Two Unlikely Characters: Can Education Abroad

and Tourism Mix?

Kristin Thomas, Ph.D Candidate, Penn State University

Janelle Papay, International Programs Advisor, Elon University

Dr. Deborah Kerstetter, Penn State University

Collective Knowledge

Student Development/Affairs & Higher Ed. Administration

Education Abroad &

Embedded Programs

International Student Integration

Experiential Learning &

Recreation

Travel & Tourism Research

The Plan

Gaps in the literature

Commonalities between tourism and education abroad

A collaborative framework

Phase 1: The pilot

Results: Next Steps

What we hear students saying…

I love to travel!

I just want to have fun in another country

Go to another country

Have fun

Don’t care about the

classes

Meet new people

Gaps in the Literature – Travel/Tourism & EA

Analysis of EA using conceptual frameworks from travel/tourism

• Cardon, 2011

• Anderson, 2007

• Josephine, 2013

Studies mixing tourism and EA

• Nyaupane, 2011

• Van Time, 2011 Tourism on EA

Gaps in the Literature – Motivations in EA

Analysis of motivations in Education Abroad

• Naffziger, Bott, Mueller, 2004

• Sanchez, 2006

• Relyea, 2008

Outside Education

Abroad

• Li & Olsen, 2013

• Willis Allen, 2010

Inside Education

Abroad

Little consideration for the role

travel may play in a meaningful

education abroad

experience

Education Abroad

Traveler/

Tourist

Why care about the student as traveler/tourist?

Activity!!

The views of some from Education Abroad

“…absent data regarding learning outcomes, some critics have contended that short-term study

abroad programs are at best tourism with a class course number attached.. (Sutton et al,

2007).”

There are many problems associated with the objective of “non-traditional-ism” and one of particular

concern is that it defines study aboard too readily in the language of tourism.

(Woolf, 2006)

"Finding support for both hypothesis, we suggest universities need to do a better job to

ensure that students understand that study abroad programs are more than just a

chance to travel and have a good time.“ (Relyea, 2008)

What do Travel/Tourism scholars know?

Studies and research on:

Constraints

Liminality

King or Queen for a day

Behaviors and repeat travel behaviors

Novelty

Tourism Scholars on Travel & TourismDefinitions

“Tourism comprises the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes.”

“Tourists any person on a trip between two or more countries or two more localities within his/her country or usual residence. Typically described as visitors.

So what’s the problem?

Tourist or Traveler?

Developments in Tourism

•Hopeful Tourism

•Sustainable Tourism

•Social Justice Tourism

•Pro-Poor Tourism

Frameworks

•Alternative Tourism

•Eco Tourism

•Green Tourism

•Community Tourism

Applied

Are Tourism & Education Abroad Incompatible?

Shared Goals

• Culturally and Environmentally Sensitive

• Community Involvement

Shared Aspirations

• Tool for Peace Making

• Social & Environmental Justice

Shared Frustrations

• Informed & Respectful Tourist/Traveler

Connecting Theoretical & Conceptual Frameworks

• Cohen (1985)

• Lee & Crompton (1992)

• Dewey (1916)

• Kolb (1984) or Dunn (2000)

• Ritchie, 2003

• Weiler, 1992

• Vande Berg, Paige, Lou (2010)

• Zull (2010)

InterventionsEducative

Travel

Travel As Play and Novelty

Play & Education

Experiential

Shaken Not Stirred: The Pilot Study

Conceptual FrameworkAstin’s Input-Environment-Output (IEO) Model

Output

Environment

Input

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

Bean and Eaton’s Psychological Model of college Student Retention (2000)

Phase 1

Inputs: Motivation

Motivated by…

Novelty Seeking in Travel Academics

(Deci & Ryan, 2008)(Ryan & Deci, 2000)(Vallerand et al., 1992)

Correspondence Inference Theory

Target-based Expectancies

Category-based Expectancies

Cultural Feeling Rules

Inputs: Expectations

Jones and McGillis (1976) and Hochschild (1979), in Wilson, Lisle, Kraft, & Wetzel, 1989

Pilot Study Purpose

To pilot an instrument that determines students’

motivations for and expectations of their education abroad

experience.

Research Questions

RQ1: What are students’ expectations for their education abroad experience?

RQ1a:Do students expect travel and tourism to be part of their education abroad experience?

RQ2: What are students’ motivations for their education abroad experience?

RQ2a: Are students motivated by the opportunity to travel during their education abroad experience?

Population

• 633 students participating in an education abroad program in spring 2014

Research design

• PSU Education Abroad advisers sent intro email

• I followed up with an email and link to the survey

• Internet-based questionnaire: Survey Gizmo

• Motivation and expectation items based on a review of the travel and education abroad literature

• Background information collected on college, major, gender, age, and past experience with study abroad.

Method

Results

Response

• Response: 231

• Completed: 169

• 27% response rate

Data

Analysis

• Principle Factor Analysis (PCA)

• Varimax rotation

• 27 expectation items

• 33 motivation items

Results: Expectations

RQ1: What are students’ expectations for their educational experience abroad?

6 Factors

• Being a tourist

• Pleasurable weekends

• Experience buying local

• Enhanced learning

• Testing and assignments

• Experience the local community

Results: Expectations

• Reliabilities ranged from .58 to .75

• Cumulative variance = 60%

• “Being a tourist”

Mean = 4.82/5.00

• “Enhanced Learning”

Mean = 3.29/5.00

RQ1a: Do students expect travel and tourism to be part of their education abroad experience?

Results: Motivations

RQ2: What are students’ motivations for their educational experience abroad?

8 Factors

1. Fun and adventure

2. Travel & New Experiences

3. Enhanced learning

4. Learning a language

5. Proof of achievement

6. To Escape

7. Self Development and satisfaction

8. Earn academic credit

Results: Motivations

• Reliabilities ranged from .74 to .92

• Cumulative variance = 69%

• “Fun and Adventure”

Mean = 4.44/5.00

• “Enhanced Learning”

Mean = 3.70/5.00

• ‘To Escape”

Mean = 3.19/5.00

RQ2a: Are students motivated by the opportunity to travel during their educational experience abroad?

Results: Lingering Questions

Phase 1Lingering Questions

• Unexpected results

• 60% variance

• Factor groups did not corroborate with literature

• New dimensions

• Language, meanings, ideas?

Next Steps

• Continue Literature Review

• Focus Groups

What do the Results Suggest?

Students prefer novel travel experiences

opposed to strict academic experiences.

What do the Results Suggest?

Research in Travel and Tourism (novelty, play,

liminality) suggest there are useful theories,

paradigms, and conceptual frameworks that could

be useful in education abroad.

What do the Results Suggest?

A Dewey, Zull , and Falk all approach to developing

education abroad programs would be beneficial to the

development of education abroad programs:

• Play is (can be) an educative process

• Is there anything we can learn from “vacation”

• Learn more about what students bring into the program

(Inputs)

Next Steps

Phase 1

1. Revise the questionnaire based on focus

feedback

2. Add learning styles

3. Consider other inputs: emotional development?

4. Administer a second pilot for the instrument

5. Identify relationships between the variables and

type of program selected

Thank You

Contact Info

Kristin Thomas KLT16@psu.edu

Penn State University

Janelle Papayjpapay@elon.edu Elon University

For references of citations please contact Kristin Thomas

References

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References

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References

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References

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