Holistic Evaluation of Short-Term Education Abroad Interventions: A Preliminary Case Study

Abstract

This preliminary case study used qualitative methods to analyze the experiences of eight short-term education abroad participants prior to, during, and shortly after a two-week program in Taipei. Interpretive analysis of reflection papers, focus group interviews, mobile app assignments, and a post-program evaluation survey revealed that students experienced an increase in language skills and cultural knowledge as well as personal growth. Students attributed these gains to interactions, reflections, and classroom/coursework engagement. The study uses a constructivist and Experiential Learning framework to add to ongoing research on affordances and limitations of short-term education abroad. Implications of the study for future research, program design, and stage-by-stage interventions in short-term education abroad contexts are also discussed.   Abstract in Chinese 這項初步案例研究運用了定性研究方法，分析了八位參與為期兩周台北項目的短期留學生在項目之前、項目期間和項目結束後的經歷。透過學生所寫的學習心得、焦點小組訪談、學生完成的移動應用任務以及項目後的評估調查，解釋性分析顯示學生在語言技能、文化知識以及個人成長方面都有所提升。學生歸因這些成果於與當地人的互動、反思以及課堂/課程的參與。該研究運用建構主義和經驗學習框架，以擴充對短期留學的可行性和局限性的研究。最後，本研究對短期留學的未來研究以及短期留學項目的階段性設計也提出了建議。