Multicultural Students in Study Abroad: Their Interests, Their Issues, and Their Constraints

Study abroad programs offer great potential to benefit students in an increasingly internationalized world and work place. Recently, a wide discussion among educators about the benefits of diversifying study abroad has developed, but students participating in study abroad may face many constraints, many of which are not faced by their majority student peers. The purpose of this study is to further assess, through a survey and focus groups, the constraints on multicultural student participation in study abroad. The results of the study indicate that institutional factors (academic scheduling difficulties, absence of relevant programs, lack of information, etc.), as well as other factors that can be moderated by institutional effort (providing encouragement, addressing financial issues, discussing family concerns, etc.), prevent students of color from participating in study abroad programs. The authors use the results of this study, along with those of the broader literature, to recommend strategies to increase multicultural student participation in study abroad.