To See the World or Stay at Home: Applying an Integrated Student Choice Model to Explore the Gender Gap in the Intent to Study Abroad

Although interest in study abroad has grown consistently in recent decades, study abroad professionals and higher education scholars have been unable to explain or rectify the long-standing gender gap in study abroad participation. This study applies an integrated model of the student-choice constru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in higher education 2010-11, Vol.51 (7), p.615-640
Main Authors: Salisbury, Mark H., Paulsen, Michael B., Pascarella, Ernest T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advanced students
College Students
Colleges
Community colleges
Cultural Capital
Curriculum selection
Decision Making
Education
Educational Policy
Experiential Learning
Gender Differences
Higher Education
International Education
International students
Language Skills
Liberal arts education
Men
Predictor Variables
Social Capital
Student diversity
Student Participation
Study Abroad
Thinking Skills
Undergraduate Study
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Summary:Although interest in study abroad has grown consistently in recent decades, study abroad professionals and higher education scholars have been unable to explain or rectify the long-standing gender gap in study abroad participation. This study applies an integrated model of the student-choice construct to explore differences between male and female intent to study abroad. Results indicate that, not only can various forms of social and cultural capital predict student decisions about curricular opportunities during college such as study abroad, but gender plays a substantial role in altering the ways in which those forms of capital shape student decisions differently. These findings present a range of implications for researchers interested in better understanding the decision making process of college students as well as study abroad professionals and national policymakers intent on narrowing the gender gap in study abroad participation.
ISSN:0361-0365
1573-188X
DOI:10.1007/s11162-010-9171-6