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

Abstract

AbstractAs 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.KeywordsStudy abroadHigher educationEducation policy