Interactive Cultural Activities in Virtual Study Abroad during the Pandemic and Beyond

Some of the simplest affordances of study abroad became unavailable when students stayed stateside because of the pandemic-induced disruptions to international travel. These ranged from touring city and historical/cultural landmarks, having spontaneous and chance interactions with locals, participating in the performance of traditions and practices, visiting homes, engaging in "domestic" activities with host families and local peers, and developing a sense of community with other fellow students. This paper reports on three alternate, virtual cultural activities that were launched during the pandemic between a U.S. university and its study abroad partner institution in Morocco in order to help compensate for the health disruption. Survey responses, cultural products, and reflections from 118 participants were collected for this study over two Arabic summer intensive programs at the stateside university. The study explores the effectiveness of these activities in promoting intercultural competence and student engagement during this period and speculates on how they can be integrated into the regular programming post-pandemic in order to further enhance immersion.

An examination of virtual exchange on the intercultural competence of college students

This study examines the effect of a virtual exchange experience on the intercultural competence of college students from the United States and MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Archival data from the Stevens Initiative was used to test whether 70 students from the United States and 72 students from Iraq and Jordan gained intercultural competence upon completion of a virtual exchange program known as the Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge. Intercultural competence was measured using the variables of cross-cultural collaboration, ethnocentrism, problem solving, perspective taking, and empathy. Results showed a significant increase in cross-cultural collaboration and decrease in ethnocentrism for MENA students. There was a significant increase in problem solving for U.S. students. Contrary to expectations, perspective taking declined for both groups of students and there were no changes in empathy. Overall, the results show support for the effectiveness of virtual exchange on improving the intercultural competence of college students. In light of challenges to international travel due to COVID 19 and the high cost of study abroad, virtual exchange is a viable and creative alternative for developing intercultural competence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Going global (again): Gratitude and service learning in post-pandemic times

This analysis employs the concept of gratitude to trace key 'moments' in students' global service learning placements. We problematise the uncritical promotion of interculturality as an outcome of such placements. We analyse common narratives of gratitude that emerge from students before, during and after international placements in the Global South. Through focusing on the lifecycle of service learning placement we examine how expressions and recipients of gratitude shift over time, often belying a truly reciprocal exchange assumed to be inherent in service learning. We employ Critical Discourse Analysis to unearth power inequities that emerge from the broader societal relations in which these placements occur. We conclude by looking back to inform how we move forward in a post COVID-19 era in which further punctuation of global inequities will require intensified care to build meaningful and reciprocal service learning activities abroad and at home. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Cross-cultural collaboration through virtual teaming in higher education

Scholars from three universities in three different parts of the world - North America, Africa, and Eurasia - across different cultures, disciplines, and contexts, collaborated with the objective of advancing transversal skills and intercultural competences through immersing their students in international virtual teamwork. Students and lecturers represented the Appalachian State University (United States of America), University of the Free State (South Africa), and Novgorod State University (Russia). In this article, we share our lessons learned from the challenges we faced in the hopes of deepening understanding in higher education concerning what can be accomplished through remote learning across continents and cultures. This work allowed us to be ahead of the collapse of traditional teaching on campuses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as we had prior experience of online pedagogies reaching across international borders, cultures, time zones, and languages. Even during hard lockdown, when travelling abroad was impossible, our students experienced internationalised curricula, interacted with international scholars and staff, and were able to continue with the programme as planned. We began this work more than five years prior to the pandemic;therefore, these efforts led to successfully switching to online learning in other courses. We began with engaging staff members as well as students in ongoing, project-based collaboration across cultures from these institutions. This required the use of synchronous and asynchronous digital platforms, which would enable staff members and students to work collaboratively for six to eight weeks to create realistic projects. Staff members began to compile the collaborative co-creating courses that would be taught together, thus combining and adapting various pedagogical approaches. We then shared the responsibility for co-facilitating each course, despite different philosophies of teaching and learning. The result was a balanced blend of pedagogies, allowing students to collaborate successfully with students from the other universities. Students overcame a number of challenges: (a) cultural differences;(b) infrastructure for technology platforms;(c) time zones;(d) languages;(e) age and generational differences;(f) unfamiliarity with various pedagogies;(g) interaction with other cultures and settings;and (h) stereotypes fuelled by popular media. We share our journey and the strategies that addressed these challenges, including the use of technology and results from this continued collaboration.

Pivoting to a virtual high school exchange: The GAVE program

The U.S. Department of State recognizes that students "act as citizen ambassadors by building relationships within their host communities, demonstrating American values, and debunking stereotypes" (U.S. Department of State, 2023). According to the GAPP website, over 750 high schools in the United States have a GAPP program and more than 9000 students participate in GAPP each year. Afterwards, the students filled out an evaluation of GAVE, provided on the GAVE website. Ludwig confirms that "online classes cannot replace the classical purpose of a stay abroad, namely: to be in a different place, in a different environment, to gain hands-on experience and, last but not least, to become more independent" (Ludwig, 2022).

COVID-19 and Intentions to Study Abroad: Evidence from Overseas University Applications to the UK

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how COVID-19 impacted overseas students' decision to apply for an undergraduate degree at UK universities. Design/methodology/approach: This study compares the number of university applications from overseas students in summer and autumn 2020 with those in the period 2011-2019. Multivariate analysis techniques are used. Findings: The results show that the pandemic has led to a drop in university applications from foreign students by 11-14%. Such decline has been driven by a reduction in the number of applicants from high-income countries as opposed to those from middle-lower income countries. Two explanations may account for this finding. First, students from affluent countries, compared to those from poorer countries, may be more likely to find a good alternative to the UK where to carry out their studies (including their home country). Second, the option of deferring study abroad plans due to the pandemic may be more affordable for applicants from high-income countries. Originality/value: While understanding how COVID-19 has impacted international student mobility is an emerging issue in the literature, not only are there few studies providing evidence on this, but these are based on qualitative analysis. This paper uses quantitative methods that allow to separate the effect of COVID-19 from that associated with other factors affecting the flow of international students.

Big challenges, small solution: Microcourses at the University of Oklahoma

[...]microcourses are an ideal vehicle for high-impact, cohort-building projects-experiences that can never substitute for study abroad but that can contribute to a cohesive learning community. [...]the writing assignments consisted of short response papers of 200-250 words in length in German that students posted on the course discussions page to elicit comments and questions from their peers. [...]microcourses provide an ideal workshop-like format for the development of particular linguistic skills that are sometimes overlooked in a language curriculum, such as translation, sustained listening, dramatic reading techniques, or explication of data (Grafikbeschreibung). [...]microcourses are exceptional at fostering a sense of community.

COVID-19 A Longitudinal Perspective on Sustained Remote Teaching From the Republic of Korea

In the Republic of Korea, the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the start of the 2020 academic year and saw emergency remote teaching (ERT) emerge as a way of maintaining educational continuity for millions of students. While ERT was new and unplanned at the time, the practice became sustained over the semesters that followed, marking a shift from ERT to sustained remote teaching (SRT). Questions remain, however, whether students' experiences and perceptions with learning remotely would improve as a result of institutional preparedness and faculty experience. Given this, we investigated exchange students', a unique group of students who are historically interested in having place-based residential education, experiences, and perceptions with SRT while attending college in Korea. We administered a survey to 140 (spring 2020), 93 (fall 2020), 141 (spring 2021), and 143 (fall 2021) exchange students where they rated their perceptions of teaching and learning processes, student support, and course structure with their SRT learning experiences. Independent-samples one-way ANOVAs comparing perceptions between Semester 1 and 2, Semester 2 and 3, Semester 3 and 4, and Semester 1 and 4 indicated several statistically significant mean score increases, though the scope and degree of the changes are ultimately minor improvements and interpreted as insignificant. Implications for SRT policy and future research are discussed.

Teacher Motivation during the Pandemic

The ripples of the pandemic were evident across all the industries, not just locally but on a global scale. The industry which bounced back in no time was the education industry. All thanks to the stakeholders of the educational establishment as they adapted to the change superfluously. The frontline workers in all fields were considered high on the priority list for vaccination as they were more susceptible to the Covid infection. Interestingly, there was a strong recommendation to consider teachers as a frontline worker by the chief of education, UNESCO for their incomparable contribution during the turbulent times. This article focuses on the ways in which the administrators of educational institutions may consider motivating their teaching staff.

Living a diasporic space online: semiotic landscape and landscaping of Chinese students in the UK under COVID pandemic

Recent linguistic landscape studies have increasingly underscored an online-offline agenda to understand the entanglement of people's digital and physical lifeworlds. In this light, this study concerns itself with the diasporic space lived online by Chinese overseas students residing in the UK during COVID, taking it as a nexus of their experienced semiotic landscape and practiced landscaping. Drawing on research diaries and interviews collected during a stretched time of fieldwork and observations, this research delineates shared semiotic landscapes shaped by homogeneous attention structure and health beliefs in the digital lifeworlds of Chinese overseas students during the pandemic. The shared semiotic landscapes reterritorialize the idea of local space in digital infrastructures, and constitute an online community space where cultural identities are articulated and practiced. By advocating the analytical strength of linguistic landscape in digital settings, this study articulates and makes sense of the social-semiotic dynamics of a discrete diasporic group specifically conditioned by COVID on a broader spatial level. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Assessing Value of a Novel NC State University Two-Week Animal Science Study Abroad Course in Chiang Mai, Thailand for Post-Pandemic Student Education

Partially due to COVID-19 education adaptations, students and teachers alike have become more normalized to online learning platforms. While this can be valuable, it has led to an increased concern that students resist in-person meetings, lack animal and personal interactive skills and many social and cultural cues. Online platforms can allow globalized learning, but there is considerable difference between interactive study abroad education and online delivery methods. After 2 years of COVID-19 impacting study abroad programs, NC State University programs reopened in Spring 2022, although the interest and availability were understandably less than pre-pandemic years. The novel ANS 395 course Thailand: Global Animal Management Issues, Concerns and Solutions was offered Summer 2022 as a two-week, three credit hour course with 17 undergraduate students. Of these students, at least 24% had never flown, 35% had never traveled outside the USA and many more had not traveled since they were young. ANS 395 explores Thai culture and its influence on cat, dog, and elephant management as compared with North American norms. The students were housed near Chiang Mai, Thailand at a large animal sanctuary that is residence to over 100 elephants, 600 dogs and 2,000 cats. In ANS 395, students were taught and allowed to participate in basic veterinary techniques including physical exams, blood collections, IV catheter placement, suturing, medical injections, skin scraping, fecal testing, feed intake assessment, and surgical (spay/neuter) preparation. Students were able to interact with numerous animal professionals and rescued animal species in unique situations including cats in large outdoor population holding areas, semi aggressive and / or paralyzed dogs, elephants that had been severely abused, suffered landmine wounds, or were geriatric. Over 90% of the Thai population identifies as Buddhist. This presents a unique animal management learning perspective since Buddhism teaches the avoidance of all work that involves any killing of animals. Therefore, euthanasia is avoided in most veterinary cases. In contrast, many of the unique animal situations discussed above would be considered for individual humane euthanasia in North America. The novelty of ANS 395 for both instructors and students did not allow for research into how the opinions of the students on ethics and animal care may have been altered by the first offering of this course. Students were asked to Likert scale rank their Thailand animal science experience from 1(poor) to 10 (best). The average was 9/10 (n = 17). This indicates that the student's post-pandemic valued and enjoyed their interactive study abroad experience. However, instructors did note potential post pandemic increases in social interaction difficulties. As this course develops, knowledge from 2022 will allow student assessment on ethical standpoints regarding animal care prior and post travel to understand cultural and animal management opinion changes after real world exposure. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Animal Science is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The First Annual COIL International Shark Tank

For the COIL assignment, students worked in international teams of four to identify an existing problem in both the U.S. and Japanese health care systems, develop a PICOT (Population of concern, Intervention or interest, Comparison, Outcome, and Timeframe) question, and formulate an evidence-based solution to address the existing health care challenge. A mobile cancer screening van to screen populations with high risk factors for breast cancer, skin cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and child immunizations. 6. Each university used different learning management systems but agreed to use free online resources, such as Padlet, Translate, and Google Drive/Microsoft One Drive to enhance collaboration and communication.

Assessing Impact of Study Abroad on Graduation Rates of Underrepresented Students

EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Fueled by globalization, technological advances, and more accessible travel, the role of international education on college and university campuses has had a period of immense growth. According to the Institute of International Education's 2019 Open Doors report, just over 340,000 US students participated in a study abroad program for credit during the 2017–2018 academic year. [...]there is interest among administrators, scholars, instructors, and policymakers to better understand the effects of study abroad on student learning and outcomes. Data Analysis An initial descriptive analysis yielded the means and standard deviations for each matching variable of interest, as well as the zero-order correlation between all matching criteria and the independent variable (see Appendix).

Decolonising the curriculum: US Study Abroad: London Architecture and Urbanism - Albertopolis, South Kensington

This article focuses on ways of decolonising the curriculum of a one-semester London Architecture and Urbanism course taught differently across several US Study Abroad programmes in London. These introductory courses took place in the seminar room and out in the field. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a greater focus on teaching in open spaces. The courses are principally structured around the capital's key public developments. Many of the sites have an older historical antecedence. They were largely built between the mid-eighteenth century and the opening decades of the twentieth century during the time of the Empire and the Industrial Revolution. While the Empire has gone, London continues to transmit ideas revolving around the cultural hegemony of a politically, economically and socially superior nation through its urban histories. These histories are sometimes explicit, but are more often hidden, as they become subsumed into London's evolving cityscape. On this basis, introductory architectural courses that outline the city's development, by default, recapitulate the values of British cultural imperialism. This article examines how London's architectural history and imperial visions can be re-evaluated through the lens of a culturally responsive teaching and learning study abroad platform.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on American Students' Willingness to Study Abroad

As an important extension of college education, study abroad has been consistently attracting American college students in the twenty-first century (for a review, see Institute of International Education, IIE open doors. Retrieved from https://opendoorsdata.org/annual-release/u-s-study-abroad/?tab=us-study-abroad, 2022), allowing students to cross geographic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. However, the COVID-19 pandemic rerouted most American students back to the U.S. in spring 2020 and led to cancellations of most study abroad programs in the following summer and fall. The ongoing uncertainty of international travel and increasing concern about personal safety due to this pandemic has caused a decline in study abroad enrollments in the U.S. The pandemic has raised a need for reconceptualizing study abroad and reevaluating study abroad curricular requirements. The magnitude and duration of the impact of the pandemic on study abroad, including the current models that have been followed, cannot be properly evaluated without a nuanced understanding of students' willingness to study abroad in the coming years, their perceptions of the role of study abroad in their academic studies, and the impact of study abroad (or possible lack thereof) on their career prospects and life during a time full of uncertainties. This chapter used an online survey to examine 107 U.S. college students' willingness to study abroad and factors that can affect their decisions. Findings suggest that U.S. colleges need to cross boundaries between humanities/social sciences and STEM in curriculum design in order to meet the needs of the increased number of STEM majors who plan to study abroad after the pandemic. Moreover, the traditional Junior Year Abroad model (established in the early 1920s) needs to be modified in order to meet the emergent needs of freshmen and sophomores who are the majority of prospective study abroad students. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Tendency of Student Mobility During Crises: The Sunk Cost Theory Moderated by Emotions and Family Decisions on Studying Overseas

The perceived loss is more complicated when the mental accounting process involves a higher aspiration level (e.g., parents send their children abroad for elite higher education, career success, and permanent residence in the destination country) mixed with an increased possibility of regretting the decision (e.g., the regret induced by the outbreak of pandemic and the low morale of global economy). Instruction languages, textbooks, teaching style, learning environment, and evaluation methods are all essentially distinct between the two school systems. Even for whom stuck in AP- or IB-curriculums of international high schools, with generous family funds, those students can pursue alternative career paths in art performance, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, or take gap years. For other families who have already chosen public schools and then domestic universities, especially working-class families with budget constraints, they are predictable to become risk aversion and avoid the perceived anti-Chinese discrimination and other additional academic, psychological, or social challenges (Yu et al., 2019).

Strengthening the Bridge between Financial Aid and Study Abroad

This article features a case study from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a large, public, urban, research university, in which challenges in administering financial aid for study abroad early in the COVID-19 pandemic led the Education Abroad and Student Financial Services teams to revisit practices and protocols. This article describes compliance concerns, student service, administrative optimization, and interdepartmental relationships. The outcomes emphasize the importance of a strong, sustained partnership between university study abroad and financial aid offices, provide a framework for administrative structures in managing financial aid for study abroad programs, and highlight strategies to provide equitable study abroad opportunities.

Satisfaction with Online Study Abroad Predicted by Motivation and Self-Efficacy: A Perspective Based on the Situated Expectancy–Value Theory during the COVID-19 Epidemic

Due to the globalization of the economy, studying abroad has been widely recognized as bringing many benefits to students. However, the closure of campuses and borders around the world since the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in 2020, has brought about significant changes in studying abroad as learning has moved online. In the context of emergency management, a new way of studying online has arisen. Despite this change, few studies have focused on the value perception of and satisfaction with online study abroad (OSA) in the context of the pandemic or have focused on students enrolled in overseas universities. To address this gap, this study proposed six research hypotheses and a hypothesis model based on the situated expectancy-value theory. The study used the snowballing technique to survey Chinese university faculty members who had studied online at overseas universities during the pandemic. A total of 481 valid data were collected, including 214 (44.5%) male and 267 (55.5%) female respondents. The data were then confirmed to have reliability and validity, and the research model was tested. Results indicated that all of the research hypotheses were supported. More specifically, the perceived value of OSA can be positively predicted by academic and career self-efficacy. Academic and career self-efficacy can be positively predicted by OSA motivation. The perceived value of OSA is positively related to satisfaction with OSA. This shows that promoting satisfaction with OSA for international students is a feasible international education program when international mobility is not possible in particular situations. © 2023 by the authors.

Virtual study abroad: is there life after the pandemic?

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the potential for virtual study abroad (VSA) programs to exist in a post-pandemic world. VSAs quickly grew in popularity when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of traditional study abroad programs. Now that a return to travel appears imminent, it is uncertain whether VSAs hold sufficient value to continue as legitimate study abroad programs or whether they will be shelved until the next pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study compares VSAs to short-term study abroad (STSA) programs. Drawing on extant literature, an STSA profile, based on five best practices, sets the legitimacy standard to which VSAs must rise. Based on the authors' experience, consultations with two additional study abroad leaders and one VSA firm, VSAs are defined, and a sample profile is developed. VSAs are compared and contrasted with STSAs. Program attributes in which VSAs fall short, meet and exceed those of STSAs are identified. Findings: VSAs meet all five study abroad best practices. Although VSAs are incapable of providing benefits specifically related to travel, VSAs meet or exceed benefits provided by STSAs in all other areas. VSAs have advantages in cost, risk, flexibility and inclusion. VSAs are legitimate substitutions to STSAs for first-year students, students who cannot travel and student types currently under-represented in study abroad programs. Practical implications: Practical advice on managing VSAs is offered through a sample VSA program profile. Target student types are identified, program positioning is discussed and implications to universities are offered. Originality/value: Literature on VSA is essentially non-existent. This study introduces VSA programs as an option to gain not only academic knowledge but also many of the experiential benefits of typical study abroad programs. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.