Thoughtfully Preparing Business Students and Faculty for Study Abroad

Abstract

In the last twenty years study abroad program have grown in popularity. Study abroad experiences provide learning opportunities for participants, but these opportunities are only optimized if students are appropriately and thoughtfully prepared. Study abroad provides formal learning experiences, associated with coursework undertaken, and informal learning, related to new cultures and countries encountered. Students and the faculty who accompany them need to be sensitized to both of these opportunities. This chapter presents a context for study abroad experiences and suggests how they can provide students with a deeper appreciation of issues that are often overly abstracted in the college, particularly issues such as internationalization and globalization. It explores ways in which study abroad participants can be assisted to engage more fully with the experiences that they encounter abroad. In presenting learning and institutional strategies to help optimize study abroad, it is hoped that the chapter will be of value to business undergraduates, their faculty, and business educators.