Study Abroad Participants’ Reflections on Relationship Development: The Role of Context, Curriculum, and Community Engagement

Abstract

University students often share that studying abroad was a life-changing experience. We explored how one short-term, faculty-led study abroad, Tanzania Study Abroad Program (TSAP), contributed to the participants’ lives after their experience. Through a web-based survey, we collected responses from 82 former TSAP participants. We used corpus and thematic analysis to determine prominent themes of participants’ memories and perceptions of how TSAP impacted their lives. Respondents reflected on the people they interacted with throughout their study abroad experiences, both with those abroad and their peers. Furthermore, the program leaders’ intentional actions in the planning of the context, curriculum, and community engagement informed participants’ opportunities to develop relationships that were non-transactional in nature. Participants also reported that their cross-cultural relationships with Tanzanians positively influenced their subsequent interactions with people from diverse communities. Prioritizing relationships with host community members and peers on study abroad shows promise for supporting participants’ intercultural development.