The Impact of Short-term Study Abroad on Global Citizenship Identity and Engagement

Higher education has increasingly begun to realize the importance of engaging students in global citizenship learning opportunities to be more globally informed, prepared, responsible, and competent. Study abroad in higher education is rapidly becoming recognized as an effective experiential learning platform for fostering intercultural exchanges. This article reports on research that examined study abroad as a learning platform for integrating classroom acquired knowledge with real world experience. The study explored the value of short-term study abroad in the facilitation of students' global awareness and knowledge, their identification as global citizens and endorsement of prosocial values associated with global citizenship, and their participation as globally engaged citizens. Participation in study abroad was found to significantly strengthen one’s affiliation with global citizenship, endorsement of prosocial values, and identify motivation to engage in global citizenship activities. Our findings have implications for the design and implementation of global citizenship education curricula in higher education.