32. References Cont.
 King, Lynda J. and John A. Young. 1994. "Study Abroad: Education for the 21st Century." Die
Unterrichtspraxis / Teaching German 27(1, German in the 21st Century):pp. 77-87.
 Kitsantas, Anastasia. 2004. "Studying Abroad: the Role of College Students' Goalson the
Development of Cross-Cultural Skills and Globalunderstanding." College Student Journal
38(3):441-452.
 Kowarski, Ilana. 2010. "Colleges Help Students to Translate the Benefits of Study Abroad."
Chronicle of Higher Education 56(41):A21-A22.
 Pedersen, Eric R., Joseph W. LaBrie, Justin F. Hummer, Mary E. Larimer and Christine M. Lee.
2010. "Heavier drinking American college students may self-select into study abroad
programs: An examination of sex and ethnic differences within a high-risk group."
Addictive Behaviors 35(9):844-847.
 Pietro, Giorgio D. and Lionel Page. 2008. "Who Studies Abroad? Evidence from France and
Italy." European Journal of Education 43(3):389-398.
 Salisbury, Mark, Paul Umbach, Michael Paulsen and Ernest Pascarella. 2009. "Going Global:
Understanding the Choice Process of the Intent to Study Abroad." Research in Higher
Education 50(2):119-143.
 Summers, Nick. 2011. "Party Hard, Study Harder." Newsweek 158(12):18-18.
 Talburt, Susan and Melissa A. Stewart. 1999. "What's the Subject of Study Abroad?: Race,
Gender, and "Living Culture"." The Modern Language Journal 83(2):pp. 163-175.