Introduction: Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education Abroad

Abstract

In late 2018, our editorial team set out on a multi-component project to provide a historical reference of established scholarship from Frontiers on diversity, equity, and inclusion in education abroad and to and solicit and present a set of new works in this Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Frontiers. We began by creating a special “virtual” issue of existing Frontiers articles centered on diversity, equity, and inclusion which accompanied our call for papers for this Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In our introduction to the virtual issue we highlighted three gaps in past scholarship on these topics. We noted (a) limited focus on equity and success, (b) a dramatically changed student demographic, and (c) a need for critical examination of education abroad practice in order to make significant strides toward equity. In our process with this virtual issue we were pleased to see many new initiatives from masters’ and doctoral students and from those we corresponded with during this process. With this January 2020 Special Issue we endeavored to push beyond discussions of access and representation in the field, to critically examine inclusion throughout the education abroad process, and to consider equity in outcomes. We hope that the articles we are presenting as the culmination of our work in this Special Issue on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Frontiers will move theory, practice, and scholarship forward.