Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 5-2017 Intergroup Contact through Study Abroad: An Investigation of Effects of Study Abroad on Student Engagement with Racial and Religious Diversity Rachel Anne Hanson Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at:https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Recommended Citation Hanson, Rachel Anne, "Intergroup Contact through Study Abroad: An Investigation of Effects of Study Abroad on Student Engagement with Racial and Religious Diversity" (2017).All Theses. 2633. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/2633 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please [email protected]. INTERGROUP CONTACT THROUGH STUDY ABROAD: AN INVESTIGATION OF EFFECTS OF STUDY ABROAD ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH RACIAL AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Applied Sociology by Rachel Anne Hanson May 2017 Accepted by: Dr. William Haller, Committee Chair Dr. Catherine Mobley Dr. Sharon Nagy ABSTRACT This study examines the effects of participation in study abroad on undergraduate students’ engagement with racial and religious diversity to identify outcomes and patterns that support the prominent goals in higher education of promoting global learning and enhancing inclusion and diversity on university campuses. Based on the framework of intergroup contact theory, I use hierarchical regression models to analyze data from the National Survey of Student Engagement collected at Clemson University in 2013 and 2015. Among undergraduate seniors, participation in study abroad is significantly associated with greater engagement with topics related to racial and religious diversity, and engagement with diverse peers. The results corroborate previous findings that study abroad has significant effects on students’ perspectives and behaviors, and suggest that the prejudice reduction effects of intergroup contact that may result from study abroad experiences generalize to subsequent interactions on students’ home campuses. ii DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my Grandpa Rod. Rodney Earl Greiner grew up as a poor kid in rural Nebraska during the Great Depression, and passed on during the final year of my graduate work a world traveler who had visited scores of countries with his wife, my grandmother, Ruth Brunskill Greiner. As a long-time philanthropist and member of Rotary International, he was an early model to me for building friendships around the world and across cultures, and he was steadfast and persistent in maintaining them over the decades. As this research has prompted me to think more and more about the power of intercultural experiences to broaden our perspectives and wash away prejudices, I was touched that Rod’s final weeks of life were happily punctuated by visits and video calls with decades-old friends from around the globe: Colombia, Mexico, Japan and England, to name just a few. What a transformation! iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe acknowledgements and immeasurable gratitude to the many people who have helped me along the way to completing this degree: To my father, who never hinted that I should expect anything other than to complete a master’s degree, and inspired the intellectual curiosity and drive to be ever-learning that undergirds everything I do. To my mother, who has always challenged me to set aside my self-imposed limitations, and who led our family through the early travels that set me on the path of global exploration that yielded this research, and so many other adventures and achievements. To Prof. John Williams, who led me and many other students on, what I now understand to be, supremely well-designed and perspective-changing study abroad programs. To the Sociology and Anthropology Department faculty at Clemson University, including Dr. Sharon Nagy, Dr. Bill Haller, Dr. Catherine Mobley, Dr. Bill Wentworth, Dr. Ye Luo; and Dr. Tami Eitle (Montana State University) for their caring encouragement, and wise, gentle guidance. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW & THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................................................... 4 Study Abroad Literature ...................................................................................... 4 Intergroup Contact Theory ................................................................................. 17 Applying Intergroup Contact Theory to Study Abroad ..................................... 25 3. METHODS ........................................................................................................ 27 Data .............................................................................................................. 27 Variables ...................................................................................................... 29 Hypotheses ................................................................................................... 40 Analytic Strategy ......................................................................................... 42 4. RESULTS .......................................................................................................... 44 Clemson Study Abroad in National Perspective .......................................... 44 2013 NSSE Clemson Sample....................................................................... 46 2015 NSSE Clemson Sample....................................................................... 56 5. DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS ................................................................... 62 Discussion .................................................................................................... 62 Limitations ................................................................................................... 68 Implications & Suggestions for Future Research ........................................ 70 v Table of Contents (Continued) Page APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 78 A: NSSE Experiences with Diverse Perspectives Module ..................................... 79 B: NSSE Global Perspectives Module ................................................................... 80 C: Tables 3.9 and 3.10: Descriptive Statistics for Deleted Cases ........................... 82 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 83 vi LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 2.1 Factor Loadings for 2013 Clemson NSSE Experiences with Diverse Perspectives Items .................................... 32 2.2 Factor Loadings for 2015 NSSE Clemson Global Perspectives Items .................................................................. 34 3.1 Descriptive Statistics for 2013 NSSE Clemson Sample ......................... 48 3.2 Coefficients from Regressions of Intellectual Engagement with Diversity – Freshmen .......................................... 50 3.3 Coefficients from Regressions of Intellectual Engagement with Diversity – Seniors.............................................. 52 3.4 Coefficients from Regressions of Engagement with Diverse Peers – Freshmen........................................................ 54 3.5 Coefficients from Regressions of Engagement with Diverse Peers – Seniors ........................................................... 55 3.6 Descriptive Statistics for 2015 NSSE Clemson Sample ........................ 57 3.7 Coefficients from Regressions of Social Interaction with Diverse Peers – Freshmen....................................................... 59 3.8 Coefficients from Regressions of Social Interaction with Diverse Peers – Seniors .......................................................... 61 3.9 Descriptive Statistics for 2013 NSSE Clemson Sample – Deleted Cases .................................................................................. 81 3.10 Descriptive Statistics for 2015 NSSE Clemson Sample – Deleted Cases .................................................................................. 82 vii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Internationalization of higher education has become a priority in the United States and across the globe in recent decades, and study abroad has received increased attention and investment as the primary vehicle for achieving that goal. According to the 2016 report from the Institute for International Education (IIE), the number of American students who received credit for study abroad during the 2014/15 academic year increased by 2.9 percent from the previous year to 313,415. And the report notes that that number has increased by approximately 52 percent since 2005. That number represents 1.5 percent of enrolled students, and about 10 percent of all graduates (Open Doors 2016; NAFSA 2016). Study abroad is frequently invoked as a high-impact way to foster global learning and develop global competencies (Murphy 2014). Indeed, a majority of university alumni who participated in study abroad indicate that it was their most important undergraduate experience for developing global engagement, and many also name it as among the most pivotal experiences of their college career and even lifetime (Paige et al. 2009). At Clemson University, 1,456 students studied abroad in the 2014/15 academic year, which was an increase of approximately 46 percent since 2010/11 (Study Abroad Office 2016). The current four-year strategic plan, ClemsonForward 2020, includes aims to integrate global learning outcomes into the curriculum and to eventually establish a Global Learning Institute – both goals include study abroad as a component (Clemson University 2016a). The Global Learning Task Force, established to develop an 1 implementation and assessment plan for global learning has defined global learning this way: Global learning is the educational process through which students acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable them to:  develop global self-awareness,  acquire capacity for global perspective-taking,  analyze global systems,  respect the variety of beliefs, practices, and perspectives within the U.S. and around the world,  demonstrate personal, social, and global responsibility,  and apply this knowledge to their lives and careers in a global society (Global Learning Task Force 2016). Clemson’s strategic plan also includes goals for diversity and campus climate. The plan sets forth as one aim to recruit and retain a larger number of undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty from underrepresented populations. Likewise, the mission of the campus Office for Inclusion and Equity is “to create a diverse community that welcomes people of different races, cultures, ages, genders, sexual orientation, religions, socioeconomic levels, political perspectives, abilities, opinions, values and experiences” (Clemson University 2016b). Among other measures, the Campus Climate survey will be used as an indicator of progress toward this aim (Clemson University 2016a). The 2012 results from that survey revealed that 270 participants (6 percent) had considered leaving the university on account of an issue related to diversity, inclusion, appreciation of difference, etc.; and 14 percent of those were African American (Division of Student 2