In Pursuit of Global Competence:
Effective Practices for Student
Learning Outcomes in Community
College Study Abroad Programs
What nations don’t know can hurt them.
The stakes involved in study abroad are
that simple, that straightforward, and
that important.
For their own future and that of the
nation, college graduates today must be
internationally competent.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN COMMISSION ON STUDY ABROAD, 2005
Background Information
 Senate Resolution 308 ATS, 2005
There is a “serious deficit in global
competence in the United States,” and
“institutions of higher education in the
United States are struggling to graduate
enough students with the language skills
and cultural competence necessary to
meet the current demands of business,
government, and educational institutions”
Rationale for Community College
Study Abroad Programs
 There is a clear need to build global
competence in college students
 Community colleges have 45-55% of all
undergraduates but only 3% of students
studying abroad annually
 There exists a community college
research gap on study abroad
programs, structures, and their relation
to global competence acquisition.
Research Background
Elements of Global Competence
Examined broader understanding
of global competence
Examined global competence elements
Developed conceptual framework for
global competence
Proposed global competence definition
Global Competence: Knowledge
Effective
intercultural
communication
skills including
language
skills
Ability to function as a
member of
another culture
Appreciation
of own and
others’ personal
and
cultural norms
Global
Competence:
Elements and
Characteristics
Critical
awareness
& appreciation
of cultural
differences
Appreciation of and
openness to global
interdependence
Knowledge
Knowledge of
of geo-political
Knowledge
world history
issues, changes,
of global
and current
and decision
business
events
making
interactions and
organizations
Knowledge Elements
Identified in Research
Global Competence:
Skills and Experiences
Appreciation
Effective
of own and
others’ personal
intercultural
and
Critical
cultural norms
communication
awareness
& appreciation
skills including
of cultural
differences
language
skills
Global
Ability to
Appreciation of and
Competence:
function as a
openness to global
Elements and
interdependence
member of
Characteristics
another culture
Knowledge
of world history
and current
events
Knowledge
of global
business
interactions
and
organizations
Knowledge
of geo-political
issues, changes,
and decision
making
Skill and Experience Elements
Identified in Research
Global Competence: Attitudes
Appreciation
of own and
others’ personal Critical
awareness
and cultural
Effective
&
norms
intercultural
communication
appreciation
skills including
of cultural
language
skills
Global differences
Ability to function as
a member of
another culture
Knowledge
of world history
and current
events
Competence: Appreciation of
Elements and openness to global
Characteristics interdependence
Knowledge
of global
business
interactions
and
organizations
Knowledge
of geo-political
issues, changes,
and decision
making
Attitude Elements
Identified in Research
.
Global Competence Elements and Characteristics
Effective
intercultural
communication
skills including
language
skills
Ability to function as a
member of
another culture
Knowledge
of world history
and current
events
Appreciation
of own and
others’ personal
and
cultural norms
Global
Competence:
Elements and
Characteristics
Knowledge
of global
business
interactions
and
organizations
Critical
awareness
& appreciation
of cultural
differences
Appreciation of and
openness to global
interdependence
Knowledge
of geo-political
issues, changes,
and decision
making
Specific skills, abilities, and experiences
that relate to and operationalize global
competence elements
Global Competence –Definition
Used in Student Learning Outcomes
Global competence is a continuing process
of acquiring specific economic, historical,
and geo-political knowledge which supports
the intercultural communication skills and
authentic lived experiences that allow a
person to function in another culture, and
result in attitudes of cultural appreciation
and interdependence.
Study Abroad Program Structure
Academic
Program
Program Length
Program Location
Faculty Selection
Curriculum Selection
Cultural Experiences
Academic (study abroad) Residential (living abroad)
Residential
Program
Type and level of
student services
Housing options
Cultural activities
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
•
•
•
•
•
•
Global Competence
Personal Growth
Continued Interest in Travel
Knowledge Acquisition
Development of Skills and Experiences
Attitude Enhancement and Change
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Global Competence -- As a result of
participating in the Study Abroad
program, the student will be able to
contextually appreciate, analyze, and
articulate global competence.
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
2.Personal Growth -- The student will be
able to successfully live and thrive in a
culture not the student’s own and grow
individually and personally from the
experience.
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
3. Continued Interest in Travel -- The
student will incorporate an interest in
international travel into the student’s
lifelong learning plan.
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
4. Knowledge Acquisition -- The student
will incorporate specific cultural,
geopolitical, economic, and social
knowledge into academic and personal
contexts.
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
5. Development of Skills and Experiences
-- The student will develop skills to
appreciate visual, historical and
experiential cultural products of
cultures different from the student’s
own.
Los Rios Study Abroad Program
Student Learning Outcomes
6. Attitude Enhancement and Change -As one consequence of participating in
the Study Abroad program, the student
will question, analyze, and potentially
change attitudes about the host culture
that the student had prior to the
experience, and this attitudinal analysis
will result in less ethnocentric behavior.
“We need a group of academic leaders
to challenge us, to make us dream, to
lead us to sacrifice a little for the long
term benefit of our nation and our
world.” Senator Paul Simon