Correlation Between Studying Abroad and Foreign Service

There are many benefits to university students who decide to study abroad, including a greater appreciation for different cultures and a broader understanding of today’s global community. Indeed, numerous studies have shown a direct connection between acquiring education in a foreign country and the desire to continue cultivating a greater degree of contact with other people and cultures (see, e.g., Norris & Gillespie, 2008). Especially for American students, according to Norris and Gillespie, foreign studies very often result in a desire to become involved with volunteer work abroad or some other type of foreign service.

According to Norris and Gillespie (2008), the primary motivating factors for American students studying abroad to remain in some type of foreign service include adjustments in their intellectual and/or cultural interests, modified worldview, and a connection with the people. A similar theme was theorized by Allport (1954), who propose social contact theory. In effect, Allport suggested—based largely on his own experiences in foreign service—that greater contact with foreign cultures plays a vital role in the decision made related to future career choices. Living in a foreign country serves to decrease, and often completely eliminate any prior prejudices and motivate an individual to continue working toward mutual understanding. Pettigrew and Tropp (2000) reported supporting evidence for Allport’s theory, indicating a correlation between foreign study and a desire to engage in global service such as teaching English in a foreign country.

Finally, a detailed study conducted by Paige et al. (2009) also confirmed the connection between university students studying abroad and a desire to practice some type of foreign service. In particular, they reported significant levels of civic engagement, volunteerism, and philanthropy—all related to their experiences with overseas education. The students involved in this study indicated that studying abroad was the single most important factor that influenced their decision to work abroad in some capacity of service. In effect, what all of these studies reveal is a desire on the part of students who have studied abroad to engage the global community in a much more extensive way than is possible by following a path of domestic employment.

References

Allport, G.W. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Norris, E.M., & Gillespie, J. (2008). How study abroad shapes global careers: Evidence from the United States. Journal of Studies in International Education 13(3), 382-397.

Paige, R. M., Fry, G. W., Stallman, E. M., Josic, J., & Jon, J-E. (2009). Study abroad for global engagement: The long-term impact of mobility experiences. Intercultural Education. 20(S1-2), S29-S44.

Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2000). Does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Recent meta-analytic findings (pp. 93-114). In S. Oskamp (ed.) Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.