University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Undergraduates in the developing world: study abroad program management in sub-Saharan Africa

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Undergraduates in the developing world: study abroad program management in sub-Saharan Africa

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Content Running head: UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 1

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD:
STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM MANAGEMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

by

Anne Kleinschmidt Marlenga

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2013

Copyright 2013 Anne Kleinschmidt Marlenga
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 2

Table of Contents
Abstract 3
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 4
Background of the Problem 6
University of Minnesota 11
Statement of the Problem 14
Purpose of the Study 17
Research Questions 18
Significance of the Study 18
Definitions 19
Limitations 20
Delimitations 21
Organization of the Study 21
Chapter Two: Literature Review 23
Internationalization in Higher Education 23
Study Abroad Outcomes 27
Impact of Study Abroad Program Design on Outcomes 33
Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa 40
Study Abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa 44
Holistic Student Learning and Development Abroad Model 49
Conclusion 51
Chapter Three: Research Methods 54
Research Design 55
Population and Sample 57
Instrumentation 57
Interview Protocol 58
Data Collection and Analysis 60
Framework 62
Validity and Reliability 62
Conclusion 64
Chapter Four: Findings 65
Program History and Structure 67
Research Questions 75
Conclusion 109
Chapter Five: Discussion 111
Summary 111
Research Questions 115
Discussion and Analysis 119
Recommendations for Research 125
Recommendations for Practice 126
Conclusion 128
References 130
Appendices 143
Appendix A: Interview Protocol 143
Appendix B: MSID Kenya Cultural Iceberg Orientation Material 144
Appendix C: MSID Program Sequence Diagram 145
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 3

Abstract
This study follows the framework of the holistic student learning and development abroad
model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) to examine the elements of a study abroad
program located in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to examine how the
Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program is implemented in Kenya and
Senegal, specifically what factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of MSID, what
MSID wants students to experience in Kenya and Senegal, how MSID supports student learning
outcomes, and how the MSID program is structured with curricular and cocurricular goals in
mind for students. This single case study utilized qualitative techniques in the form of interviews
of MSID staff and administrators, site observation, and document analysis in order to gain
perspective into the ways in which the University of Minnesota administers its study abroad
program in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings revealed important aspects of the MSID program
include: its “blend of academics and Peace Corps”, the support that faculty and staff provided to
students, and the planned sequence of the program’s structure. Based on analysis of the MSID
program, recommendations for universities seeking to develop or expand programs in sub-
Saharan Africa include developing an intentional combination of volunteer experience tied with
academic content, and acknowledging challenges students may face with regard to cultural
differences and providing necessary support so that those encounters may become learning
opportunities.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 4

CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Internationalization efforts have increased on university campuses nationwide over the
last several decades (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Such endeavors respond to worldwide forces of
globalization, one of the largest modern day challenges for higher education (Scott, 2000). One
of the most visible impacts of globalization in higher education is the large numbers of college
students who study abroad (Altbach, 2011). Study abroad programming is a major
internationalization strategy for universities (Paige, Cohen, & Shively, 2004). University mission
statements increasingly emphasize enhancing students’ “global competence” (Reilly & Senders,
2009) and employers of college graduates now seek those with global experience (Bender,
Wright & Lopatto, 2009). Accordingly, universities strive to produce graduates who are
“culturally aware and global-minded” (Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009). But claims are made
that international education on campus is not enough (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009), pushing for the
expansion of university study abroad programs. The majority of universities attempt to send
more of their students abroad for some part of their undergraduate education (Blumenthal &
Gutierrez, 2009). The landscape of American study abroad is changing, and along with an
increase in students going overseas is a diversification of program opportunities, including study
abroad in developing countries, the focus of this dissertation. The specific purpose of this study
is to determine how an American university administers a study abroad program in sub-Saharan
Africa.
A special commission of the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program (2005)
announced a plan to send one million American undergraduate students abroad by the year 2017.
The group argues that it is important for universities to provide students with international
experiences in order to promote their global competence, enhancing students’ leadership
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 5

capabilities and economic competitiveness in an increasingly interconnected world. More
attention is paid to the importance of intercultural communication skills in political and business
leaders, and today’s college graduates will need to become skilled in these areas (Hammer,
2008). The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act (2007) further fueled attempts to
expand study abroad offerings in order to provide better access to international experiences for
all college students. One of the recommendations set out by both the Abraham Lincoln Study
Abroad Fellowship Program (2005) and the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act
(2007) calls for universities’ expansion of study abroad programs in non-traditional locations
such as developing nations, in order to “create greater cultural understanding of the United States
by exposing foreign students and their families to United States students in countries that have
not traditionally hosted large numbers of United States students” (Study Abroad Foundation Act,
2007). A large majority of the world’s population lives in developing countries, so it is important
for college graduates today to understand how our society will address the world’s “resource
needs, geopolitical conflicts, health and welfare dilemmas” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009, p. 38).
A single case study was undertaken in order to examine how the University of Minnesota
operates its Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) study abroad program in
Kenya and Senegal. In this chapter, a description of the context for this case study provides an
introduction to and background in the subject. A brief history of study abroad is outlined first.
The next section begins a discussion on the theme of global learning and development in study
abroad. While there is much literature on study abroad outcomes, the crux of research that
underpins this study is on global learning and development of study abroad participants,
especially the idea that students grow most in situations of challenge or dissonance, and the
relationship this has for study abroad programs located in developing countries. The subsequent
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 6

section of this chapter provides a brief description of the case study site. Next, an outline of the
statement of the problem, research questions, purpose and significance of this study is presented.
Finally, definitions, limitations and delimitations provide context for the remainder of this study,
followed by a complete description of the organization of what follows in subsequent chapters.
Background of the Problem
Changing Landscape of Study Abroad
While study abroad is not a new phenomenon in higher education, it is undergoing a
revolution in the United States (Lewin, 2009). Universities are changing the ways study abroad is
leveraged in order to fulfill internationalization goals, attract prospective students, and encourage
global experiences for the benefit of enrolled students. Topics in study abroad are detailed in
greater length in the literature review in chapter two, but a brief overview of the transformation
of study abroad is included below in order to provide context for this case study.
The Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program has proposed a 500% increase
in the number of U.S. college students participating in study abroad over a time period of less
than a decade (Wanner, 2009). Many universities have responded to this goal by expanding and
diversifying study abroad program opportunities. The number of American college students
participating in study abroad programs each year is relatively low. Just 1.4% of all students
enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions in 2009-2010 participated in study abroad, as
compared to Europe where 6 to 7% of university students study abroad each year (Doyle,
Gendall, Meyer, Hoek, Tait, McKenzie, & Loorparg, 2010). However, the rate of participation of
American students increased each year in the last decade. During the 2010- academic year,
270,604 U.S. students studied abroad, representing a 3.9% increase from the previous year and
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 7

more than triple the number of students who participated in the early 1990s (Institute of
International Education, 2011).
Demographics of study abroad participants have traditionally included primarily White
female upper-class students in social science majors. In the 2009-2010 academic year, 63.5% of
study abroad participants were female and 78.7% were Caucasian (Institute of International
Education, 2011). The top three majors of students studying abroad were Social Sciences,
Business, and Humanities, representing more than 55% of participants (Institute of International
Education, 2011). However, as universities make efforts to grow their participation rates, better
access to and diversity in study abroad is advocated (Stearns, 2009). Increasing numbers of male
students and minorities are studying abroad, but still in very small increments. Between 2000 and
2010, there was a 1.5% increase in male student participants in study abroad and the following
increases in minority student participation: 2.5% Asian, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific
Islander, 1% Hispanic or Latino(a), 1.2% Black or African American, and 1% Multiracial
students (Institute of International Education, 2011). While African American students do not
generally study abroad in large numbers, they do make up a larger proportion of the students
participating in African-based programs than in other locations (Metzler, 2002). One explanation
for the disparity in African American participation between study abroad programs in Africa
versus other countries could be that many students choose study abroad locations based on their
ancestry (Day-Vines, Barker, & Exum, 1998).
Another change in study abroad programs is students’ locations of choice. U.S. study
abroad began with the “Junior Year Abroad” program, which was developed in 1923 by a French
professor at the University of Delaware and enrolled U.S. college students interested in simply
studying European art and literature first-hand (Stearns, 2009). Today, students from universities
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 8

nationwide are studying in programs of varying length, with different curricular emphases, and
in countries across the globe. Study abroad has transformed into an integral piece in university
marketing efforts and internationalization strategies, and is now an influential part of many
students’ undergraduate programs. While college students today still elect to study primarily in
European countries, destination choices are changing. Between the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010
academic years, the host regions of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East saw increases in American
students of 8 to 30% each (Institute of International Education, 2011). Research on study abroad
has yet to catch up though, still being focused primarily on study abroad programs in Western
Europe.
Issues in Study Abroad
Study abroad programs are most often developed with little intentionality (Skelly, 2009).
There are no regulated standards for study abroad programs and no particular accreditation
process, which leads to a variety of types of programs and different student experiences
(Gillespie, Braskamp, & Braskamp, 1999). Faculty members sometimes question the academic
quality of the study abroad experience (Braskamp, 2008). The Forum on Education Abroad
(2011), an organization of and for study abroad professionals, has developed a set of best
practices for study abroad programs. The first set of Standards of Good Practice for Education
Abroad was compiled in 2001 after results of a survey of Forum members concluded standards
were needed in the field of study abroad. General standards were set forth by the Forum for study
abroad professionals to consider in the design and implementation of programs in the following
areas: mission statements, student learning and development, academic framework, preparation,
student selection and conduct, policies, organization and resources, health and safety, and ethics
(Forum on Education Abroad, 2011). While the Forum is not a regulatory agency, their standards
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 9

for best practices are meant to guide study abroad program development. However, little
academic research has explored study abroad program design or implementation.
One aspect of study abroad that receives criticism is its commercialization and sometimes
market-driven nature. More students claim they are interested in studying abroad than actually
participate (Siaya & Hayward, 2003), but since there is evidently interest at the very least, study
abroad opportunities are frequently promoted to prospective students as a way of marketing
institutional offerings. The proliferation of study abroad programs is not inexpensive for
universities, so growth in study abroad is often outsourced to private program providers. For both
institutions and providers, study abroad has turned into big business, which has not gone without
criticism (Lewin, 2009). Skeptics of the extreme expansion of study abroad programs criticize
the increase in the number of shorter experiences in English-speaking countries because they are
easier to set up instead of longer term programs in more impactful settings that provide culturally
diverse experiences. Those on the other side of this argument claim that through short programs
in English-speaking countries there is potential to reach more students for study abroad, such as
those who might only be willing to travel for a short period or are hesitant to participate in
locations that are much different than the U.S. (Lewin, 2009).
Access is an underdeveloped phenomenon in the study abroad landscape. Due to an
increase in global education goals supported by organizations such as the Abraham Lincoln
Study Abroad Fellowship Program (2005) and the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation
Act (2007) as well as universities themselves (Siaya & Hayward, 2003), promoting greater
access to study abroad is a more often discussed topic. With 78.7% of study abroad students
being Caucasian, (Institute of International Education, 2011) there is a clear disparity in the
background of students who elect to participate in study abroad. The Senator Paul Simon
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 10

National Study Abroad Foundation Act (2007) pushed for high quality study abroad programs
being more available to larger numbers of U.S. college students from varying backgrounds
including those from different institutions, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and financial means. A
low participation rate by minority students in study abroad may signify a missed opportunity for
global learning and development and other study abroad related outcomes by these students
(Picard, Bernardino, Ehigiator, 2009).
Global Learning and Development
The Association of American Colleges and Universities highlights the important role of
U.S. universities in fostering global learning and development (Braskamp & Engberg, 2007). In
an ever-interconnected world, the importance of global education is certainly heightened. New
York Times journalist Thomas L. Friedman (2005) argues college graduates need skills to be able
to compete in a global workforce in today’s “flat” world. Advocates promote the study abroad
experience as vital to the preparation of students to be “engaged and informed citizens in an
increasingly globalized world” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009, p. 35).
Participation in study abroad programs is one way in which institutions encourage global
learning. Several studies claim that study abroad leads to development in students’ global
perspectives. Immersion in an international culture is one key part of study abroad that can
significantly affect the student experience (Kauffmann, Martin, & Weaver, 1992). A detailed
look at empirical studies on the impact of study abroad is provided within the literature review in
chapter two. In order to better understand the connection that is made to study abroad in
developing countries, a brief overview is included below.
Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) have suggested that participation in study abroad may
improve students’ critical thinking skills and allow them to become more knowledgeable about
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 11

global issues. Classic intellectual development theories can be tied to study abroad outcomes.
Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development proposes that students learn best when they
are able to work through a problem under guidance from adults or in collaboration with peers.
Piaget’s (1975) concept of disequilibrium argues that conflict is necessary for development
because students must face some unknown situation and reconcile their fears in order to grow
from the experience. Expanding on Piaget’s (1975) notions, Chickering and Reisser (1993) stress
the importance of challenge and support, a concept that encourages students to learn through
challenging experiences with the support of college administrators or faculty members.
Student development theories such as those briefly noted above can be used today to
better understand study abroad programming. Less familiar, more challenging host locations
have the potential to push students into supported disequilibrium. Che, Spearman, and Manizade
(2009) go as far as to argue that study abroad in developing nations can enhance students’ global
learning and development more than their peers in more traditional study abroad locations or
those remaining on the home campus. They claim that American students can benefit from
“thoughtful and well-considered study abroad programs to less familiar destinations” (Che,
Spearman, & Manizade, 2009, p. 110). The potentially exponential benefits to students’ global
learning and development in programs located in unique and more challenging locations,
coupled with an increase in the numbers of students selecting to study abroad in non-traditional
locations, further supports the need to better understand study abroad programs in locations such
as sub-Saharan Africa.
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, a state university system comprised of five campuses in
Minnesota including its main flagship campus in Minneapolis, includes several global-related
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 12

goals and values in its mission statement. Detailed on the institution’s website, “the University of
Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to
the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through
education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people
of the state, the nation, and the world” (University of Minnesota, 2012). Included in the
university’s goals for students is the preparation of “students interested in continuing education
and lifelong learning, for active roles in a multiracial and multicultural world” (University of
Minnesota, 2012). One of the ways in which the University of Minnesota promotes global
learning goals for students is through its study abroad programs. According to the Institute of
International Education’s (2011) annual Open Doors Report, the University of Minnesota ranks
in the top ten of universities that awards credit to students for study abroad, having sent 2,181
students to various locations across the globe in the 2009-2010 academic year.
In addition to offering students the opportunity to participate in various study abroad
programs in which students directly enroll in overseas universities with which the University of
Minnesota has partnerships, as well as through university-affiliated private overseas program
providers, the University of Minnesota also runs its own Minnesota Studies in International
Development (MSID) program which takes place in four developing countries including Kenya,
Senegal, Ecuador, and India. University of Minnesota students, as well as other U.S. university
students, may apply to and enroll in any of the four MSID program sites, which are each
managed by University of Minnesota staff and faculty. MSID students earn credit for courses
taken abroad. The mission of the MSID program is as follows:
Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) is devoted to the preparation of
culturally sensitive individuals who are committed to the concepts of justice and sustainable
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 13

development for all societies in our interdependent world. MSID seeks to engage students,
faculty and staff, as well as the general community, in dialogue and reciprocal learning with
people from Africa, Asia and Latin America concerning local and global problems, with a
particular emphasis on development issues. Through grassroots internships and research
experiences in development projects working within economically poor communities, MSID
participants gain first-hand experience with the conditions, needs and strengths of the
countries involved with the program (University of Minnesota, 2012).
With a special focus on learning and service in developing countries, the MSID program
also “seeks to foster in its participants nine lifelong habits of mind, heart and action. The
program has been deliberately designed to help its participants acquire these habits” (University
of Minnesota, 2012). The nine student habits on which the MSID program focuses (University of
Minnesota, 2012) are listed below and is further explored in the data analysis of this study and
detailed in chapter four.
1. Think, feel, and act holistically,
2. Extract meaning from experience,
3. Understand the intimate relationship between knowledge and power,
4. Savor diversity,
5. Invoke the global context,
6. Take a long-term perspective,
7. Cultivate empathy,
8. Foster community, and
9. Translate insights and values into action.
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 14

At sites in Kenya and Senegal, MSID offers students the opportunity to take classes in
various aspects of international development as well as engage in internship and volunteer
activities in local communities. The two unique sub-Saharan Africa settings potentially afford
MSID the opportunity to provide especially meaningful experiences for students, but the
program may also face challenges due to its location in developing nations. Financial constraints,
a lack of resources, and bureaucratic issues plague universities in sub-Saharan Africa, which
present challenges to U.S. institutions managing programs in the region (Teferra, 2008).
Supporters of African higher education appear to be making concerted attempts towards
internationalization, but unfortunately not necessarily in a strategic or hastened fashion (Teferra,
2008). The University of Minnesota’s emphatic emphasis on internationalization efforts,
especially global experiences for its students, seems quite in contrast to the internationalization
of universities in Kenya and Senegal. While MSID seeks to educate students in ways in which
development can be achieved in sub-Saharan Africa, it may face challenges in operating a
program in a setting where higher education falls far behind the standards set at the university’s
home campus. Further research is analyzed in chapter two with regards to the higher education
system in sub-Saharan Africa as well as the trends in American study abroad in the region in
order to provide a full background for this case study.
Statement of the Problem
Proponents of study abroad argue that the experience can be “a cornerstone for an
undergraduate education that prepares students to be engaged and informed citizens in an
increasingly globalized world” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009). However, study abroad programs are
regularly created and implemented with little intent to achieve these goals (Skelly, 2009). While
university missions statements refer to global education as a way to prepare graduates to address
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 15

challenges in the world, there is frequently a disconnect between mission statements and the type
of education students are receiving abroad (Skelly, 2009). “Very few international education
programs fundamentally address the problems our students, and humanity more broadly, will
face in the decades to come” (Skelly, 2009, p. 22). Upon establishing study abroad programs,
universities generally reflect little on the philosophical, theoretical, pedagogical, and practical
foundation of international education (Donahue, 2009). Besides professional organizations’
standards for study abroad, there is a lack of research on how programs should be designed and
implemented, especially in regions of the world that are not traditional study abroad locations.
The Institute of International Education (2011) reported an increase of college students
studying abroad since it began collecting data in 1985, including in its most recently published
report a 5.7% increase in 2010-2011 as compared to the previous academic year. What is more
significant is that each year, more U.S. college students elect to study abroad in developing
countries as opposed to formally traditional European locations. Recently, college students have
been participating in study abroad programs located in sub-Saharan Africa in increasing
numbers, demonstrated by an 8% participation increase in the region between just the 2008-2009
and 2009-2010 academic years (Institute of International Education, 2011). The Institute of
International Education speculates that the growth in participation in African programs and those
in other developing countries may be in part stimulated by an increase in new strategic
partnerships between higher education institutions in the United States and those in developing
countries (Institute of International Education, 2011). Due to the lack of intentionality in study
abroad program creation (Skelly, 2009) and an increase in numbers of U.S. students choosing to
go to Africa (Institute of International Education, 2011), a better understanding of sub-Saharan
African study abroad programs and the way in which they are administered is imperative.
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 16

A plethora of research is available with regards to the global learning of and development
of college students who study abroad. Traditionally, most students have chosen to study in
Western European countries, so the large majority of literature on study abroad focuses on
programs in these developed regions of the world. Consequently, very little research has
explored the nature of programs located in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa. Lewin (2009) states, “much empirical research is needed to understand more about
actualities of study abroad programs in less familiar destinations” (p. 113). While African higher
education appears in some general research, literature that provides insight for U.S. universities
on study abroad programs in Africa is scarce. Analysis on the organization and administration of
a study abroad program in sub-Saharan Africa will add substance to the body of literature in this
regard.
In the context of a developing country, challenges may be more substantial in the creation
and implementation of study abroad programs as there are few model examples, and therefore
the intentionality required even more significant. Results from a survey of African-based study
abroad programs revealed concerns were wide and varied, including student preparedness and
cultural adjustment to a developing country, fearful parents, unreliability of communication in
Africa, political instability, university strikes and disturbances, and health and safety issues
(Pires, Marajh, & Metzler, 2000). While issues like parental worries, cultural adjustment, and
health and safety issues may be universal to study abroad programs across the globe, certain
concerns may be unique challenges to developing countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa.
This study addressed the lack of knowledge available on how study abroad programs are
organized and operated in sub-Saharan Africa.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 17

Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine how a study abroad program in sub-Saharan
Africa is implemented in its setting in a developing country. This single case study of the
University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program in
Kenya and Senegal utilized qualitative techniques in the form of interviews, site observation, and
document analysis in order to gain perspective into the ways in which the University of
Minnesota administers its study abroad program in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings in chapter four
explore what factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of MSID, what MSID wants
students to experience in Kenya and Senegal, how MSID supports student learning outcomes,
and how the MSID program is structured with curricular and cocurricular goals in mind for
students. In chapter five, analysis is discussed, namely the three most significant ways that the
MSID program is intentionally designed, through its “blend of academics and Peace Corps”, the
support that faculty and staff provided to students, and in the planned sequence of the program’s
structure.
The holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, &
Dwyer, 2009) was used as a framework for understanding the elements that make up a study
abroad program. The model uses the uniqueness of the study abroad setting and proposes that
students develop interconnected intellectual and social lives while abroad (Gillespie, Braskamp,
& Dwyer, 2009). The framework for connecting student learning and the sociocultural
environment in study abroad offers four “means”, parts of study abroad programs, including
culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and community, which should ideally lead to three “ends”
displaying students’ global learning and development including cognitive, interpersonal, and
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 18

intrapersonal dimensions (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). More details on the framework
are provided in the literature review section of this dissertation.
Research Questions
This study explores one main research question along with three supporting sub-
questions.
Research question:
What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study abroad
program in Kenya and Senegal?
Sub-questions:
1. What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal?
2. How does MSID support student learning outcomes?
3. How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular goals for
students in mind?
Significance of the Study
As universities place increasing importance on study abroad, new program designs have
emerged in order to send larger populations of students abroad. New programs include those of
varying lengths, some concentrated in unique disciplines, and programs in formerly less
traditional locations such as sub-Saharan Africa, the focus of this study. As an increasing number
of American college students are spending parts of their undergraduate careers in study abroad
programs in developing nations, it is important for universities to understand how differently
program goals may or may not be achieved in countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa.
Additionally, research shows that well-constructed programs in less familiar destinations have
the ability to support students in challenging learning experiences and enhance their global
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 19

learning and development (Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009). If universities design and
promote successful programs in regions that signify ancestral meaning for certain groups of
minority students, such as Africa might be for some African American students, participation
rates may also increase and encourage better equity in and access to study abroad. The
experiences gleaned from the MSID program provide useful insight for other universities looking
to maintain or establish study abroad programs in the region.
Definitions
A review of literature on international education and study abroad shows that various
academics use a plethora of different terms to describe this phenomenon. This section briefly
clarifies meanings for key terms that are used throughout this dissertation. To begin, the terms
globalization and internationalization are widely used in research surrounding international
education. Altbach and Knight (2007) define globalization as “the economic, political, and
societal forces pushing 21
st
century higher education toward greater international involvement”
and internationalization as “the policies and practices undertaken by academic systems and
institutions to cope with the global academic environment”, definitions which are used
throughout this study. A section in chapter two provides more detail with regards to universities’
internationalization strategies, including study abroad programming.
According to the United Nations Development Programme (2011) developing countries
are nations that measure “low” on the Human Development Index, which evaluates life
expectancy, years of schooling, and standard of living in order to determine very high, high,
medium, or low human development. Of the 45 countries with low human development scores,
36 are located in sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations Development Programme, 2011). Unique
aspects of developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa are explored in chapter two.
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 20

Many terms are used to describe student sojourners’ short-term experiences in foreign
countries, such as global study, education abroad, overseas studies, and study abroad. Because
study abroad is the most identifiable in research, it is the term that are used in this dissertation.
Student development is one of the key outcome goals of universities for participants in study
abroad programs. Several terms are used to describe the development that can result from a study
abroad experience. Global citizenship relates to how a student thinks of him or herself and relates
to others in a diverse world (Braskamp, 2008). Global competence describes a student’s capacity
to “comprehend, analyze, and evaluate” knowledge in a global setting (Brustein, 2007).
Intercultural competence is “the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in
intercultural situations based on one’s intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Deardorff,
2006, p. 247). While the definitions describing intended outcomes of study abroad have slight
nuances, they share goals for the development of students in a globalized world. For the purposes
of this dissertation, the term global learning and development is used, signifying students’
advancing abilities to “act in terms of living in a world in which they will meet, work, and live
with others with very different cultural backgrounds” (Braskamp, Braskamp, & Merrill, 2009).
Limitations
The intent of this study is to inform institutions of higher education seeking to maintain
or establish study abroad programs in Africa on the ways in which those programs might be
organized and operated. However, by studying a single case site there is no way to fully
generalize this study’s findings across all African study abroad programs. There may be aspects
of the MSID program that do not translate well to other universities and the resources that might
be available. However, by exploring one program in-depth, the aim of this study is to deeply
understand aspects of an African-based study abroad program.
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 21

Delimitations
This study explores the operation of the MSID program; however, given the limited
scope of this study, potential student outcomes were not assessed. MSID students were not
interviewed for data collection on the student experience in MSID, so conclusions cannot truly
be drawn as far as the success of MSID’s program design and administration in leading to its
intended student outcome goals. This research intends instead to take close look at the unique
facets of the MSID program and the ways in which they may be designed to support its goals for
students. Due to the single case design of this study, the MSID program was not compared to
other study abroad programs in Africa or other countries. Likewise, although MSID operates in
several developing countries, its Kenya and Senegal sites were analyzed together and not in
comparison to one another in order to understand how MSID is administered in sub-Saharan
Africa. Finally, due to time constraints of this study, longevity of, changes in, and success of the
MSID program were not a focus. Rather than evaluating the program, this study explores aspects
of MSID in order to provide insight into its operation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Organization of the Study
Chapter one began this dissertation with a background of the problem to be addressed,
along with the research questions that were studied and significance of the work. Next, chapter
two presents a review of literature on internationalization in higher education, study abroad
outcomes, the impact of program design on such outcomes, higher education in sub-Saharan
Africa, study abroad in sub-Saharan Africa, and the holistic student learning and development
abroad model which is used as a framework for this study. Chapter three then addresses the
methodology and research design that was used in this study. Chapter four reviews the data
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 22

collected, along with an analysis of that data. Finally, chapter five concludes with a summary of
the study and recommendations for future research and practice in study abroad.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 23

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Institutions of higher education in the United States are increasing internationalization
efforts, including study abroad among many other examples. Consequently, over the last few
decades, research on study abroad outcomes has also increased. While academics are interested
in this popularized college experience, scholarship has not necessarily kept up with the changing
landscape of study abroad. In this chapter, literature on study abroad provides a background for
this study. First, the internationalization strategies of institutions of higher education in the
United States are explored. Next, a review of the research on outcomes from study abroad is
provided, with a focus on the global learning and development of college students who
participate in study abroad experiences. In order to understand the location of this case study, an
overview of the African system of higher education is then presented, along with background on
study abroad in Africa. Finally, an explanation of the holistic student learning and development
abroad model, the framework that was used for this study, concludes this chapter.
Internationalization in Higher Education
Forces of globalization have undeniably impacted modern higher education in the United
States. A report by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2007) recommends
new global learning outcomes for college students in order for institutions to help prepare
graduates for the 21
st
century. With “blurred boundaries” between countries nowadays
(Friedman, 2005), universities are facing pressure to enhance internationalization strategies in
order for the institutions and enrolled students to be competitive in the new world economy.
Explanations for the “flattening” (Friedman, 2005) of the world are varied and include
advancement in technology and communication, increased international labor mobility, and more
emphasis on market economy and trade liberalization (Knight, 2008). However, Americans have
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 24

generally not kept up with international affairs well. As a country of immigrants, the United
States is somewhat of a paradox given its insular nature (American Council on Education, 1995).
Internationalization strategies in institutions of higher education seek to correct this fault, since
American college graduates will not succeed in the 21
st
century without global competence
(American Council on Education, 1995).
Knight (2008) notes that “internationalization is not an end in itself but rather is a means
to an end”. Globalization describes the force of the world becoming increasingly interconnected
while internationalization strategies, referring to institutional initiatives (Knight, 2004), are
means to dealing with such forces. These new strategies range widely, some of which include
online classes or degrees, international branch campuses, university networks, franchising
agreements, increasing enrollment of international students on U.S. campuses, institutional
partnerships, and study abroad programs (Knight, 2008). Some of the many rationales driving
internationalization plans at U.S. institutions of higher education include citizenship
development, foreign policy, national security, labor market expansion, institutional reputation
and prestige, and intercultural understanding (Knight, 2004).
Study Abroad in the United States
Study abroad history in the United States is fairly new but has still changed quite a bit
over the last few decades. The Institute of International Education (2012) began tracking
American college students studying overseas in the 1985-1986 academic year. Ten years later,
the American Council on Education (1995) published a report that emphasized the importance of
developing global competence in college students, who they claimed should have knowledge of
international affairs and skills to communicate across cultures. Another decade later, over one-
third of mission statements from American universities included some mention of
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 25

internationalization strategies or global goals (Siaya & Hayward, 2003). Today, study abroad is
one major internationalization strategy employed by universities (Paige, Cohen, & Shively,
2004). Institutions are beginning to increase focus on generating graduates with the knowledge
and skills necessary to compete in a global workforce. The Association of American Colleges
and Universities (2007) recommends that universities encourage students to be involved in
diverse communities on campus and that college learning outcomes include intercultural
knowledge and global engagement.
European nations have acknowledged the importance of international knowledge and
student mobility for decades, as evidenced by the European Community Action Scheme for the
Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) student exchange program and the regulated
academic systems made possible through the Bologna process (Altbach & Knight, 2007). The
American Council on Education (1995) argues U.S. institutions must also become international
in their goals. The mobility allowed by the ERASMUS program may be used as a model for the
U.S. (Wanner, 2009), since 6 to 7% of students from European universities study abroad each
year (Doyle, Gendall, Meyer, Hoek, Tait, McKenzie, & Loorparg, 2010), compared to 1.4% of
Americans in 2009-2010 (Institute of International Education, 2011).
One of the ways that U.S. universities encourage global learning and development in
students is through study abroad programs. The Institute of International Education (2009) states
that 80% of U.S. universities are attempting to send more students abroad. As of 2006, 91% of
American colleges and universities had study abroad programs of some kind (Stearns, 2009).
Study abroad programs are generally defined as educational programs that take place overseas,
but the types of experiences offered vary quite widely (Lowe, Dozier, Hunt-Hurst, & Smith,
2008). Programs may be administered by a university itself in a self-contained “island” style
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 26

center overseas, students may enroll directly in a foreign institution, or a program may be
sponsored by a third-party company. Students may choose programs varying in length, including
one week school break trips, summer programs, semester or year-long programs (Lowe, Dozier,
Hunt-Hurst, & Smith, 2008). Enrollment in all types of study abroad programs has increased
over the last few decades. According to the most recent data, during the 2009-2010 academic
year, 270,604 U.S. students studied abroad, representing a 3.9% increase from the previous year
and more than triple the number of participants in the early 1990s (Institute of International
Education, 2011). This large increase in students going overseas makes a clear case for
university administrators to consider their study abroad programs and the experiences they offer
students.
With an increase in college students going overseas, the landscape of study abroad has
changed. The original “Junior Year Abroad” program was developed in 1923 by a French
professor at the University of Delaware and enrolled U.S. college students interested in simply
studying European art and literature first-hand (Stearns, 2009). Then, in the 1970s and 1980s,
U.S. universities expanded their study abroad programs as global initiatives became more
important. Today, the majority of students continue to participate in traditional study abroad
locations, mostly in Western Europe, but larger proportions of students are selecting to study in
unconventional locations each year. While 60% of students studied in Europe in 2004-2005, 11
of the top 20 destinations of choice were Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania (Obst,
Bhandari, & Witherell, 2007). In sub-Saharan Africa alone, participation increased by 8%
between the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic years (Institute of International Education,
2011). The Institute of International Education suggests this data represents an increasing interest
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 27

in students to study in destinations that have the potential to offer linguistic, cultural, and
professional experience in emerging global markets (Obst, Bhandari, & Witherell, 2007).
Globalization in higher education is unavoidable. Study abroad is one way in which
universities are addressing the need to graduate globally competent students entering an
increasingly globalized world. With the increase in students participating in study abroad in
general as well as in programs located in developing nations, there is a need for a better
understanding of the potential benefits for students studying in less traditional areas and how
study abroad programs operate in more unique locations. This study aims to fill that gap and
explore specifically study abroad in sub-Saharan Africa. What follows are compilations of
literature on study abroad outcomes and sub-Saharan Africa in order to better understand the
context of this study.
Study Abroad Outcomes
Numerous studies provide evidence of positive impacts on students who participate in
study abroad programs. Proponents of study abroad claim participant students gain knowledge
and personal development more profoundly than their peers who remain on campus. Results of
the National Survey of Student Engagement (2007) claim study abroad is a “high impact”
experience associated with higher level thinking and reflective learning opportunities for student
participants, who purportedly are more engaged on campus after their return from studying
abroad. Hovey and Weinberg (2009) go as far as to say that civic and global education on
campus is not enough in the making of college graduates as global citizens, that study abroad
opportunities are a must in encouraging global learning and development in students.
Various researchers have attempted to prove the effects of study abroad on students in
quantitative and qualitative ways. In the early research on study abroad outcomes, language
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 28

acquisition was a focus. In general, students who participated in study abroad programs in non-
English speaking countries improved foreign language skills (Stearns, 2009). More attention has
been paid as of late to the acquisition of more holistic knowledge and skills through study
abroad, which appears to be more difficult to measure than foreign language proficiency.
Holistic global learning and development encompasses cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal
growth. Because traditional age college students undergo a transformative period in their
sophomore and junior years, which coincides with the time when the majority of study abroad
students make their overseas journey, the potential for growth during study abroad is significant
(Hadis, 2005). While specific institutional goals may vary between study abroad programs, the
importance of global learning and development, or various other related terms, is recognized by
nearly all institutions (Rexeisen, 2008), which signifies students’ advancing abilities to “act in
terms of living in a world in which they will meet, work, and live with others with very different
cultural backgrounds” (Braskamp, Braskamp, & Merrill, 2009).
Student Development Theory in the Context of Study Abroad
Forces of globalization may not have been as potent 20 or 30 years ago as they are in
higher education today, but influential theories of student development proposed at that time
have contributed to themes of learning and development in the global context today. Che,
Spearman, and Manizade (2009) argue the work by Vygotsky and Piaget are most closely related
to student development in study abroad. Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development
theorizes that students learn best by solving complicated problems with guidance from or
collaboration with more experienced persons. Piaget (1975) similarly posits that conflict or
challenge provides learning opportunities but that dissonance alone may lead to frustration or
fear, so supported disequilibrium is optimal. Disorienting dilemmas are inherent in the
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 29

challenges study abroad students face while negotiating their new overseas environments
(Hunter, 2008). Che, Spearman, and Manizade (2009) purport study abroad programs “can
provide the safe environment necessary for constructive disequilibrium” (p. 103).
Research generally supports the notion that study abroad can positively impact student
development. Chickering and Braskamp (2009) claim “education abroad does and can have an
important influence on the global development of students”. Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer
(2009) agree that study abroad can be a powerful tool for holistic student development. In
general, researchers agree that the study abroad experience is a defining experience in college
students’ global learning and development (Chickering & Braskamp, 2009).
King and Baxter Magolda (2005) posit a developmental model of intercultural maturity,
which includes three domains of student development: cognitive, intrapersonal and interpersonal.
Maturity is defined based on Kegan’s theory of self-authorship wherein “mature individuals are
better equipped to approach and respond to complex life tasks” (King & Baxter Magolda, 2005,
p. 574), so that students who display high intercultural maturity are able to apply cross-cultural
skills to real life situations, not just simply understand different cultures. Study abroad is one
way in which students are afforded first-hand experiences in which to apply new cross-cultural
skills. Chickering and Braskamp (2009) build on Chickering’s (1969) theory of college student
psychosocial development, which is comprised of four stages or “vectors”: moving through
autonomy toward interdependence, establishing identity, developing purpose, and managing
emotions. They claim that study abroad can assist in developing students’ global perspectives if
programs are structured to create holistic development which supports each of Chickering’s
(1969) vectors.
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 30

In the Intercultural Competence Model, Deardoff (2006) claims students move from a
personal level to an interpersonal level, where the degree of intercultural competence depends on
displaying certain competences. Students in beginning stages show respect, openness and
curiosity, those who are developing intercultural knowledge and skills display cultural self-
awareness and sociolinguistic awareness, and those on an interpersonal level have acquired
adaptability, flexibility, and empathy (Deardoff, 2006). Bennett’s (1998) Developmental Model
of Intercultural Sensitivity explains the experiences of people in intercultural situations,
assuming that “as one’s experience of cultural difference becomes more sophisticated, one’s
competence in intercultural relations increases” (p. 152). Phases of the model move from
ethnocentric, where one’s own culture is viewed solely and centrally, to ethnorelative, where
one’s culture is seen in relation to other cultures (Bennett & Bennett, 2004).
Cognitive, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Racial and Ethnic Development
Based on various models of global learning and development, studies have shown the
benefit of study abroad in students’ growth, supporting the claim that study abroad is a value-
added experience for college students. Student learning outcomes from study abroad show
growth in three dimensions: cognitive (cultural knowledge), interpersonal (cultural sensitivity),
and intrapersonal (self-confidence) (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Study abroad
experience results in an immediate positive impact on global learning and development
(Rexeisen, Anderson, Lawton, & Hubbard, 2008). Participants’ self-reports have indicated that
study abroad students learn how to interact with people from different cultures (Bender, Wright,
& Lopatto, 2009). Survey results have also reported study abroad students advance in their
knowledge of international affairs and confidence in living in a different culture after their
experience abroad (Braskamp, Braskamp, & Merrill, 2009). In addition to significant growth in
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 31

knowledge about different cultures, study abroad students gain a more positive sense of self and
greater confidence in general (Braskamp & Engberg, 2011). Study abroad students tend to widen
their cross-cultural knowledge and consequently redefine their identities as Americans and
reexamine what it means to be American (Savicki & Cooley, 2011).
A variety of interpersonal skills are often developed in study abroad students, including
patience, mutual respect, and empathy (Doyle, 2009). Intercultural development and intercultural
sensitivity are generally impacted positively through participation in study abroad (Paige, Cohen,
& Shively, 2004). Through study abroad programs, students have learned how to adapt to a
foreign culture by being flexible and showing cultural empathy and respect (Kitsantas & Meyers,
2001). Students who study abroad have also been shown to demonstrate greater ability to address
situations of cultural difference after having been overseas (Miller & Fernandez, 2007). In
general, qualitative and quantitative research indicates overwhelmingly positive outcomes in
students’ global learning and development after having participated in study abroad programs.
These studies support this dissertation’s premise that study abroad experiences in locations such
as sub-Saharan African have the potential to support great impacts on students’ development
given the diverse setting.
As mentioned in chapter one, far fewer minority students choose to study abroad than
their Caucasian peers (Institute of International Education, 2011), but African American students
do make up a larger proportion of the students participating in African-based programs than in
other locations (Metzler, 2002). Students tend to choose study abroad locations based on their
ancestry (Day-Vines, Barker, & Exum, 1998), which has implications for their racial and ethnic
identity formation in study abroad settings. Bennett and Bennett (2004) note that race and
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 32

ethnicity can be self-defined in a variety of ways based on cultural experiences, physical
appearance, and association with particular groups of people.
The variety of student outcomes that result from overseas experiences provides
educational justifications for study abroad programs (Kitsantas & Meyers, 2001). Study abroad
experiences that lead to personal growth in students have an important impact on the positive
ways in which returnees engage on campus, leading to an increase in overall retention (Young,
2008). Skill sets valued by employers, particularly intercultural communication capabilities, can
conceivably be gleaned through study abroad experiences (Trooboff, Vandeberg, & Rayman,
2008). Study abroad outcomes continue on in many students’ lives, as many find international
professional mobility (Kehm, 2005) and careers in related fields such as diplomacy and
international journalism (Fernandez, 2011).
While there is certainly much research that supports study abroad as delivering strong
outcomes for students in their global learning and development, many studies do acknowledge
the caveat that students self-select to participate in study abroad and most likely have
expectations for the global learning and development they will achieve through their experiences
overseas. In fact, many students who study abroad have already had international experiences in
years prior to participating in a study abroad program (Hoff, 2008). Additionally, since the
majority of students who study abroad are in a potentially transformative period in their lives
already, it is possible that their growth and development is related to general maturation (Hadis,
2005). This caveat was taken into account when analyzing the data collected in this study with
relation to students’ experiences in the MSID program in Kenya and Senegal.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 33

Impact of Study Abroad Program Design on Outcomes
Study abroad can be a potentially impactful experience for students, as illustrated in the
previous section, but study abroad program design is a significant factor in if and how outcomes
are achieved (Kaufmann, Martin, & Weaver, 1992). There is great diversity among the study
abroad programs that are offered (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009). Specific goals of study abroad
programs, types of experiences they offer students, and potential learning outcomes can be quite
varied (Bender, Wright, & Lopatto, 2009), although outcome objectives for students most
commonly mentioned by study abroad programs are related to global learning and development,
or in other words, intercultural competence (Paige, Cohen, & Shively, 2004) and intercultural
development (Rexeisen, Anderson, Lawton, & Hubbard, 2008).
There is generally little intent put into the design and implementation of study abroad
programs (Skelly, 2009), but in order to achieve their learning and developmental objectives for
students, study abroad programs must in fact be purposefully designed (Bennett, 2008). Simply
offering study abroad programs is not enough to lead to students’ global learning and
development, but programs that are well-designed with those goals in mind can be successful in
encouraging outcomes in students (Lutterman-Aguilar & Gingerich, 2002). Research
demonstrates how intentionally designed study abroad programs can encourage positive
outcomes in students (Williams, 2009). As participation in study abroad increases, so too must
new programs respond to increasingly diverse groups of students (Soneson & Cordano, 2009).
Study abroad programs must be customized to meet students’ individualized needs in order to
support their global learning and development (Yu, Chick, Morais, & Lin, 2008).

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 34

Immersion and Experiential Learning
Hovey and Weinberg (2009) claim programs that lack intentionality in their
establishment are “low road” programs, in contrast with “high road” programs that actually do
put thought into creating the best possible experience for students. Low road programs send
college students to study abroad with little preparation and offer weak cultural experiences
overseas. They also happen to enroll the majority of study abroad participants (Hovey &
Weinberg, 2009). In contrast, high road programs “are developed to ensure deep cultural and
linguistic immersion” (p. 37), where students are well-prepared for their journey and supported
in integrated learning and immersion into the host community (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009).
Students who have participated in high road study abroad programs reap the most benefits as far
as their global learning and development outcomes. This is important to consider so that study
abroad programs are designed with principles of “accessibility, understanding of less traditional
societies, preparation for reentry to one’s country with a renewed commitment to globally-
informed civic engagement, and an appreciation of the importance of reciprocity and respect for
the host communities” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009, p. 46).
Several studies claim that study abroad can be an affective experience for students due to
its experiential nature. The influence of cultural immersion in the overseas experience is a unique
characteristic to study abroad as compared to other campus opportunities. The level and quality
of immersion in a study abroad experience varies widely from program to program. Study abroad
programs that intentionally immerse students into the host culture and community are more
impactful (Stearns, 2009). The best study abroad programs involve deep cultural and linguistic
immersion, where students are “oriented to understand and respect local customs” (Hovey &
Weinberg, 2009, p. 37). Lutterman-Aguilar and Gingerich (2002) argue study abroad must
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 35

involve immersion into the local host community as a way to help students develop their own
connections to a broader global community. Ortiz (2000) claims study abroad students are
consequently “forced to confront realities of life in America and how the world feels about
Americans” (p. 75). Students generally enjoy experiential learning better than formal in-class
instruction, favoring by and large the “pedagogy of active engagement” such as offered in many
study abroad programs (Braskamp, 2008). Developing countries have the potential to provide
study abroad settings rich with opportunities for immersion in diverse cultures.
Specific Programmatic Features’ Influence on Students’ Experiences in Study Abroad
Research suggests the variables associated with different study abroad programs may
affect student outcomes in different ways. Often the first phases in study abroad programs are
pre-departure and on-site orientation activities, which Laubscher (1994) claims are important in
order for students’ preparation for study abroad. Students often face cultural adjustment and
acculturation issues in the early days of a study abroad program, which can be stressful due to
“contact with a perplexing and multifaceted array of foreign values, attitudes, behaviors, and
environmental conditions” (Savicki, Cooley, & Donnelly, 2008, p. 173). Although cultural
immersion is one of the highlights of study abroad, it can also be challenging, so support from
on-site administrators as well as peers from home can help to ease acculturative stress in the
early days (Savicki, Cooley, & Donnelly, 2008).
Study abroad programs vary greatly in the experiences they offer students and the level of
local cultural immersion in each facet of the program (Stearns, 2009). For example, living
arrangements are one facet of study abroad that is unique to each program and which can
influence the overseas experience. Initially, new encounters with different cultures can assist in
the socio-cultural adjustment of study abroad students (Savicki, Adams, Wilde, & Binder, 2007).
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 36

Some programs offer living arrangements in host families, while others organize dormitories or
apartments for students, either comingled with host country students or solely with American
study abroad students. Additionally, some programs are located in countries where English is not
the first language and may or may not be widely spoken, which may be an additional layer of
immersion for students.
The study abroad classroom experience differs widely from program to program, with
some offering direct enrollment in a foreign partner institution, others providing instruction by
either home or host country faculty in a university satellite location, and still others with some
combination of different instruction and facilities. A study by Miller and Fernandez (2007)
indicates students’ global learning and development was positively correlated with the close
relationships formed with study abroad faculty and diverse teams of peers. Outside the
classroom, experiences can be equally as important as in-class exercises in students’ study
abroad experiences though (Hoff, 2008).
Outside-the-Classroom Experiences in Study Abroad
Various research supports the idea that more immersion in study abroad programs leads
to global learning and development of student participants. Students often take independent
travel within their host region during the time abroad, and administrators may also incorporate
excursions within study abroad programs as structured cultural and experiential learning
opportunities. Newer theories of design for study abroad programs favor experiential education
outside the classroom as being more influential for student participants than class work. Hovey
and Weinberg (2009) suggest that in order to develop students into active global citizens, their
study abroad experiences should involve internships, community service activities, or other ways
in which they are involved in the local host community. Community service in study abroad is
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 37

generally seen as reciprocal in that students gain as much from learning about their host
community as they give back (Lutterman-Aguilar & Gingerich, 2002), which can be especially
impactful and important in a developing, impoverished country. Brockington and Weidenhoeft
(2009) concur that internships as well as research projects can provide substantial opportunities
for students’ global learning and development, claiming that ethnography components of
particular study abroad programs which required students to write about their overseas
experiences provided them with powerful transformative learning experiences.
Another emerging component of study abroad research receiving more attention is the
inclusion of structured reflection activities in programs, defined as small group discussions,
reflective journal assignments, or individual student meetings with program faculty or advisors
(Tolliver, 2000). Studies focused on the process of learning have shown gains in development
when students are guided in processing the information and experiences gleaned in study abroad
and provided opportunities for self-reflection (Hoff, 2008). Students’ reflection on their study
abroad experiences may influence the way in which they are able to cope with the “reentry”
phase of returning home and use their experience to become re-engaged in the campus
community (Hovey & Weinberg, 2008).
Administrative Support
In general, there is strongest potential for study abroad students’ global learning and
development in situations of dissonance, which the international experience may offer students,
especially in non-traditional study abroad locations. “Study abroad programs targeting less
familiar destinations have a potential for student development, social good, and increasing
cultural awareness and global mindedness to a greater degree than those that target more familiar
locations” (Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009, p. 104). For best impact, students must be
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 38

supported through challenging situations (Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009) such as study
abroad, especially in locations with potentially more challenges like developing countries.
Staff and faculty are integral in supporting students’ challenges while abroad, so that
difficult encounters lead to developmental growth (Hoff, 2008). Experiences abroad must not be
so challenging that students cannot learn from them or risky beyond unsafe or unethical means
(Lutterman-Aguilar & Gingerich, 2002). In addition to encouraging immersion and supporting
students through challenging situations, students who are advised through focused reflection
exercises benefit most from their experiences (Savicki, 2008). In their time abroad, study abroad
students generally respond positively to the diverse situations in which they encounter, especially
when they feel as though they are supported by their program through challenges that might arise
(Braskamp & Engberg, 2011).
Training for home campus and on-site study abroad staff and faculty varies greatly, as
does the ways in which study abroad offices are organized (Stearns, 2009). Professional
organizations such as the Association of International Educators (NAFSA) and the Forum on
Education Abroad provide resources and collaboration opportunities for study abroad
professionals, which has contributed to the field. Due to the various hats study abroad
professionals wear and the challenges they face in their roles, creativity and inventiveness are
essential characteristics of a successful study abroad advisor (Stearns, 2009).
Deardoff (2008) proposes a framework for study abroad programs to promote personal
development in student participants, based on the key actions of preparing and supporting
students. She asserts the importance for programs to support students’ skill development,
encourage reflection, provide meaningful intercultural interactions, and assess developmental
progress (Deardoff, 2008). Bennett (2008) concurs that “unfacilitated intercultural interaction
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 39

without preparation and debriefing often fails to foster intercultural competence, decrease
stereotypes, or engender learning”. In the context of study abroad, this implies pre-departure
preparation, on-site facilitation of intercultural contact, and reintegration post-study abroad are
important (Bennett, 2008). These facets and others of MSID were studied in order to gain insight
into the unique programmatic aspects of study abroad in sub-Saharan Africa.
Assessment of Study Abroad Programs
Along with institutional goals of sending more students to study abroad comes more
focus on outcomes (Hoff, 2008). Assessment of study abroad program success and student
outcomes may present challenges. Most large scale evaluations of study abroad outcomes have
thus far focused on foreign language acquisition, which has been easier to assess (Stearns, 2009).
For the assessment of programs and outcomes as a whole, Deardoff (2008) stresses the
importance of aligning realistic goals in study abroad programs. For example, in short-term
programs, students might not gain as much in terms of global learning and development as those
who are abroad for an entire academic year. Likewise, students in locations with similar Western
cultures to the U.S. or in programs structured with little community involvement may have
differing experiences from programs in highly challenging locations or programs with immersion
components (Deardoff, 2008). Whatever characteristics a study abroad program has though,
Deardoff (2008) claims what is most important in assessing success is ensuring that the mission
and goals of the program are aligned with the chosen framework and methods of assessment. The
best way to assess students’ global learning and development, Deardoff (2008) claims, is through
case studies, interviews, and other qualitative measures.
Simply offering study abroad opportunities to undergraduate students is not enough;
programs must be intentionally designed for maximum benefit to students’ global learning and
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 40

development outcomes. As this section has described, research proves that various parts of study
abroad program design are important, but more needs to be explored as far as the ways in which
particular programs are achieving student outcomes, especially in newer, more diverse locations.
The findings from this study are intended to add data to the field in terms of operational aspects
of study abroad in sub-Saharan Africa.
Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa
In order to understand how an American university’s study abroad program operates in
sub-Saharan Africa, it is important to recognize the context of the region itself and the
complexities of operating a study abroad program there. Internationalization of higher education
in sub-Saharan Africa has taken shape differently than in the United States and many other
countries. Colonization destroyed educational systems in most African countries and replaced
them with new forms of educational practices imposed by occupying countries such as France
and the United Kingdom. One of the greatest changes to post-colonial higher education in Africa
was to the language of instruction, which remains today in most African universities the
colonized language, French or English in most contexts (Teferra, 2008). After the social,
economic, and political problems Africa faced in the 1970s, its systems of higher education were
left in poor states, with some even calling African universities of that time “glorified high
schools” (Teferra, 2008, p. 55). Internationalization of African higher education has a long
history of its own, mostly strife with issues, which is important to understand in the context of
studying an American study abroad center located on the continent.
Financial Constraints
Modern African higher education depends on external constituencies for assistance in
progress and stability. The World Bank, UNESCO, USAID, and other non-profit organizations
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 41

from various countries have key political influence in African educational policy because they
financially support much of the infrastructure there. For example, in the 1970s and 1980s, the
World Bank funded African primary education heavily, to the neglect of higher education
(Sehoole, 2008). The African continent is home to the largest number of developing countries in
the world, as measured by the Human Development Index, which evaluates life expectancy,
years of schooling, and standard of living in order to determine very high, high, medium, or low
human development. Of the 45 countries defined as possessing low human development, 36 are
located in sub-Saharan Africa (United Nations Development Programme, 2011). While African
countries have the opportunity to improve their economies through higher education (Pillay,
2011), which is a key influence in national development (Teferra & Altbach, 2004), because
most countries in Africa do not have economic means to support sophisticated systems of higher
education alone, they are reliant on outside funding and resources.
Low College-Going Rates
Many African countries are not capable of reproducing the internationalization strategies
of developed countries. Africa is a very large continent but has just 300 colleges and universities
(Teferra & Altbach, 2004). Additionally, while 24% of the world is enrolled in tertiary
education, there is a significant disparity between developed and developing countries, with 67%
of inhabitants of “high income” countries such as the United States, Japan, and Western
European nations achieving college-level education but only 5% in sub-Saharan Africa achieving
the same (Altbach, 2011). While some African countries are receiving more interest from
potential international institutional partners recently, they more often than not do not have the
infrastructure to develop and support such relationships (Teferra, 2008).
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 42

With recent easing of trade agreements, making it easier for universities to begin
partnerships in developing countries, more opportunities are available for developing countries to
expand their systems of education (Bashir, 2007). The development of new international
partnerships is being encouraged in African countries as a way toward economic growth
(Mohamedbhai, 2011). African higher education is more prominently in the spotlight of
institutions pushing internationalizing efforts than in the past, exemplified by the creation of the
Partnership for Higher Education in Africa established by four U.S. non-profit foundations
(Teferra, 2008), and as mentioned previously the increase in numbers of American college
students choosing to participate in African-based study abroad programs. It may be that
universities are broadening views of internationalization efforts to non-traditional locations,
seeing financial or other gains in partnership opportunities in the region, or recognizing the need
of developing nations for support from more prosperous countries.
Lack of Resources
Issues abound in African higher education, especially in developing sub-Saharan nations,
such concerns that literature suggests began after countries were colonized. Other historical
considerations include the independence countries have developed, expansion and privatization
of higher education in Africa, and the volatile political and economic systems of many countries.
Along with independence, many African nations have moved toward the privatization of
universities, partially in response to protests on public school campuses over the last few decades
on the increase in fees and limitation of student resources have led to closures of several
universities in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Senegal (Teferra, 2008).
There is little in terms of accreditation or quality regulations in higher education in Africa
(Mohamedbhai, 2011). Also included in concerns about African higher education is a lack of
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 43

resources in institutions of higher education in Africa, especially in terms of academic material
and technology resources (Teferra, 2008). This is important for U.S. universities to consider if
they are seeking to establish study abroad programs in Africa. The lack of resources in African
institutions of higher education might be reason to establish study abroad programs managed
entirely by the U.S. schools themselves and independent of African universities.
Brain Drain
Student mobility across the globe has traditionally seen students moving from the South
to the North for study in more industrialized nations than those from which they come (Teferra,
2008). With a history wrought with problems in higher education, African countries are troubled
by a “brain drain” dilemma where students and faculty are moving from Africa to Europe, the
United States, Asia and other locations for study and are consequently providing innovation to
those regions. In the 2009-2010 academic year, Nigeria and Kenya were in the top 25 list of
sending countries of students to the United States (Institute of International Education, 2011). At
the same time, African institutions of higher education have not had success in enrolling
international students on their campuses (Mulumba, Obaje, Kobedi, & Kishun, 2008), which is
one of the key internationalization strategies for higher education. There are also large numbers
of academics and professionals from Africa moving to North America and Europe (Altbach,
2011). As a result, sub-Saharan Africa contributes just 1% of global knowledge and its
universities are absent from published rankings of institutions of higher education worldwide
(Teferra, 2008).
Africa is without research detailing effective strategies for supporting internationalization
in their systems of higher education (Mulumba, Obaje, Kobedi, & Kishun, 2008). U.S.
institutions face unique challenges in starting programs in Africa, but there are many reasons
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 44

why it is important. Advocates for the development and expansion of U.S. study abroad
programs in sub-Saharan Africa claim potential benefits may be reaped not only for the students
who participate but also consequently for the region in general. Metzler (2002) claims that U.S.
students who “have had the experience of studying in Africa can contribute to the development
of a strong and concerted voice for Africa that will be heard in policy debates throughout the
government and among major international organizations and funding agencies”. Reilly and
Senders (2009) argue that with much trouble in the world, study abroad is a unique opportunity
to search for solutions to real world issues such as economic disparity in developing countries.
The sub-Saharan African region has its share of issues in higher education and therefore
complexities in running a study abroad program there, but the potential benefit to expanding
American presence there is substantial, as has been touched upon and is expanded upon below,
as study abroad within the region is explored next.
Study Abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa
Study abroad in sub-Saharan Africa is relatively new, with fewer programs and student
participants in the region as compared to Europe or other more popular destinations. According
to the latest Open Doors Report, 270,604 U.S. students studied abroad for academic credit during
the 2009-2010 academic year, which represented a 3.9% increase over the previous year and
more than triple the number of study abroad participants over the past two decades (Institute of
International Education, 2011). While the majority of students continue to elect study abroad
locations in Western Europe, 14 of the 25 leading destinations of choice in 2009-2010 were
outside Europe. However, the only African nation included in the top 25 destinations was South
Africa (Institute of International Education, 2011), a country that has a different history and also
a more positive image in U.S. media in its post-apartheid era than other countries in sub-Saharan
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 45

Africa (Metzler, 2002). In general, the host region of Africa received 14,769 U.S. study abroad
participants in the 2009-2010 academic year, representing just 5.5% of overall study abroad
students. However, it was an 8% increase from the previous academic year, proving a substantial
increase in participation in the region (Institute of International Education, 2011).
A compilation of 10 years’ worth of Open Doors Reports revealed the largest increases in
U.S. study abroad participants in Africa were in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania,
Zimbabwe, and Senegal (Metzler, 2002). In the 2009-2010 academic year, the sub-Saharan
African countries that hosted the most U.S. students were South Africa with 4,313 students,
Ghana with 2,132 students, Kenya with 1,198 students, Tanzania with 962 students, Uganda with
571 students, and Senegal with 381 students (Institute of International Education, 2011). African
study abroad programs have always been most popular in Anglophone and Francophone
countries, where colonization led to English and French speaking populations and systems of
education (Metzler, 2002).
Student Demographics
As mentioned in chapter one, the study abroad student population is primarily comprised
of Caucasian females in social science majors, with 63.5% of study abroad participants being
female and 78.7% Caucasian in the 2009-2010 academic year (Institute of International
Education, 2011). African American students are less than half as likely as White students to
study abroad (Stearns, 2009). African American students are studying abroad in slightly
increasing numbers though, represented by an increase of 1.2% to 4.7% of students participating
in study abroad in the 2009-2010 academic year (Institute of International Education, 2011).
However, research suggest that a much larger percentage of African American students makes up
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 46

the student population in African study abroad programs, representing 23% in the 2000-2001
academic year (Metzler, 2002).
Research connects students’ choice to participate in African study abroad programs to
their ancestry (Day-Vines, Barker, & Exum, 1998). One of the goals of the National Consortium
for Study in Africa (1995) is to “enlarge the enrollments of existing quality programs in Africa,
particularly among African-American and other minority students throughout the U.S.” Study
abroad experiences in Africa can have a powerful impact on students of various races by
providing them with a first-hand historical context for race relations in the United States
(Tolliver, 2000). “Nontraditional study abroad destinations can reveal the global
interconnectedness of problems once thought to be local” (Jenkins, 2002, p. 50). A study by
Day-Vines, Barker, and Exum (1998) found significant impact for African American women
participating in a study abroad program in Ghana. They suggested that study abroad programs
which include diasporic travel, wherein people return to their ancestral location, have the
potential to be empowering for students in their racial identity exploration (Day-Vines, Barker,
& Exum, 1998; Morgan, Mwegelo, Thuner, 2002), although these types of “heritage programs”
are lacking in study abroad offerings (Neff, 2001).
Issues in African-Based Study Abroad Programs
African studies faculty members and scholars in African higher education advocate for
the development of more study abroad programs in Africa (Metzler, 2002). But recruiting
students to African programs has presented challenges thus far. Metzler (2002) describes the four
“Fs” of recruitment – fear, finance, faculty, and family – and the unique challenges of each in the
context of Africa. He affirms many prospective participants and their parents are fearful of
Africa based on negative associations from U.S. media. Africa is also perceived to be more
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 47

expensive than other study abroad locations, mostly due to travel expenditures to the region.
Some faculty members may discourage students to study in Africa, especially if they question
study abroad programs’ academic quality (Braskamp, 2008). Finally, family can be an obstacle
based on their potentially negative images of Africa (Metzler, 2002).
With regards to study abroad program implementation, there are also many challenges
present in and unique to the sub-Saharan region. The National Consortium for Study in Africa
contends that one-third of study abroad programs in Africa are discontinued within three years of
being initiated (National Consortium for Study in Africa, 1995). Sustainability issues abound in
the development of African study abroad programs. Political unrest and university strikes pose
problems for universities establishing and maintaining relationships in Africa (Metzler, 2002).
African countries are also generally perceived as possessing inferior economies and
infrastructures such as technology, housing, and healthcare. Internet connectivity in many
universities in sub-Saharan Africa is irregular, inefficient, and expensive (Altbach, 2011), posing
problems for U.S. students expected to keep connected to their home institution and family
members.
Additionally, academic equivalence is more difficult to judge in Africa when U.S.
institutions are faced with applying students’ work abroad to their educational program at home
(Pires, Marajh, & Metzler, 2000). Due to various pitfalls of the African higher education system
mentioned in the previous section, qualified faculty members are scarce in the region (Altbach,
2011). Safety is also a large concern for students, parents, and U.S. institutions alike (Pires,
Marajh, & Metzler, 2000). “More so than in popular study abroad locations, the development of
successful quality programming in Africa depends on close working relationships between
Africanists with in-country knowledge and experience, and study abroad professionals who have
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 48

expertise in program development” (Metzer, 2002). Unfortunately, most U.S. universities lack
the knowledge of and experience in Africa in order to address these unique issues.
Importance of Study Abroad Programs in Africa
Clearly, there are challenges associated with study abroad programs in sub-Saharan
Africa, but given the increase in students electing to study there, the importance of understanding
how to overcome these challenges is evident. Study abroad programs in Africa are an important
way in which to improve Americans’ general awareness of the continent (Pires, 2010). “One of
the most important things Americans can give to Africa is an American population that is more
informed and enlightened about African affairs” (Pires, Marajh, & Metzler, 2000). A large
majority of the world’s population lives in impoverished communities, including in sub-Saharan
Africa where 50% of people live on less than 1.25 U.S. dollars per day. It is important for college
graduates today to understand how our society will address the “resource needs, geopolitical
conflicts, health and welfare dilemmas” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009, p. 38).
As participation in African-based study abroad programs increases and universities begin
to respond to demand in the region, it is imperative for administrators of these programs to
understand deeply the complexities involved in various aspects of administering a study abroad
program there. As this section has noted, the potential benefits for students spending parts of
their undergraduate programs in Africa is substantial. In order for their experiences to lead
toward positive global learning and development outcomes, the programs in which they
participate must be intentionally structured to address complexities of running a program in sub-
Saharan Africa. This is a key area that this study intends to address.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 49

Holistic Student Learning and Development Abroad Model
Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009) argue study abroad is “an ideal setting for
students’ significant learning and development because they encounter new places and people,
taking in new ideas and information, test themselves, and in the process, discover something new
about themselves and their potential” (p. 445). The authors’ holistic student learning and
development abroad model capitalizes on the study abroad context as a unique setting which has
potential to positively impact student development. This model was used as a framework in this
study in order to understand unique elements of a study abroad program specifically in sub-
Saharan Africa. It uses two theories of human development as a base: holistic student
development, the perspective that intellectual, social and interior lives are inevitably linked, and
intercultural communication, which requires changes in cognition, attitude, and behavior
(Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009).
Means and Ends
The framework for connecting student learning and the sociocultural environment in
study abroad offers four “means” or facets of study abroad programs, including culture,
curriculum, cocurriculum, and community, which lead to three potential “ends” that display
students’ global learning and development outcomes including cognitive, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal dimensions (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Bennett (2008) set out three
main types of intercultural competencies which display global learning and development from
study abroad, which are similar to the ends sought from the holistic model: cognitive
competencies include cultural knowledge and self-awareness, behavioral competencies include
abilities to empathize and manage social interactions, and affective competencies include
attitudes such as flexibility, humility, and resourcefulness. For the purposes of this study, means
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 50

were explored with regard to the programmatic features of MSID in order to assess how the
program is organized and operated in order to achieve its goals. Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer
(2009) identify several indicators of culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and community, with the
recognition that many facets of study abroad programs bridge more than one aspect.
Culture, Curriculum, Cocurriculum, and Community
Culture is defined as the “identity and character” of the study abroad program, displayed
in its staff and faculty (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 451). Identifiers that reveal
aspects of culture are: staff and faculty interactions and communication with students, as well as
the program’s facilities and schedule. Curriculum includes content taught within the study
abroad classroom, as well as the way in which it is taught. Instructors may be from the host
institution or may be local faculty, which can impact the classroom experience. Different study
abroad programs may group students in courses together in a study abroad center or may allow
them to directly enroll in an overseas institution. In a holistic study abroad program, class topics
vary widely and cover at a minimum history and modern issues in the host country and global
subjects in general. In some locations, classes may be taught in the local language of the host
country. Internships and service-learning programs that earn students course credit fall under
curriculum as well (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009).
Cocurriculum includes planned activities and excursions within the study abroad program
that nurture and support global learning and cultural adaptation. Specific cocurricular indicators
include: on-site orientation, cultural events like workshops, music or art events, learning about
local cuisine, and trips to parks or other natural areas (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). At
the conclusion of the study abroad program, reentry activities may be presented in order to assist
students in interpreting and utilizing their experiences after returning home. Study abroad
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 51

proponents claim one of the most important characteristics of program designs are opportunities
for experiential education, which allows for direct real-world experience (Savicki, 2008).
Finally, community is represented in three ways: first, between the staff, faculty, and
students in a study abroad program; second, the local community with whom students may have
regular interaction, including resident assistants and internship supervisors; and third, the
community at large, including students’ contact with bus drivers, shopkeepers, etc. (Gillespie,
Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). The holistic program integrates all three types of community while
emphasizing within the immediate community a “shared purpose, mutual respect, and program
identity” (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 453). Study abroad is a “give and take
experience” (Wanner, 2009, p. 96) wherein students become members of their host community
and in turn learn about themselves and the world around them.
The authors of the model also acknowledge that variables may impact results, including
students’ prior international experience, their inherent skills in adjusting to a new environment,
competency in a foreign language, and the hospitality shown by the host country and local
community (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). This study considered aspects of the culture,
curriculum, cocurriculum, and community of MSID in Kenya and Senegal as they relate to the
ways in which the program is administered in sub-Saharan Africa.
Conclusion
Forces of globalization have become strong in higher education worldwide.
Internationalization efforts such as study abroad programming are being expanded in U.S.
universities. Study abroad has become a significant part of many undergraduate students’ college
experiences. In order for universities to capitalize on the cognitive, interpersonal, and
intrapersonal benefits students can glean from their experiences overseas, the importance of
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 52

creating programs with student global learning and development outcomes in mind must be
recognized. As this chapter has presented, over the last several decades, study abroad has
changed from simple international trips in which few students partook into an influential
educational experience that universities are providing and students are participating in more and
more. As more is known about the positive holistic outcomes of study abroad on college
students’ development, the more important it is for universities to intentionally develop programs
that support students in challenging overseas experiences.
One potentially hugely impactful activity for students is spending time in a developing
nation such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, a region fraught with issues and at the same time ripe
with rich learning experiences in cultures vastly different than in the United States and
challenging situations have the potential to truly push students to grow as individuals. American
college students are choosing to participate in programs that provide more dissonant experiences,
and consequently universities are challenged to respond by providing meaningful experiences for
students in such programs. Student development theories clearly point to study abroad as being
impactful in students, so study abroad administrators must not ignore the enormous opportunity
they have to influence students’ development. This study’s intent was to better understand and
analyze the aspects of a sub-Saharan African study abroad program, MSID in Kenya and Senegal
specifically, in order to fill the gap in literature explained in this chapter with regards to sub-
Saharan African study abroad program implementation as well as inform universities
anticipating to develop programs in the region.
What follows in chapter three is an explanation of the methodology that has been
carefully selected for the purposes of this study. The qualitative research techniques described
were meant to inform the specific research that was carried out, the findings of which are
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 53

described and analyzed in chapter four, and the recommendations and conclusions stemming
from which conclude this dissertation in chapter five.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 54

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS
As forces of globalization become more potent in American higher education, study
abroad programs develop as a major internationalization strategy for universities (Paige, Cohen,
& Shively, 2004). Institutions increasingly seek to educate students with cultural competency
and global experience (Che, Spearman, & Manizade, 2009). Study abroad programming is a
“high impact” educational experience (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2007), which
can provide positive impacts on students’ cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal
development.
It has been argued in chapters on and two that study abroad programs located in
developing nations such as those in sub-Saharan Africa have the potential to significantly
challenge students and consequently have a stronger connection to their personal development
than study abroad programs in traditional locales such as Western European (Che, Spearman, &
Manizade, 2009). Little is known about the ways in which study abroad programs support
students in developing countries and the challenges those locations present. The specific purpose
of this study was to determine how an American university administers a study abroad program
and addresses unique challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.
Qualitative research was utilized due to its strength in being able to “focus in depth on a
relatively small sample” (Patton, 2002, p. 169). The remainder of this chapter details the methods
that were used in this research, including framework, research design, population and sample,
instrumentation, data collection and analysis, and validity and reliability issues.
As mentioned in chapter one, this study explores one main research question along with
three supporting sub-questions, listed below.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 55

Research question:
What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study abroad
program in Kenya and Senegal?
Sub-questions:
1. What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal?
2. How does MSID support student learning outcomes?
3. How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular goals for
students in mind?
Research Design
Qualitative research was undertaken in this study because it provides a rich understanding
of a phenomenon from the perspectives of those directly involved (Merriam, 1998). The
descriptive nature of qualitative studies can reveal how separate aspects of a phenomenon
connect to form a whole (Merriam, 1998), for example the ways that programmatic aspects of
MSID provide overseas experiences to students. Furthermore, qualitative research lends itself
well to topics on which little research has been previously done (Creswell, 2003) in that it
provides a descriptive introduction to a lesser known field of study, as is the case with sub-
Saharan African study abroad. Findings from qualitative research, Patton (2002) points out,
come from three types of data: interviews, observations, and written documents. The evidence
for this study came primarily in the form of interviews, which sought rich, descriptive data in
order to understand the MSID study abroad program and its Kenya and Senegal locations. The
administrators’ unique emic points of view, or insider perspectives, informed the research in a
way that statistics from quantitative research might not have (Merriam, 1998). Observations and
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 56

documents were utilized in order to add to enhance the credibility of, or triangulate, the data
collected (Patton, 2002).
Purposeful sampling was used in the form of a single case study of the MSID study
abroad program in Kenya and Senegal. A qualitative case study is “an intensive, holistic
description and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit” (Merriam, 1998, p.
27). Data from case studies is collected in a particular location during a specific set of time
(Creswell, 2003), in this case a site visit to the MSID study abroad program’s Kenya and Senegal
locations. Patton (2002) acknowledges that “the logic and power of purposeful sampling lie in
selecting information-rich cases for study in depth” (p. 230). By studying one specific case site,
the MSID study abroad program, the intent is to deeply explore the aspects of a program in sub-
Saharan Africa.
The MSID program was selected as a case study, which has potentially rich information
to analyze with regards to programmatic features unique to sub-Saharan Africa. Patton (2002)
explains that a case selected for case study analysis should be one through which the researcher
can learn the most, and Merriam (1998) adds that a case study might be selected because of what
it might reveal about a particular phenomenon. As such, the intent of this study is to analyze
facets of the MSID study abroad program in order to inform other institutions seeking to
establish study abroad programs in the region. Merriam (1998) notes that the inherent heuristic
nature of case study research, or in other words its ability to illuminate the understanding of a
phenomenon, allows findings to explain and describe a case and make potentially generalizable
conclusions.

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 57

Population and Sample
The main units of analysis in this study were MSID program staff and administrators.
The majority of interviews were sought with local MSID staff based in Nairobi, Kenya and
Dakar, Senegal. Interview data were gathered on a visit by the researcher to the MSID Kenya
and Senegal locations in September and October 2012. Nine local staff members were
interviewed in person, along with two administrators from the University of Minnesota home
campus by telephone. Interviews each ranged between 20 and 120 minutes in length. Interviews
followed a general interview guide (Appendix A), questions from which were approved by the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board.
Due to the nature of the research questions inquiring about MSID’s design and
administration, students were not interviewed. Informal interactions with students took place, but
the interview protocol presented in chapter three was only utilized with MSID staff and
administrators. As such, the information regarding the student experience in MSID is based
solely on the impressions of program staff and administrators.
Instrumentation
As is the case in qualitative studies, the researcher was be the main instrument for data
collection in this study (Merriam, 1998) , having conducted interviews of staff and
administrators of the MSID program in Kenya and Senegal. This case study employs inductive
research, building concepts through findings rather than testing existing theory (Merriam, 1998),
which in this case is in the form of insight into the programmatic features of a study abroad
program based in sub-Saharan Africa. Interviews were conducted using an interview protocol
developed on the basis of this study’s framework, the holistic student learning and development
abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009), as a guide. Questions were developed in
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 58

relation to each of the research questions of this study and with the culture, curriculum,
cocurriculum, and community themes of the framework in mind.
The interview guide approach lends itself well to this study because it provides concrete
topics within which the interviewer has flexibility to explore particular areas, which provide the
richest information (Patton, 2002). Patton (2002) notes that one strength of open-ended interview
data is that “direct quotations are a basic source of raw data in qualitative inquiry, revealing
respondents’ depth of emotion, the ways they have organized their world, their thoughts about
what is happening, their experiences, and their basic perceptions” (p. 21). It was the intent of this
study to collect data about the programmatic features of MSID from those who are most directly
involved in the program’s administration.
In addition to interview data, other sources of data included document analysis and
observation. The University of Minnesota’s Learning Abroad Center publishes promotional
material about their study abroad programs online and in printed brochures, all of which were
analyzed. Several internal program documents, such as a program history and orientation
materials, were provided to the researcher and analyzed as well. Data was also gathered in the
form of informal observations of the MSID program sites in Kenya and Senegal. As the
researcher spent time at each program site, observational notes were taken and then compiled
with other data. While interviews provided the main source of data for this study, documents and
observations substantiated and triangulated the data (Merriam, 1998), which is explained further
in the subsequent section on validity and reliability.
Interview Protocol
The following questions were asked of MSID administrators in Kenya and Senegal after
explaining to each the purpose of the interview and the informed consent process. Each
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 59

administrator was first asked to provide brief background on the responsibilities he or she has in
MSID, especially as they relate to working with student participants. When necessary, particular
protocol questions were be removed in the case of administrators whose responsibilities do not
include certain aspects of the program, such as curriculum development or planning of
extracurricular activities.
Research question: What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study
abroad program in Kenya and Senegal?
1. How would you describe the MSID community and relationship between staff,
faculty, and students at MSID in Kenya and Senegal? (Culture, Community)
2. What do you think MSID students learn that they could only learn in Kenya and
Senegal? (Culture, Curriculum, Cocurriculum, Community)
Sub-question 1: What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal?
3. What does MSID want students to experience outside of the classroom and why?
(Cocurriculum, Community)
4. Please provide any examples of times you saw or heard about MSID students learning
from the local community, for example in visits to local neighborhoods or community
service projects? (Cocurriculum, Community)
5. In your view, how does students’ community involvement contributes to their
educational experiences abroad and their personal development? For example, do
they seem to become more sensitive to cultural differences or work better in diverse
groups of people? (Cocurriculum, Community)
Sub-question 2: How does MSID support student learning outcomes?
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6. What do you think students learn or gain through the internships they complete
during the MSID program? (Curriculum, Culture, Community)
7. What challenges does MSID face with regards to African and American cultural
differences, for example with differences in academics or students’ living
arrangements? (Culture, Community)
8. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of the students’ transition to Kenya
and Senegal, for example language, cultural customs, or living arrangements?
(Culture, Curriculum, Cocurriculum)
Sub-question 3: How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular
goals for students in mind?
9. What kind of information is provided and activities take place at the MSID
orientation program, and how are they helpful to students? (Curriculum,
Cocurriculum)
10. How is the MSID curriculum developed? (Curriculum)
11. How are extracurricular activities planned and run in MSID, and what are those
activities intended to accomplish? (Cocurriculum)
Data Collection and Analysis
As previously mentioned, interviews served as the main method of data collection, for
which the general interview guide above was utilized. The interview guide assisted the
researcher in asking each of the questions created but also allowed flexibility with each
interviewee (Patton, 2002). Interview data was triangulated for support with data gathered
through document analysis as well as data from observations of the case site. As mentioned in
the section on instrumentation, document analysis, which includes public and private documents,
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physical artifacts, and internet resources (Merriam, 1998), was carried out. Additionally,
observation data, which has the ability to provide a narrative description of the “setting that was
observed, the activities that took place in that setting, the people who participated in those
activities, and the meanings of what was observed from the perspectives of those observed”
(Patton, 2002, p. 262), as described previously, supplemented the data collection and analysis.
Qualitative research is “fundamentally interpretative” (Creswell, 2003, p. 182), involving
data analysis by the researcher. Creswell (2003) suggests that case study analysis requires
describing the case setting and analyzing the data for themes. Upon collecting the data that was
used for this study, it was compiled and organized into a case record (Patton, 2002). The data
was then coded according to the holistic student learning and development abroad model
(Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009); aspects of the MSID program were identified according
to culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and community. Coding refers to the organization of
research data into “chunks”, which then inform themes (Creswell, 2003).
Merriam (1998) notes that qualitative analysis involves identifying repeated patterns such
as categories, factors, or variables. Patton (2002) concurs that it is best to begin by finding
recurring regularities or patterns in the data that can then be sorted into larger categories or
themes, which can lead to conclusions. After the data from this study was coded according to
overarching themes of culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and community, and in some cases
possibly multiple themes, deeper analysis was carried out within each theme in order to find
patterns related to specific programmatic aspects of MSID and specifically how those
characteristics might be unique to sub-Saharan Africa. From the patterns found through this
analysis, conclusions were drawn and are presented in chapter four.

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Framework
The holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, &
Dwyer, 2009) described in chapter two was used as a framework in this study, which guided the
data collection and analysis parts of this research. Merriam (1998) argues that every qualitative
study must utilize a theoretical framework because it provides the structure for the study. This
model connects student learning to study abroad programming by categorizing aspects of study
abroad programs into four “means” of program delivery: culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and
community (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Culture refers to staff and faculty
interactions and communication with students, as well as the program’s facilities and schedule.
Curriculum includes content taught within the study abroad classroom, as well as the way in
which it is taught. Cocurriculum activities take place outside of the study abroad classroom and
include orientation, cultural events, and excursions. Finally, community includes the staff,
faculty, and students in a study abroad program and well as in the local community with whom
students may have regular interaction (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Details of these
programmatic features were sought through data collection in this research study in order to
better understand facets of a study abroad program located in sub-Saharan Africa.
Validity and Reliability
The validity and reliability of qualitative research, Patton (2002) explains, depends on the
rigorous methods used in order to provide high-quality data, the credibility of the researcher
dependent on his or her experience and preparation, and a belief in the value of qualitative
inquiry in general. The reasoning for the use of qualitative research for this particular study has
been detailed throughout this chapter, along with descriptions of the varied, rigorous methods,
which were used for this study. Chapters one and two of this dissertation have substantiated the
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preparation taken by the researcher in this subject area. Analysis of the data from this research
acknowledges that some degree of validity and reliability issues are inherent in every qualitative
study (Merriam, 1998).
One limitation of this study is the potential lack of generalizability of findings based on a
single case study as is the case with the study of the MSID program in Kenya and Senegal.
However, Patton (2002) argues that the validity of qualitative inquiry has less to do with sample
size and more to do with “the information richness of the case selected” (p. 245). The intent of
this study was to generate deep, meaningful description of programmatic features of MSID, not
to survey all study abroad programs in Africa. It should also be noted that the researcher is
employed as an administrator at a private university within a department that manages master’s
degree programs for international students as well as study abroad programs for American
graduate students. The researcher’s own undergraduate experience studying abroad in Europe,
coupled with experience in international education, provided experience for this study but also an
amount of subjectivity. Some degree of bias is also inherent in this study because one researcher
was the sole instrument for data collection. The researcher took measures to reflect on potential
weaknesses during the data collection and analysis processes.
The validity and reliability of qualitative research can be strengthened through
triangulation, which describes the combination of methods or data (Patton, 2002). In this study,
data was strengthened by comparing and analyzing interview data from various administrators at
MSID locations in Kenya and Senegal. In addition to interviews, observations of the case site
and analysis of written documents were carried out in order to triangulate the data collection
methods of this study.

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Conclusion
A qualitative study was undertaken in order to understand how MSID manages its study
abroad program in sub-Saharan Africa. As this chapter has detailed, a qualitative research design
was selected because its ability to deeply focus on a small sample (Patton, 2002). The MSID
program was chosen as a case study that was expected to provide rich, descriptive data with
regards to aspects of a study abroad program in sub-Saharan Africa in order to inform a gap in
literature as well as provide operational information for institutions seeking to establish study
abroad programs in the region.
Interviews provided the primary source of data for this study because information
gathered in this fashion has the ability to provide real, first-hand knowledge about a subject from
the people who are deeply involved in it (Patton, 2002). Data from interviews of MSID staff and
administrators were triangulated in order to provide support to the research through document
analysis as well as observations of operational aspects of the MSID program in Kenya and
Senegal. Data was then organized and coded using the holistic student learning and development
abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) according to its culture, curriculum,
cocurriculum, and community themes. The analysis of these themes and findings discovered is
presented in chapter four, followed by a final summary of the research and related
recommendations in chapter five.

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CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
This chapter presents findings based on the qualitative research carried out at the
Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program sites in Kenya and Senegal.
Data presented throughout this chapter addresses this study’s inquiry into the ways in which the
MSID study abroad program was designed and is administered in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the
intent for this analysis to enhance the existing body of literature on study abroad by looking at
specific ways in which the MSID program operates in the developing world.
Interview, observation, and document data were gathered on a visit to each Kenya and
Senegal location by the researcher in September and October 2012. Nine local staff members
between the two sites were interviewed in person, along with two administrators from the
University of Minnesota home campus by telephone. Interviews each ranged between 20 and 120
minutes in length. Due to the nature of the research questions inquiring about the MSID program
design and administration, students were not interviewed. Informal interactions with students
took place, but the interview protocol presented in chapter three was only utilized with MSID
staff and administrators. As such, information regarding the student experience in MSID is based
solely on the impressions of program staff and administrators. While this may limit interpretation
of students’ experiences in the program, it is the belief that substantial informal data gathered
provide insight from students, and because specific opinions of students about their experiences
in MSID is not the inquiry of this study, these methods are thought not to inhibit the findings.
During the site visits in Africa, observations were made at each program site, which
triangulated the interview data. Additionally, documents were analyzed, including both public
materials as well as internal information provided to the researcher by MSID staff and
administrators. These data were analyzed through the lens of the holistic student learning and
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development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) to understand how the MSID
program is administered in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of its curriculum, cocurriculum, culture,
and community. The holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie,
Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) outlines examples of intentionally-designed holistic study abroad
programs in these four categories, so the MSID program was analyzed in those terms.
To begin this chapter, a detailed description of the MSID program history and structure is
provided based on interview, observation, and document analysis in order to give context to the
way MSID operates in terms of curriculum, cocurriculum, culture, and community. The
following research question and sub-questions are then be addressed individually with respect to
the four components of the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie,
Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009).
Research question:
What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study abroad
program in Kenya and Senegal?
Sub-questions:
4. What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal?
5. How does MSID support student learning outcomes?
6. How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular goals for
students in mind?
Overall findings from these data is discussed at the conclusion of this chapter, followed by a
summary of the study, further analysis, and recommendations for future research and practice in
study abroad in chapter five.

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Program History & Structure
Prior to the researcher’s visit to Africa, administrators from the University of Minnesota
Learning Abroad Center, which manages the MSID program from the home Minneapolis
campus, provided information about the program’s history and current structure in the form of an
internal document titled “A Brief History of MSID”, which was written by one of the program’s
founding faculty members. Interview data then further supported context for the program based
on its history and evolution.
The University of Minnesota used a grant from a local foundation focused on issues of
development to create its Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program with
the intent for it to focus on student internships with local organizations in developing countries.
In 1982, nine students participated in the first MSID program, which then had two sites, Senegal
and Jamaica. The following decade, MSID sites were added in Colombia, Kenya, India,
Morocco, and Ecuador. Some locations were subsequently discontinued due to security concerns
or lack of enrollment. Today, MSID maintains programs in four locations, Senegal, Kenya,
India, and Ecuador.
Student participants hail from various colleges and universities across the United States,
not solely the University of Minnesota. Students choose to participate in MSID for a fall or
spring semester, or an entire academic year. Early on in the program, MSID students spent
several weeks on the University of Minnesota campus prior to going overseas, taking courses
designed to prepare them for their in-country field assignments. A University of Minnesota
faculty member was assigned to accompany students to each program site to serve as a mentor
throughout their time spent abroad. Beginning in 1997, faculty mentors were phased out and the
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MSID program moved to being administered almost entirely in-country by local staff and
faculty.
One Learning Abroad Center administrator commented that it was logistically
challenging to bring students to campus, particularly those who were not enrolled at the
University of Minnesota, and then send them abroad. She also noted that with the university’s
move from a quarter to semester system, it made sense for the longer overseas program to be
administered in large part by local staff. “When you send a faculty member along, there will be
greater dependence on the U.S. faculty member, and so far, for short term programs, that makes
a lot of sense,” she said and further commented that for longer immersion programs of generally
a semester to a year in length, students are benefited by having to rely on and learn from in-
country local staff and faculty. Despite a shift to the program being administered primarily by
local staff, the Minneapolis-based Learning Abroad Center administrators are still very involved
in big picture aspects of MSID such as curriculum development and communication with
students’ families.
MSID Mission
The researcher noted throughout data analysis that home campus administrators as well
as local staff were informed about the following MSID mission and philosophy, which appeared
to guide the work in each MSID location.
Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) is devoted to the preparation of
culturally-sensitive individuals who are committed to the concepts of justice and sustainable
development for all societies in our interdependent world. MSID seeks to engage students,
faculty and staff, as well as the general community, in dialogue and reciprocal learning with
people from Africa, Asia and Latin America concerning local and global problems, with a
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particular emphasis on development issues. Through grassroots internships and research
experiences in development projects working within economically poor communities, MSID
participants gain first-hand experience with the conditions, needs and strengths of the
countries involved with the program (University of Minnesota, 2012).
In addition to the mission statement above, clearly stated on the MSID website are also program
goals to promote development of nine “habits” in student participants, including to: “think, feel,
and act holistically; extract meaning from experience; understand the intimate relationship
between knowledge and power; savor diversity; invoke the global context; take a long-term
perspective; cultivate empathy; foster community; and translate insights and values into action”
(University of Minnesota, 2012). These explicit goals and mission of the MSID program relate
directly to several of the study’s research questions in their connection to the ways in which the
MSID program provides particular experiences for students which allow reciprocal learning,
community engagement, and opportunities to develop cultural sensitivity.
The internal historical document “A Brief History of MSID” illustrates that revisions to
the MSID program have been ongoing since its start more than thirty years ago, based on student
input, campus leadership, and issues in the developing world. But the core mission and
philosophy of the program remains unchanged. The mission to simultaneously create culturally
sensitive students while also making a positive impact on the developing world was evident
throughout the interview, observation, and document data analyzed. “The mission of this
program is to create culturally sensitive individuals,” one MSID Kenya staff member reported.
This knowledge of and adherence to the program’s mission and goals was consistent among all
the staff and administrators interviewed. It is clearly intertwined in its culture, both overall across
MSID as well as within each of the sites studied. In the Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009)
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model, culture is defined as “the identity and character of the education abroad program (p. 451),
which for MSID is rooted in its mission and philosophy.
One important aspect of MSID that affects the way in which it is administered and may
also be unique to its locations is its focus to not only give student participants an impactful
experience but also to make a difference in the developing world. The “reciprocal learning”
quoted directly from the MSID mission statement on the program’s website (University of
Minnesota, 2012) was evident throughout this study’s data analysis. University of Minnesota
administrators, MSID program creators, as well as the program’s staff, faculty, and students
share a common goal of contributing to development issues. The social justice value shared by
MSID staff, faculty, and students, which enriches the program’s culture, was found to be strong a
theme throughout interview, observation, and document data analysis.
Program Structure
As part of its current structure, the MSID program begins with a brief, half-day orientation,
which is provided in person for students at the University of Minnesota and in electronic format
for students outside the area. Preparatory materials are provided to students by the Learning
Abroad Center in advance of students’ travel. Then, a more elongated orientation is carried out
by local staff in-country, differentiated among the various locations. Orientation is a key
component of the program, which allows students to become acquainted with their new host
communities in preparation for the classroom and internship portions of the program. Gillespie,
Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009) note that orientation is an important part of a holistic study abroad
program’s cocurriculum.
After orientation, students attend seven weeks of classes taught by local faculty solely for
the group of MSID students. Mandatory courses in the curriculum include language instruction,
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which in Kenya includes Kiswahili in various levels and in Senegal is French and Wolof, the
local language. Both the Kenya and Senegal locations also offer four weeks of optional pre-
program language instruction. Country Analysis, another required course, provides students with
a background of information about their host country, its culture, politics, environment, and
people. International Development introduces students to varying theories of development, and
then allows students to choose one of five development “tracks” based on their individual
interests, including public health, environment, social services, education, and microbusiness.
Students’ tracks of choice determine the type of internships into which they are later placed.
The classroom phase is taught in the capital cities of Nairobi, Kenya and Dakar, Senegal.
The six-week internship portion that follows the classroom phase takes place in various locations
throughout each country, mostly rural villages. The internships arranged for MSID students are
at a grassroots level, and according to the Learning Abroad Center website focus on immersing
students “directly and personally in the social realities of the poorer strata of the population”
(University of Minnesota, 2012). Upon completion of the internship phase, MSID students return
to the capital cities for one week of group reflection activities. Throughout the entirety of the
MSID program in Africa, student participants live with local families in “homestay”
environments. During the seven-week classroom phase, students live with families in Nairobi
and Dakar, and during the internship phase, students live with families in the location where they
are placed.
Students who stay on for the entire academic year spend the fall semester following the
orientation, classes, and internship model described, and then continue in the spring semester by
participating in an additional internship experience while also completing an independent
research project. Beginning in 2011, semester-only students were also given the option to carry
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out an individual research project instead of the internship placement. However, staff and
administrators note that the internship option remains more popular as of now.
Student Participants
Study abroad is a self-selected activity for college students, and of course MSID is no
exception, which has implications for the ways in which its participants learn and how the
program is administered. One part of the internal community of a study abroad program,
according to the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp,
& Dwyer, 2009) is its group of students. “The students that are drawn to these programs are
interested in social change and social justice,” one University of Minnesota administrator noted
specifically about the MSID population. The program is centered on this idea of giving back,
which is what attracts its students and also guides the way the program is structured. Namely, the
hallmark internship component of the program allows students the opportunity to volunteer in
local non-profit agencies. MSID students are generally already interested in being immersed in a
profound overseas experience, so it could be argued that the program need not do much to
support their development abroad. But as this chapter intends to suggest, programs in less
common study abroad locations such as sub-Saharan Africa require different support of students
in less challenging, more traditional locations such as Western Europe. An intentionally-
designed program can support students in reaping the most benefits from such a challenging,
potentially impactful experience.
As noted in previous chapters, the majority of study abroad participants in the United
States are Caucasian females students (Institute of International Education, 2011), and again, the
MSID population is no exception. The researcher was given ample opportunity to informally
observe MSID students in both Kenya and Senegal locations and noticed the vast majority of
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each group of approximately 25 students were White women in their 20’s. These characteristics
of the internal MSID community have important implications for how the program supports its
students, including support provided to students by local staff members, which is tailored to the
population. Directors of both MSID Kenya and MSID Senegal referenced hiring female staff
members in order to support gender-specific matters. One of the benefits of the study abroad
experience is participants’ exposure to diversity, and while the MSID program aims to immerse
students in sub-Saharan African culture, one severe limitation of the program is its homogenous
student population.
In-Country Administration
The teams of staff members in both MSID locations in Africa proved to be integral to the
way in which the program is administered and the experience students have in Kenya and
Senegal. Staff and faculty are important parts of a study abroad program’s internal community in
addition to its enrolled students, according to the holistic student learning and development
abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). With local staff running the programs in
country for the last fifteen out of thirty years of MSID’s history, a strong internal community has
developed between staff, faculty, and students in Kenya and Senegal. Of the nine on-site staff
members interviewed, the average length of tenure they worked with the MSID program was
eight years, with most having worked with MSID students for five years or more. Dr. Mohamud
Jama has directed the MSID Kenya program since 1998 and Dr. Osumane Sene joined MSID
Senegal as director in 1996. The substantial length of experience of the MSID staff has positive
implications on the ways in which they are able to understand needs of students and best support
them.
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The involvement staff members have had with MSID students, to whom they often refer
as “MSIDers”, over the years has also contributed to the reciprocity part of the MSID mission,
wherein staff members have also learned more about American culture throughout their
administration of the program. “It’s like we’re connected to the whole world,” one MSID Kenya
staff member described, “I meet so many people and that makes it more interesting.” The
reciprocal nature of both the ways that MSID students contribute to the local communities in
which they live and those communities give back opportunities for the students to learn and grow
in Africa was an important theme revealed through data analysis. One relatively novice MSID
staff member noted, “Before, I’d never sat down with a white person, as we call them, muzungu.
But when I joined MSID, I’ve been able to also learn about interacting, and my English is
improving. You know, in a way, we help each other.”
The long tenure and deep experience of the local MSID staff emerged through data
analysis as a strong benefit to the program. However, since it is inevitable that eventually groups
of staff in Kenya and Senegal will change, this characteristic cannot be counted on forever. Two
newer staff members, one each in Kenya and Senegal, did note that more seasoned professionals
supported them in learning about their new roles within MSID and the population of students
participating in the program, which undoubtedly helps in the integration of new teams. The
formalization of staff training may be one way in which MSID can better ensure that future
teams of local staff members will be as qualified as the current groups seem to be. The
comprehensive support of local staff is an extremely important aspect of the MSID program, and
a key piece of the community part of the holistic student learning and development abroad
model; as it notes, “the interactions that occur and relationships that develop in the program
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community between staff, faculty, and students are crucial to the students’ cultural experience
and learning” (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 453).
Research Questions
Along with the historical information presented above, data from interviews, documents,
and observations explain the unique ways in which the MSID study abroad program operates in
sub-Saharan Africa. Study findings are analyzed below by addressing each of four research
questions through the framework of the holistic student learning and development abroad model
(Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009), which denotes four main categories of intentionally-
designed holistic study abroad program characteristics: curriculum, cocurriculum, culture, and
community.
Overarching Research Question
What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study abroad
program in Kenya and Senegal? On-site directors of MSID in both Kenya and Senegal
described the program as “a blend of academics and Peace Corps”. The intentional combination
of curriculum and cocurriculum is a hallmark of the MSID program, which allows students to
explore the link between theory and practice in the developing world. According to its mission
statement, “MSID participants gain first-hand experience with the conditions, needs and
strengths of the countries involved with the program” (University of Minnesota, 2012). This
characteristic affects the ways in which curricular and cocurricular aspects of the program are
designed and implemented to provide hands-on opportunities for students in Africa, as well as
how the internal culture and community of the program is focused on contribution to the
developing world.
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While there are certainly concerns in each study abroad program regardless of location,
such as culture shock and language barriers, certain issues facing the MSID program in Kenya
and Senegal appeared to be quite pronounced and unique to sub-Saharan Africa. The existence of
these challenges has implications for how the program is administered there in terms of the
support MSID staff provide to students. In addition to a study abroad program’s internal culture
and community, the specific host country’s local culture and community also impacts the ways
in which a holistic study abroad program is developed and administered (Gillespie, Braskamp, &
Dwyer, 2009). It can be assumed that students’ cultural immersion in more traditional study
abroad locations like Western Europe is far less challenging that in places like sub-Saharan
Africa because the culture in that region and in other developing areas is so vastly different from
the United States.
As compared to Western study abroad locations such as traditional European sites,
culture shock in sub-Saharan Africa takes on a whole new meaning and provides significantly
challenging experiences for MSID students in Kenya and Senegal. “A student who comes from
the U.S. and goes to Europe… there might be some cultural differences, but the lifestyle is more
or less the same. While here, a student will really be getting shocked. Culture shock, they’ll go
through that,” one MSID Kenya staff member detailed. As noted in the interview protocol
presented in chapter three, each staff member was asked, “what challenges does MSID face with
regards to African and American cultural differences?” and “what do you think is the most
challenging aspect of the students’ transition to Kenya and Senegal?” In response, each
interviewee described various cultural and environmental factors that play critical roles in
shaping students’ experiences in the MSID program. These factors include culture shock,
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language barriers, gender roles, politics, sensitivity to time, communal sense of living,
educational differences, and safety and health concerns.
Language barriers. Language is a common challenge in many study abroad locations,
but unique to countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa is the diversity in tribal languages.
Where in some countries, a native language may be widely spoken along with English as a
common denominator, in Kenya and Senegal there are somewhere between 30 and 70 tribal
languages spoken in villages nationwide, with Kiswahili and Wolof being the languages widely
spoken in each country. For American students who may have studied Spanish, French, or even
Chinese at their home universities, the learning of an entirely new language can add to the initial
challenge of studying abroad in a developing country. It did seem that in each of the capital cities
of Nairobi and Dakar, English and French were widely spoken as well. But during six-week
internship, MSID students are in rural villages in which traditional languages are spoken, so
language is also a challenge confronted by students. Language relates to the connections students
are able to make with their host cultures. “Without the language, the interaction is limited.
Without that interaction, they may not be able to learn,” recounted an MSID Kenya staff
member. The mandatory language instruction that takes place during the classroom phase helps
to mitigate the language barrier issues that students face.
Homestays. Within the homestay itself, students are confronted with culture shock issues
unique to sub-Saharan Africa. MSID staff members and administrators noted that the homestay
experience is one of the most important parts of the program, as local families introduce students
to aspects of their cultures and communities firsthand. During the classroom phase in Nairobi
and Dakar, students live with middle class families who have electricity, plumbing and other
basic amenities. Each student is placed with a second family during the internship phase of the
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program. Internships usually take place in rural areas and the host families in those areas are
often less affluent than in the capital cities. Staff members remarked that the program intends for
students to experience life in typical Kenyan and Senegalese families.
While there are many cultural differences MSID students face, nearly every MSID staff
member in both the Kenya and Senegal locations described two main issues students struggle in
understanding. First, students are confronted by gender roles within African families; in both
Kenya and Senegal, families are quite patriarchal and fathers are generally in charge. “The dad is
like the head of the house, so [students] see special treatment to them. When they come home,
they just sit home there and you know, someone washes their hands and serves them and all that.
[The students] kind of don’t feel like they can handle that,” described an MSID staff member.
With the vast majority of MSID participants being young, American, Caucasian females, they
often feel challenged by experiencing gender role differences and discuss such issues with MSID
staff and faculty.
Another matter to which nearly every interviewee referred is of “house help”, the
household staff common in both East and West African homes. Because the concept of families
having live-in maids is not common in the United States, MSID students have trouble getting
used to it in Kenya and Senegal. “They feel like they’re being oppressed,” said one MSID staff
member. “[Students] find it, ‘this person is being exploited,’” another remarked. Confronting
challenges in the homestay is exactly what MSID staff members hope students experience and
bring to the classroom to discuss, which affects curricular and cocurricular aspects of the
program. Courses like Country Analysis provide instruction on cultural norms of the host
countries, and more informally, staff frequently converse with students about their homestay
experiences and assist them to understand such cultural differences.
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One staff member described how students become part of household discussions about
politics, which in Africa is frequently ethnic-based. “A politician is probably demonized by one
family – ‘that guy is bad, he’s not good for Kenya’, and then the other student, he has the
opposite [experience]. And they come to class with that,” an MSID staff member described. On a
grander scale too, the political system in African countries can present unique challenges that
study abroad programs in more traditional, Western locations do not face. “The uncertainty we
go through as African countries… it brings a sense of insecurity, whenever we have an election,”
described MSID Kenya director, Dr. Jama. African capital cities frequently erupt in violence
prior to important elections. In 1998, MSID staff and administrators had to deal with ensuring
students’ safety after the aftermath of the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, in which
hundreds of people were killed. The magnitude of these types of challenges is certainly unique to
developing nations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
The homestay experience presents various challenges for students but also allows them to
learn firsthand about the local cultures in Kenya and Senegal. While many of the staff members
notice these learning experiences taking place in informal interactions through which students
make meaning of different cultural situations, much of the MSID curriculum is also designed to
assist students in understanding the developing world in general in addition to country-specific
cultural norms, truly the “blend of Peace Corps and academics” described by the directors.
Time, structure, and communal values. As mentioned, there are numerous cultural
differences in sub-Saharan Africa from MSID students’ American upbringings. A few of the
differences they confront in Kenya and Senegal are sensitivity to time and structure, as well as
communal attitudes. MSID students have to get used to a more relaxed sense of time in Kenya
and Senegal, where due to the developing state of those nations, things do not always happen
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with the same efficiency as in the United States. “Our students are used to things being very
linear,” said a University of Minnesota administrator, who went onto explain that often times
American students are used to very specific syllabi for their classes which describe concrete
learning expectations. “This is important also to try to work in a not very planned environment.
In the United States, maybe everything is structured, everything is planned,” an MSID Senegal
staff member described how students also struggle in adjusting to working in internships that are
not necessarily as structured as what they might be used to in the U.S. Staff and administrators
repeatedly described students who had difficulty adapting to not always being assigned specific
tasks or guidelines in their host organizations. Many felt as though their time had been wasted
during parts of the internship because they were not constantly busy. The intent is for all
components of the MSID program to be experiences for students to learn and grow, including
learning from challenging cultural differences.
The idea of community and sharing is another challenge students face at first in Kenya
and Senegal. “An individual is nothing compared to his family, and a family is nothing compared
to the community,” an MSID Senegal staff member mentioned. The individualistic freedom to
which American college students are accustomed does not translate to African culture, where
everything is communal. “I think challenges are understanding what it means to live in a
homestay,” a University of Minnesota administrator noticed, “being able to adjust to the different
rhythms and time. Particularly for students who have been independent, living on their own, it’s
always a positive adjustment but it’s certainly an adjustment that students make.”
Pedagogical differences. Even though students take specific MSID program courses
during their time in Kenya and Senegal, as opposed to being enrolled in a local university, the
educational differences between the U.S. and Africa are still noted by staff, faculty, and students
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in the program. MSID Senegal staff members explained the pedagogical differences that can be
challenging for both students and the local faculty at first. “In the United States, everything is
interactive;” one said, “[it’s] very different from our style here.” MSID Senegal staff members
make efforts to help students and faculty members come to the middle; they meet regularly with
faculty to explain how American college students are used to being educated in an interactive
manner, and they help students understand that experiencing a different type of classroom setting
is also part of their cultural immersion in Senegal. The week the researcher visited the MSID
Senegal site, staff members were planning to host a town hall meeting for staff and faculty
members to casually discuss the experiences all have had at that point midway into the classroom
phase.
While classes taught by local faculty in the MSID program provide students with unique
in-country perspectives on development issues, the absence of classes taught directly within local
universities in Kenya and Senegal precludes MSID students from academic interactions with
local peers. Study abroad programs vary greatly in the ways in which academics are designed,
some immersing students into local universities, others are comprised of both U.S. faculty and
students entirely, and yet others are like the MSID program with in-country faculty teaching
groups of solely U.S. students. In locations such as sub-Saharan Africa, the opportunity for
students to take classes in local universities may not be possible, but the absence of local peer
groups limits the immersion aspect of a program such as MSID in some ways.
Safety and health concerns. Finally, MSID staff and administrators are challenged in
dealing with safety and health concerns for students in Kenya and Senegal. “Every semester, we
have issues of students getting mugged or getting robbed in some way, shape or form,” a
University of Minnesota administrator said, “and increasingly so, we’re seeing weapons
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involved.” The semester prior to the researcher’s visit to the program sites, a pair of students was
robbed at gunpoint while walking to class one morning in Nairobi. A few weeks prior to the
researcher’s visit to MSID Senegal, a group of students was mugged in Dakar. The program staff
and administrators take issues of safety and security very seriously, but these kinds of incidences
also seem somewhat inevitable in sub-Saharan Africa. MSID in turn provides ways to help
students understand how to best prepare for situations where their safety and security might be
threatened.
Another issue which both directors, Dr. Jama and Dr. Sene, noted worries them is the
health concerns students face in a unique way in sub-Saharan Africa. “This has been one of the
semesters when we have had for the first time… one student after another getting stomach
problems. This time we have had students going to hospital on a weekly basis, from day one
when we came back from [orientation],” Dr. Jama mentioned. In addition to local water and
different foods causing stomach pain, MSID students in Africa are required to take antimalarial
medication, which can often cause side effects as well. Staff members at both African MSID
sites noted a large part of their jobs is being “on call” for students’ health issues. Host families
call MSID staff members with somewhat regularity to request staff members’ assistance in
transporting ill students to the hospital or pharmacy and the handling of health insurance
paperwork and logistics.
Overall, there are several main challenges MSID students face that are unique to sub-
Saharan Africa, and as such, MSID administrators and staff members build in structures to assist
students in confronting these challenges so that they may become learning opportunities.
Particular aspects of MSID’s sub-Saharan Africa location, including culture shock, language
barriers, gender roles, politics, sensitivity to time, communal sense of living, educational
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differences, and safety and health concerns, affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the
program. Students have the opportunity to benefit from these challenges, which are certainly
more pronounced in developing countries than in traditional study abroad locations like Western
Europe, so it is important for universities to be exposed to ways in which programs like MSID
support students in locations such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Research Sub-Question 1
What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal? As detailed
above, the MSID mission statement is clear that one goal for students is that they become
culturally sensitive individuals by being immersed in developing countries. Specifically, MSID
staff members and administrators spoke about wanting students to gain knowledge about
development theories and country-specific issues, develop personally while studying in Kenya
and Senegal, become acquainted with the local culture through the homestay and internship
experiences, and build leadership capacity to go on and make a difference in the developing
world. These experiences MSID hopes for its student participants leads to the ways in which
administrators and staff support student learning outcomes and influence the ways in which the
program is structured, the topics of the two final research sub-questions.
Knowledge of the developing world. The expectation for students to have profound
experiences in Africa is wound throughout the curricular aspect of the MSID program. Most of
the staff members interviewed stated that they believed one goal MSID has for its students is to
develop concrete knowledge about the developing world, including theories on international
development, as well as country-specific issues such as education, environment, public health,
microbusiness, and social work. Interviewees also agreed in answering the question “what do
you think MSID students learn that they could only learn in Kenya and Senegal?” that certain
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specific knowledge of development theories and issues can only be learned in the developing
world.
The specific classes that are taught during the classroom phase of the program reflect the
topics deemed important by Minneapolis-based administrators as well as local staff and faculty.
Curriculum is altered to reflect changes in development theory and issues in the developing
world. For example, as the concept of microbusiness, wherein entrepreneurship takes place in
developing countries due to a lack of formal employment opportunities, became known
worldwide, MSID began introducing those concepts in the program curriculum. This is also an
important example of how study abroad programs in locations such as sub-Saharan African can
provide instruction and experiences unique from traditional locations such as Western Europe.
Further ways in which the MSID curriculum is structured and utilized in the program to help
achieve student learning goals are discussed in greater detail in the section, which addresses the
third sub-question.
Personal development. Research presented in chapter two shows that study abroad
experiences can lead to students’ personal development, which Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer
(2009) indicate in their holistic student learning and development abroad model, falls into three
dimensions: cognitive (cultural knowledge), interpersonal (cultural sensitivity), and intrapersonal
(self-confidence). MSID administrators and staff at both the home campus as well as the
overseas sites reported that the program wishes for its students to have experiences that lead to
all three types of development. The cognitive growth of MSID students occurs in and outside the
classroom, both the curriculum and cocurriculum aspects of the holistic student learning and
development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer, 2009). The challenges described
previously which MSID students face in Africa lead to cultural knowledge and understanding of
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the differences between the United States and their host countries. The final research sub-
question explores specific ways in which the program is structured, but an important piece of that
is the way in which the classroom phase sets students up to best learn in their independent
internships.
As mentioned, the MSID mission resonated among all the staff members interviewed at
both the Kenya and Senegal sites. “The mission of this program is to create culturally sensitive
individuals,” an MSID staff member stated, “people who are culturally sensitive, who can work
with all cultures without judging. The way, you know, Americans understand is not the way
Kenyans understand.” Several MSID staff members described rich conversations they have had
with students over the years in helping them to understand, work through, and in the end
appreciate the different nuances they encounter throughout their semester or year in Africa. What
many of the staff members enjoy seeing at the end is students’ appreciation for differences in
cultural norms and also students’ gratefulness for what they have at home. An MSID Kenya staff
member recounted many students saying, ‘I’m glad to be born wherever I’m born, but I’m a
changed person and the things that used to bother me don’t bother me anymore.’ Upon being
asked what students can only learn in Africa, an MSID staff member answered, “When you
compare your life there and here, [students] learn to appreciate the little things that they never
appreciated in the states.”
Students who elect to attend MSID Kenya or Senegal may be those who are looking for
extreme cultural learning, but sometimes they see it through a different light than perhaps they
anticipated. A University of Minnesota administrator noted, “The vast majority of the students
are from the majority culture in the U.S., so part of the thing is like, ‘you know, I want to go
somewhere and experience what it’s like to be a minority’. But what they realize is, yes, they’re
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a minority but they’re still in a privileged position, and people make assumptions about them.”
She went onto describe students’ experiences being viewed as having money, knowledge, and
power due to their skin color. For example, a hospital patient requesting a student intern’s
medical opinion over the African doctor’s, assuming that the Caucasian person could provide
better care. Another frequent case she recounted is students’ misperception of wealth and
poverty. “I always laugh because [the students] are like, ‘I don’t have any money, why are they
asking me for money?’ I mean, they may have never left their village, let alone gotten on a plane
and flown halfway across the world.”
Finally, the intrapersonal, self-confidence gains in MSID students were also noted by
many staff and administrators of the program. Several staff members remarked that at the end of
the program, they saw different students. Many students are nervous in the beginning; one staff
member remembered a student who asked the staff member to accompany her on the first night
with her homestay. But by the close of the program, staff notice that students make gains in self-
confidence. Administrators and staff also notice students change directions or gain clarity in
terms of majors and career choices after spending time in Africa. “Their overall attitude at the
end of the program… You have different young men and women – more confident, more capable
to express themselves in French and in Wolof, more control of the sector they were here to
study,” an MSID Senegal staff member recognized.
It is of course not the case that every MSID student has an experience in Kenya or
Senegal that is completely positive in every way. Challenges are so acute for some students in
sub-Saharan Africa that it is impossible to use them as valuable learning experiences. But in
general, MSID staff and administrators note significant personal development in student
participants; for example, one administrator commented that she sees students gain “confidence,
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and certainly a better understanding of the world and their place in the world, and the U.S.’s
place in the world.” The way in which the program structure is intentionally sequenced, along
with the support of local staff appeared through data analysis to best aid in providing
developmental benefits for students.
Homestays. One of the most important components of the immersion of MSIDers’
experience is their placement in homestays. “Homestays are an integral component of the
learning experience. You will live and share most meals with a family in order to gain deeper
cultural insight into life [in Kenya or Senegal]” the MSID website declares (University of
Minnesota, 2012). Throughout their interviews, MSID administrators and staff confirmed this
view by recounting ways in which students learned about the local culture and communities in
Kenya and Senegal through their homestay experiences. “In the homestays, they learn the value
of sharing. [In the U.S.], when you buy some fruit, you name them, then you put them in the
fridge. But here in Africa, you find that we share a lot,” told one MSID staff member. Another
example provided by more than one MSID staff member was of students’ confusion with the
African concept of house guests, in that it is not uncommon for distant family members to arrive
unannounced and expect to stay in the home for an unknown extended period of time.
Some students request to change families at some point in the semester if they do not feel
they have a good fit, and other times MSID staff members meet with a family to discuss minor
issues which may be resolved. “We have a very diplomatic and experienced way of talking to
families,” Dr. Sene said. For the most part though, through the homestay experiences, students
become close to their hosts, who become cultural informants to them in addition to MSID staff
members. In addition to the internal MSID community, the community aspect of the holistic
student learning and development abroad model also contains the local community with whom
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students interact on a frequent basis. Some students form such strong bonds with their host
families that they return years later and visit them, even stay with them for days. One staff
member summed it up by saying, “Living with a Kenyan family, that homestay experience is
very, very enriching.”
Internships. In addition to the homestay experience, MSID students learn about local
culture through their internships in grassroots non-profit organizations focused on development
issues and also gain technical skills in the work. The MSID website explains that the internship
experience helps students to “better understand the complexity of social change and development
in the global context” (University of Minnesota, 2012). The internship component of the
program was found to be a truly unique and important aspect to MSID through analysis of
interview, observation, and document data. One MSID staff member noted, “[They] come to
observe development being interactive or being enacted live on the internship site every single
day. So this is extremely important as a component. And I think if there is one thing that
absolutely should remain in MSID, it is the combination of classroom and internship.”
Brockington and Weidenhoeft (2009) concur that internships as well as research projects can
provide substantial opportunities for students’ global learning and development.
The internship is an important part of both MSID’s curriculum and cocurriculum aspects
of the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer).
Students learn outside of the classroom but also write academic papers about their internships
and usually receive university credit for the six-week placement. Dr. Sene explained that while
much of MSID is comprised of learning opportunities outside the classroom, everything in the
program has an academic component tied in. The “agency analysis” paper MSID students submit
post-internship details what they learned about the organization with which they worked, what
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was done well in their view and what could have been done better from a development
standpoint.
MSID students are strategically placed in various types of internships based on their
interests. The majority of the internships are located in rural villages far from Nairobi and Dakar,
usually with organizations with which MSID has relationships. Through analysis of interview
data, stories of students’ experiences in their internships abounded. One remembered a student
interested in public health, an area for which many of the internships have to do with HIV/AIDS
prevention, who was placed in a community that believed eating fish prevented contraction of
HIV. She said the student “had to really talk to them so much to see whether they can change
their view about all of this, so that’s kind of one on one with the people down there, trying to
maybe make them see an issue differently.”
As part of the visit to the MSID Kenya site, one of the staff members took the researcher
to a girls’ high school which hosts an MSID intern most semesters, located in the Kibera
neighborhood of Nairobi, which is thought by many to be the largest slum in all of Africa. The
experience of going through the vast, extremely poor area gave the researcher firsthand insight
into what an example MSID internship placement is like. The young students with whom the
researcher spent time remembered former MSID interns vividly, telling stories about what they
had taught the large groups of girls, who take classes in rooms housed in several adjoined mud
huts in the middle of the vast slum area. As much as the Kibera students seem to have bonded
with former interns, so too did the MSIDers become connected to the school, including one who
has since formed a non-profit organization in the U.S. entirely for the purpose of providing
funding to the Kibera girls’ school. Stories of internship experiences, along with direct
observation of one of the sights, provided the researcher with strong evidence that the internship
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component of the MSID program is supremely important to the experience of student
participants. These types of stories are also evidence of the uniqueness of the experience in
developing countries as opposed to more traditional study abroad locations.
Students experience cultural differences firsthand and also gaining practical skills
through the internships. An MSID staff member noted that students are often able to develop
skills that might be needed by the organization, for example website design or marketing efforts.
More often than not, students also learn how to deal and get things accomplished with very few
resources. The cultural experiences as well as the skills gained through the internships are
important to the MSID program. “According to the students, they always say in the evaluation,
‘my internship was the most rewarding part of my experience,’” said one MSID staff member, a
sentiment that was echoed by many others as well. The intentionality put into securing homestay
and internship experiences for students is integral for the MSID program The holistic student
learning and development abroad model notes that “the university, homestay host family, and
internship workplace exist as communities before the student’s arrival; this integration requires
mutual commitment to openness and understanding. This most promising integration occurs
when partners are committed to internationalization in a process of reciprocal learning”
(Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 454).
Lifelong impact. With reference to the MSID mission again, the program intends for
students to be so affected by the experience they have with the culture, curriculum,
cocurriculum, and community in developing countries that they go onto become leaders in global
development. MSID administrators and staff believe that by giving college students significant
experience in non-governmental organizations, they gain direct expertise and knowledge of how
development works in the real world. Alumni of the MSID program frequently return to Africa
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after graduating, motivated to pursue work in development. One MSID staff member recounted a
story about an alumnus who now works for USAID to monitor and evaluate projects funded by
the organization in order to determine if funds are being appropriately utilized. Another former
MSIDer returned to Kenya to spend an extended period of time in the village where she had
interned during MSID, in the Masai Mara area of the country, and went on to write a book about
the Masai culture. “These students have a greater chance of getting into positions of influence,
and so being able to really understand what certain policies mean at that very grassroots level I
think is going to help them to be more effective as leaders,” a University of Minnesota
administrator stated.
MSID expects student participants to have profound experiences in its program in Kenya
and Senegal. In addition to its overall mission of moving students towards becoming culturally
sensitive individuals, data from this study revealed that MSID intends its students to gain
knowledge about development theories and country-specific issues, develop personally through
their experiences in Africa, become acquainted with the local culture through the homestay and
internship experiences, and build leadership capacity to go on and make a difference in the
developing world.
Research Sub-Question 2
How does MSID support student learning outcomes? As noted in the literature review
section, college student development theories such as Piaget’s (1975) concept of disequilibrium,
which argues that conflict is necessary for development because students must face some
unknown situation and reconcile their fears in order to grow from the experience, and that of
Chickering and Reisser (1993), who stress the importance of challenge and support, by which
students learn through challenging experiences with the support of college administrators or
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faculty members, point to the fact that study abroad can be fruitful for students if challenging
experiences are successfully supported by administrators, staff, and faculty. In fact, the holistic
student learning and development abroad model relies on the theory of “student challenge and
support: everyone who comes into contact with students is potentially an educator and cultural
interpreter” (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 450).
MSID is clear about the experiences students are intended to have throughout the
program, but many of these situations can present significant challenges. Program administrators
and staff support MSID student learning outcomes through various intentional means. First, it is
important to understand the specific learning outcomes intended for students, which are detailed
on the MSID website and include the following:
1. Foster an understanding of the global context through classroom and experiential learning,
2. Cultivate awareness and appreciation for development issues through engagement with
diverse communities,
3. Translate insights gained into thoughtful and respectful long-term perspectives on concepts
of social justice and sustainable development, and
4. Strengthen communication skills through acquisition of local languages and cultural
awareness (University of Minnesota, 2012).
The explicitly stated learning outcomes stated above provide the MSID program with a base
from which to work. Staff and administrators of the program are able to be supportive to MSID
students’ learning experiences in Africa by creating structures, protocols, and communities
around these objectives. This includes orientation programming, the internal community, and
reflection and reentry activities.
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Orientation. Nearly every MSID staff member interviewed emphasized the importance
of the orientation program held at each site as crucial for preparing and supporting students as
they begin the program in Kenya and Senegal. Gillespie, Braskamp & Dwyer (2009) note one of
the main components of a holistic study abroad program’s cocurriculum is its orientation
program. One change that was made to MSID several years ago was the shifting of orientation
from being mostly pre-departure and held in Minnesota to the current orientations which are held
nearly entirely in-country by local staff.
Each location hosts an intensive one-week orientation program, where students are
introduced to local Kenyan and Senegalese culture, and topics such as safety, health, academics,
and internships are discussed in order to prepare students for their time in Africa. At face value,
the orientation programs at MSID Kenya and MSID Senegal provide support to students in
building knowledge of their new host country as well as developing expectations for their time in
Africa. But it became apparent through analysis of research data that orientation is also a critical
first step in building a sound internal MSID community between staff, faculty, and students.
MSID orientation begins with a half-day of pre-departure information presented at the
University of Minnesota. Presentation slides provided by the University of Minnesota as data to
the researcher revealed topics discussed at the MSID orientation held for students going to all
four sites included practical information like tuition billing, travel information, passport and visa
instructions, malaria medication, and safety warnings. Administrators also provided students
with the exact learning outcomes detailed in all MSID material, being very transparent about
expectations for students to take active part in experiential learning abroad. Finally, they
presented expectations for students regarding limited access to technology, cultural differences in
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the homestays (“You are a guest,” one slide said), and tips for the internship including “be
realistic, be flexible, be proactive, and be patient.”
In each of the program countries, a one-week orientation commences the MSID program
immediately after students arrive. While the structure of the orientation is slightly different in
Kenya versus Senegal, the overall intent to arm students with ample preparation to begin their
semesters in Africa is the same. The MSID Kenya staff members take students to a national park
for the entirety of the orientation week. Dr. Jama noticed many years ago, before the orientation
was held outside of Nairobi, that MSID students were frequently skipping classes throughout the
semester in order to take safari trips and see the wildlife for which Kenya is so famous. So he
decided to provide abundant opportunities for students to see wildlife during the very first week
in order to “get them out of this touristic mentality,” he said. Throughout the various informative
sessions during the orientation week, the MSID Kenya staff organizes daily safari game drives so
that students can have that experience and then return to Nairobi ready to focus on learning what
it is they are to learn in Africa.
MSID Kenya also learned through experience that students had trouble digesting the
mass of information provided in their former orientation model through lectures and
presentations. As such, several years ago they decided to develop curriculum that incorporates
case studies and group work into the orientation program. Staff members split students into
groups of two or three, unannounced to them based on close proximity of their soon-to-be host
families, and provide them with case studies based on real student incidents: robberies that have
taken place, difficulties getting along with a host sibling, or challenges at the internship site, for
example. Students may present what they learned from the case study to the entire group in
whichever manner they choose: “They use skits, they use songs, they use poems, they use charts,
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dos and don’ts, on host families and internships, and then safety and security,” noted an MSID
Kenya staff member, who also added that during the group projects students also bond together
and begin to form an internal community.
The staff of MSID Senegal also take students out of town, to the home of a former MSID
staff member who now works for the U.S. Embassy in Dakar, in order to provide a comfortable
place to go over pertinent preparatory information and begin bonding together. Students are
provided with a thorough handbook of information detailing what they should expect in their
homestays, at the internship sites, and tips on safety, health, and more. Throughout that first
week, MSID also organizes various activities and excursions as students’ first introductions to
Senegalese culture. They visit a Women’s Museum, travel to the UNESCO World Heritage site
Island of Gorée, and try traditional Senegalese food by eating with their hands.
MSID staff members did recognize that they cannot prepare students for absolutely
everything they will encounter in Africa, and that the discovery is part of the learning process.
For example, “cultural norms are something that they experience and differs from one
community to another, so in this program it’s a bit difficult to bring up because we are not
specialized to one community”, one staff member made reference to the some ten to forty
different tribes in both Kenya and Senegal. One document provided by MSID Kenya for the
purposes of this study was a diagram of an iceberg (Appendix B) with words written on it, used
at the orientation program there to explain to students how 10% of an iceberg is visible above
water, which represents the parts of cultural differenced you can see and prepare for – food,
music, language, literature, etcetera. But the 90% of the iceberg that is hidden below the water
represents the plethora of issues students cannot see and will have to discover on their own,
including values, body language, gender roles, norms, learning styles, and more (Appendix B).
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Although MSID staff, in both Kenya and Senegal, find it important to equip students with
a wealth of preparatory knowledge during the initial orientation week, the support does not end
then. They go onto support students with various issues throughout the semester or year in
Africa. Dr. Sene explained, “Orientation is an ongoing process... It’s ongoing, there are regular
meetings with host families to remind them of students’ expectations. There are regular meetings
to sound and hear the students about their problems or issues. So it is an ongoing process.” That
support, beginning in orientation and continuing throughout each MSID semester, is an integral
component in the program. Local staff help students make meaning of the challenges they
encounter in Africa, which can potentially become beneficial experiences through which students
learn and grow.
Internal community. Observations of the program’s physical locations as well as of
student interactions with staff and faculty exposed much about the small, tight-knit group. Each
interviewed staff member answered the question “how would you describe the MSID community
and relationship between staff, faculty, and students at MSID in Kenya and Senegal?” with
descriptions of their comfortable relationships with students. Staff members’ interview responses
implied the MSID program places a strong importance on the internal community of each group.
From the important orientation programming offered by the MSID staff in each Kenya and
Senegal location through the “ongoing orientation” and day-to-day support provided by the
MSID staff members, the data revealed that an integral part of the MSID program, both in Kenya
and Senegal, is the strong internal community between staff, faculty, and students. As mentioned
previously, the internal community of a program is an important component of the holistic
student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009).
Presented in the subsequent sections are details about the make-up of the internal MSID
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community and reasoning as to why it contributes to the overall experience students have in the
program.
The MSID Kenya office is located in a four-room flat in a residential area of Nairobi.
Three of the four rooms contain several computer stations for students to utilize at any time.
Throughout the researcher’s many hours spent in the office, students were observed checking
their email and printing course assignments in short increments, all the while interacting with
each other and the MSID staff members. Another room is designated as the MSID Kenya library,
and has several bookshelves with signs indicating books from subject areas such as Research
Methodology, Development, African Authors, Microbusiness, and more. During one afternoon
spent in the MSID Kenya office, students had just been assigned a group project on research
methodology, and they were hungrily selecting books on the subject in order to prepare with
their groups. It interestingly did not seem that students were utilizing the internet for the project,
as might have been the case had they been in the U.S. The final room is a shared office between
the academic director, Dr. Mohamud Jama, and the administrative services coordinator, Khalif
Maalim. For the most part though, the MSID staff members were rarely found sitting at their
desks. During the majority of the hours spent observing the MSID Kenya site, the researcher
noted staff members were attending to student needs at the classroom site, running program-
related errands, and assisting students in the office. As evidenced by this observational data, the
physical space of MSID Kenya serves to build a strong internal community.
MSID Kenya classes are held in a room within a local church that is utilized by the
program and also for evening adult education courses. The classroom is about a ten minute walk
from the MSID office. The walk which students take on most days, whenever they are utilizing
office resources before or after class, is one which the researcher observed involved no paved
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roads, heavy smog from passing vehicles, crowds of Kenyans doing errands, the crossing of a
stream which was completely polluted with litter and sewage, and intense images of poverty. It
seemed to be a very fitting scene through which MSID students see the reality of a developing
country on a daily basis. Dr. Jama explained that years ago, when he first joined the MSID
program as its academic director, the program was formerly housed in a very upscale part of
Nairobi. Students were housed with families who drove them to class in high-end vehicles, and
the MSID office and classroom were located in an upper-class gated community. The change to
an area more common of Nairobi demonstrates the importance the program places on providing
students with real experiences in Kenya.
One part of every day during the seven-week classroom phase of MSID Kenya is the “tea
time” held during the morning mid-class break, during which staff members make chai tea for
students and spend time with them outside the classroom. During an observation of tea time, the
researcher noticed students seemed to feel very comfortable asking all sorts of questions to the
three MSID staff members there that day. One student asked if she needed to register her mobile
phone with the Kenyan company that sold it to her. Another inquired about tourist locations to
which she might take her sister who was planning a visit to Nairobi. On the particular day the
researcher visited tea time, an extravagant cake was brought in for a student’s birthday and the
group sang to the student. The internal community appeared strong, with open communication
and comfortable relationships between staff and students. Staff members relayed to the
researcher that faculty often join tea time as well. These daily informal meetings seemed to be a
time for all members of the MSID Kenya internal community to connect, and a way for staff to
continually offer support to students and answer questions.
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The MSID Senegal office space was found to be slightly different in nature, due to the
fact that the director of MSID Senegal, Dr. Sene, also directs the West African Research Center
(WARC). “I am here with 2 hats – I have my study abroad program, plus also the management of
the West African Research Center,” he explained. Within the same one-story, multi-room
complex are offices that deal with WARC, and others where MSID Senegal staff members sit.
Many non-MSID visitors come through the Dakar location, including during the researcher’s
stay a visit by the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs, for which an
extravagant lunch event was held, in which the researcher was invited to participate and had the
opportunity to learn about the U.S. Department of State’s relationship with WARC and MSID in
Dakar.
Upon entering the MSID Senegal building, the researcher noticed the space to be quite
formal. Dr. Sene has a very large office, complete with a waiting room and designated secretary.
All rooms had window air-conditioning units and each staff member had a designated desk and
computer. However official feeling it was upon first glance, the MSID Senegal staff members
were found to be equally welcoming to and supportive of their group of students as were the
MSID Kenya group. Due to its physical connection with WARC, the MSID space also shares a
separate library, with a much larger collection than that of MSID Kenya and complete with
librarians and wireless internet access, for students to utilize. The MSID Senegal classroom is
located in the middle of the complex and contained a flat-screen television and air-conditioning.
The more Western feeling environment provided at MSID Senegal seems to be due to its
connection with WARC. But the MSID Senegal staff is equal in size and support for students.
Dr. Sene directs both MSID and WARC, but the other four staff members are dedicated solely to
the MSID program.
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Equally as intimate a group, MSID Senegal staff and students seemed in constant contact
during the researcher’s visit to the program site. Staff members doors were metaphorically open
for students at all times, only closed because of the use of air-conditioning units in the extreme
West African heat. Dr. Sene’s administrative coordinator for the MSID Senegal program, Waly
Faye, had sheets of photos and names of years’ of MSID students printed and posted all over the
walls of his office. When guiding the researcher through the MSID space and through
introductions to students eating lunch, taking a break from class, and using their laptops in the
classroom, it was evident that students felt comfortable with the MSID Senegal staff members, as
many interactions were witnessed, including many dialogues in French. “We as staff are very
close to students, so they don’t need like an appointment or office hours to come and see me. I
always tell them, ‘my office is open, I don’t have anything else to do, my work is just to work on
the program,’” explained one MSID Senegal staff member. Descriptions of MSID’s physical
spaces in Kenya and Senegal are intended to paint a picture of the culture within the program.
The holistic student learning and development abroad model notes that part of a study abroad
program’s culture “is reflected in the program’s location, facilities, and daily rituals – the
dimensions of space and time that are manifested by allocation of offices, classrooms, and public
areas, and the daily and weekly calendars” (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009, p. 451).
Similarly, included in the community aspect of the holistic student learning and
development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) is a program’s internal
community comprised of its staff, faculty, and students. MSID Kenya and Senegal staff members
are clearly very dedicated to the support of students, which in potentially challenging locations
provides the encouragement needed for students to grow and develop, according to the holistic
student learning and development abroad model’s challenge and support principle (Gillespie,
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Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Staff members in both locations are on call 24 hours a day for
students, and all of whom displayed genuine interest in helping MSID students. Dr. Sene
explained his personal goal is for all students to be satisfied with their experiences, “that they
come here safe, that they go back safe, and in between, they will have gone through a learning
process, from all perspectives, which will have maybe contributed to changing their perspective
of the world.” MSID establishes with each group of students a strong internal community and
provides a comfortable environment so that students can explore and learn in Africa. Hoff (2008)
emphasizes that staff and faculty members are integral in supporting students’ challenges while
abroad, so that difficult encounters lead to developmental growth.
The shift years ago to having MSID primarily administered by local on-site staff seems to
have impacted the internal MSID community and the relationships staff and faculty have with
students. The ways in which the staff of MSID Kenya and Senegal are organized and managed is
not to be left out though. Administrators in Minneapolis give much leeway to the academic
directors of the MSID sites, trusting in their experience and knowledge to manage their own
teams of staff. Each director seems to have success in managing sound teams of people to
support students through the experience each semester. One of the most important ways in which
MSID supports student learning outcomes is through the strong internal community they foster.
It was very apparent through observation and interview data that the way in which Dr. Jama and
Dr. Sene lead and manage their teams of staff members helps to create the internal community
that is such a strong characteristic of the program.
Dr. Jama went into detail about how he creates a comfortable, family-like work
environment for his MSID team of staff and faculty. When detailing what is important to him
among the MSID Kenya team, Dr. Jama explained, “Transparency, commitment, collegiate…
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There’s no hierarchy. Of course we’ve got the chain [of command], but we’re all friends in
essence.” Through observations of interactions between Dr. Jama and the staff he supervises, it
was apparent he simultaneously runs a tight ship while also making the work environment feel
like home. Dr. Sene has similarly created a team with background and personalities suited to
support MSID students. A University Minnesota administrator commented that Dr. Sene hired
support staff members who have a mix of experience with supporting students and arranging
homestays and internships, and are also young enough to be able to relate to American college
students. “That kind of blend is a very good one,” she noted.
Reflection and reentry. To bookend the initial orientation program, the final week of the
MSID program is dedicated to reflection on the semester and preparation for reentry and the
students’ return home. Throughout the one week of orientation, seven weeks of classes, and six
weeks of internships, students are required to write individual, reflective papers about their time
in Kenya and Senegal and all the learning they experienced. As noted in the literature review,
students’ reflection on the overseas experience may influence the way in which they are able to
cope with their reentry home, helping them to be able to use the experience to become re-
engaged in the campus community (Hovey & Weinberg, 2008). MSID students spend the final
week of the program together again in the capital cities, discussing as a group of students, staff,
and faculty the experiences they have had throughout the prior fourteen weeks. Gillespie,
Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009) note that a holistic study abroad program’s cocurriculum for
students involves “special preparation for reentry to their home, family, and friends as the term
draws to a close” (p. 453). In the case of MSID, the reflection and reentry component is
simultaneously curricular and cocurricular. Students are required to submit written reflections
about their experiences both in and outside the classroom and participate in presentations and
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discussions with their peers and the MSID staff and faculty. Savicki (2008) further confirms that
students who are advised through focused reflection exercises benefit most from their study
abroad experiences.
One potential result of going through a profoundly challenging experience such as the
student participants’ in MSID Kenya and Senegal is the intense reentry culture shock faced upon
returning home to the United States. Staff members at both sites keep in touch with many
students after they return home, and several have reported having a hard time readjusting. “When
we do the reentry session, we ask [the students] not to [go] back to the United States and believe
every other American who has not gone through the experience is dumb,” Dr. Sene explained.
Staff members see firsthand how difficult the reentry experience can be for MSID students and
try to prepare them as best they can to prepare to face the process. “When they go back home,
they’re so disoriented. They lose friendships with their old friends… And I always tell them, be
careful when you go back home. There will be some tension and all this in the reentry,” Dr. Jama
recounted.
Various aspects of the MSID program pose challenges for student participants as
explored through analysis of the overarching research question. As such, MSID puts into place
different means of support for student learning outcomes, and therefore seemingly provide the
adequate situation of challenge and support so characteristic of well-developed study abroad
programs (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Through orientation programming MSID
assists students in preparing for their experiences in Africa, within their strong internal
community staff members continually support students throughout the program, and by requiring
curricular and cocurricular methods of reflection and reentry, students are supported in reflecting
on their experiences and coping with returning home.
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Research Sub-Question 3
How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular
goals for students in mind? As the analysis has presented through the overarching research
question and first two sub-questions, there are particular factors that affect the MSID program
uniquely. MSID administrators and staff are clear about the experiences they wish for students to
have in Africa, and they support students’ learning outcomes accordingly. What follows with
regards to sub-question three is an analysis of how all that information leads to how the program
is structured with goals, both curricular and cocurricular, in mind.
As the holistic student learning and development abroad model is based on the
assumption that intentional design of study abroad programs creates meaningful overseas
educational opportunities for students (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009), the MSID
program structure was analyzed in terms of its responsiveness to goals for students. The unique
“blend of academics and Peace Corps” mentioned throughout the analysis of the MSID program
is integral to the ways in which academic and experiential learning are combined in the structure
of the program in order to promote both learning (curricular) and experience (cocurricular) goals
for students. The program’s intentional sequence builds upon this idea through a structure that
begins with orientation, which prepares students for coursework, which prepares them for their
internships, and finally opportunities for students to reflect. Excursion opportunities as well as
the newer research component build upon that overall structure, and continual assessment of the
program ensures that curricular and cocurricular activities are amended in response to potentially
changing goals for students.
Blend of academics and Peace Corps. As mentioned throughout the analysis of the
previous research questions, the MSID mission for students to learn about development and
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experience it firsthand guide the program to be structured, as both on-site directors called it, “a
blend of academics and Peace Corps”, a combination of curriculum and cocurriculum aspects of
the program. MSID administrators have created a program that allows students to explore the
connection between theory and practice in the developing world. “Overall the idea behind [the
program] has always been to link the theory with reality… To have students study [development]
from an academic perspective and then go out there and see what’s really happening on the
ground,” said a University of Minnesota administrator.
Students learn about development theories in the classroom in order to prepare for
fieldwork. One Minneapolis-based administrator noted that the creation of “tracks” within the
development course – namely, education, environment, public health, microbusiness, and social
work – was intended to give students greater latitude in transferring coursework back to their
home universities. One main reason why some college students forgo study abroad opportunities
is an inability to transfer units towards a major, so MSID appealed to student demand and
created more specialized curriculum in order to make the program more accessible for students.
Many universities from which MSID participants come also count the internship experience as
units towards students’ undergraduate degrees. So the experience can be simultaneously
beneficial to both students’ personal development as well as their academic careers. Study
abroad programs that students can easily fit into their degree programs may provide more
opportunities for study abroad participation among college students, which is generally
comparatively low in the United States.
Intentional sequence. The sequence and flow of the MSID program components are
intentional, building upon each other in order to provide students with a structured experience in
Africa, the intentional program design required of holistic study abroad programs, according to
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Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009). A diagram showing the intentional sequence of the
MSID program is displayed in Appendix C. As mentioned previously, MSID students begin by
attending a week-long intensive orientation program, which prepares them to encounter various
experiences in Kenya and Senegal, along with language preparation so that students can begin to
develop communication skills that assist them in becoming immersed in their host communities.
The classes students attend follow then in order to provide background on the host
country and culture, development theories and issues they encounter in their internships. After
eight weeks in the capital cities of Nairobi and Dakar, MSID students are prepared to disperse
and begin their individual internships, with a base of experience, confidence, and knowledge to
support them. Finally, the program comes full circle and supports students’ reflection and
processing of their experiences in order to provide ample opportunity for personal development.
MSID intentionally provides building blocks for students throughout the program, from one
element to another adding to students’ knowledge and experience in bits and pieces.
Excursions and immersion. Built into each facet of the MSID program are opportunities
for immersion into the host culture and community of Kenya and Senegal. From the very
beginning during orientation, the MSID staff takes students on guided visits – in Kenya, to a
national park and nearby villages, and in Senegal, to a museum and local communities. Then,
each faculty member connects academic content to at least one class excursion. For example, Dr.
Jama takes his students to see high development communities directly next to poorer slum areas
during his development course. Kiswahili instructors often take students to markets in Nairobi
and assign them to bargain for certain objects using newly developed language skills.
MSID Senegal takes students on a four-day field-trip, or l’excursion pédagogique in
French, to a village half-way through the classroom phase of the program. Staff members were
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preparing for the upcoming field-trip during the researcher’s visit to the site and provided a
document for analysis which detailed for students the trip itinerary and learning objectives in
French, including to get an idea of development issues in the particular village, have direct
contact with a rural community, compare conditions there to those in urban Dakar, and have
contact with local Senegalese students in the village. As mentioned, the homestay and internship
experiences are also part of the immersion aspect of the program. All of these experiences are
intentionally designed into the program’s structure with academic ties, so that each facet of the
MSID program relates to its curricular and cocurricular goals for students.
Research. Students’ opportunity to conduct undergraduate research is a new component
of the MSID program in response to student needs and the changing landscape of study abroad
and university education in general. Semester students have the option to complete a research
paper in lieu of the internship, and academic year students complete the fall semester with the
classroom phase and internship as normal and then spend a large part of the spring semester
completing an independent research paper. All students are exposed to research methodology
curriculum in the classroom phase in order to prepare them for either an MSID research project
or simply as a component on which the University of Minnesota places value for undergraduates.
Dr. Jama of MSID Kenya noted that he believes that research methodology instruction puts
students at an advantage if and when they go onto attend graduate school.
Continual assessment. Assessment and change were common themes found through
analysis of the data. The MSID program has continually evolved since its inception more than
thirty years ago. In order to maintain student interest in and demand for the program, follow
changing populations of student participants, achieve the learning goals set out for students, and
keep up with the changing worlds of both study abroad programming and development in the
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world, the MSID administrators and staff and constantly going through assessment of their
program and its sites. Students are frequently surveyed to ascertain their satisfaction in the
program and the acquiescence of MSID learning goals. Continual, frequent changes are made to
the program accordingly.
On-site directors of all four MSID sites meet with Minneapolis-based administrators
every other year as a group, alternating between Minnesota-based and site-based conferences.
There, directors have the opportunity to touch base with home campus administrators to ensure
they are on par with the university’s expectations, and collaborate with each other about different
sites’ unique programmatic additions and common challenges. A University of Minnesota
administrator noted, “Bringing that group of people together every two years, it is fascinating to
be in the same room with all of them… They really become I think a support mechanism for on
another.” Because few study abroad programs exist in the developing world, it occurred to the
researcher that the on-site directors’ opportunities to share with each other the common
challenges faced in all four locations may be for the benefit of the MSID program overall.
MSID has several structures in place to respond to its goals for students. Its “blend of
academics and Peace Corps” promotes curricular and cocurricular goals for students, the
intentional program sequence builds upon this idea by moving students from orientation to
coursework to internships and finally in reflection. Opportunities for excursion and research
complement that overall structure, and continual assessment of the program focuses on changing
structures in response to student goals. Through analysis of the research questions throughout
this chapter, it has been apparent that various factors in sub-Saharan Africa specifically affect
curricular and cocurricular aspects of MSID, the program expects students to learn and
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experience a variety of outcomes in Africa and supports those goals through various means, and
finally that the program is structured intentionally in response to the aforementioned.
Conclusion
As detailed in the literature review section of this dissertation, the management of study
abroad programs in the developing world, specifically in this case in sub-Saharan Africa, can
involve unique challenges (Altbach, 2011). However, students who participate in programs in
developing countries may benefit even more from challenges than their peers who study in
traditional locations or remain on campus, provided programs are developed thoughtfully (Che,
Spearman, & Manizade, 2009). As an increasing number of students are participating in study
abroad programs located in developing countries (Institute of International Education, 2011), it is
important to understand how these programs are administered.
Data from interviews, observations, and documents provided a rich set of information
from which to analyze the MSID study abroad program’s model and make conclusions about
what factors affect its curricular and cocurricular aspects, what MSID expects students to
experience in Africa, how they support student learning outcomes, and how the program is
structured with goals for students in mind. Factors which affect the “blend of academics and
Peace Corps” combination of curriculum and cocurriculum in the MSID program include culture
shock, language barriers, gender roles, politics, sensitivity to time, communal sense of living,
educational differences, and safety and health concerns. These aspects play a critical roles in
shaping students’ experiences in the MSID program and therefore the way in which its
curriculum and cocurriculum is designed and administered.
It was clear through analysis of the data that the MSID mission and philosophy has
guided the program’s structure from its very inception. Its focus on reciprocity in development –
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giving students the opportunity to give back to the developing world while also gaining
significant personal growth from the experience – affects the program, in addition to the distinct
internal MSID community. The cocurricular homestay and internship components students
experience through MSID add to the curriculum they learn in the classroom. That intentional mix
between academics and Peace Corps appears to lead to personal development and leave lifelong
impacts on many students. A supremely important part of MSID is the program’s commitment to
supporting students through challenging situations they encounter in Africa. University of
Minnesota administrators’ intentional design of MSID, continual assessment of and change to its
structure, and trust in the on-site directors’ management of program make it a useful model of
how a holistic study abroad program can be administered in sub-Saharan Africa.

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CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
What has preceded this final chapter was an account of research on how a study abroad
program is operated in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically through the lens of a case study of the
University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program in
Kenya and Senegal. An increasing number of American students are participating in study
abroad programs in developing countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. Likewise, U.S.
universities are continually expanding overseas program offerings. However, there is a lack of
research indicating the factors that affect overseas program management in the developing world
and ways in which these kinds of programs are structured to support students’ global learning
and development. Proponents of study abroad argue that the experience can be “a cornerstone for
an undergraduate education that prepares students to be engaged and informed citizens in an
increasingly globalized world” (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009, p. 35). However, study abroad
programs are often created and implemented with little intent to achieve these goals (Skelly,
2009). The purpose of this study was to examine how a study abroad program in sub-Saharan
Africa is implemented in its setting in a developing country.
Summary
Chapter one provided a background of the problem, the lack of research on ways in
which study abroad programs are operated in developing countries, sub-Saharan Africa
specifically. This contextual information included detail on the changing landscape of study
abroad programs managed by U.S. colleges and universities, most importantly for this study the
fact that non-traditional study abroad host regions, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, saw over
20% increases in participation over the last two academic years (Institute of International
Education, 2011). Next, issues in study abroad were discussed, namely the concern that study
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abroad programs are most often developed with little intentionality (Skelly, 2009). Global
learning and development of students has become increasingly discussed in the landscape of
American higher education, and research shows that one key way in which students have the
opportunity to develop is through participation in study abroad programs. Chickering and Reisser
(1993) stress the importance of challenge and support, a concept that encourages students to
learn through challenging experiences with the support of college administrators or faculty
members. An example of one such challenge is the study abroad experience, especially those in
particularly different areas of the world such as developing countries. Research indicates that
students can gain even more profound effects from study abroad by participating in a program
set in a developing country where resources are scarce, culture is vastly different than in the
United States, and poverty is more widespread. As compared to programs in more traditional
locations like Western Europe, where students experience more or less similar cultural values,
societies, and even languages, the challenges associated with study abroad in places like sub-
Saharan Africa can substantially impact students’ development, and consequently the need for
intentional support is even more crucial.
In chapter two’s literature review, further background was provided to provide an overall
picture of study abroad as context for this study. Universities nationwide are pursuing
internationalization strategies in order for the institutions and enrolled students to be competitive
in a global economy, within which there are increasingly blurred boundaries between countries
(Friedman, 2005). Internationalization efforts vary; study abroad is among those becoming one
of the most important international activities of colleges and universities. Even in its relatively
new history, study abroad programming has changed over the years. What started as small
numbers of students traveling to Western Europe for short stints has morphed into large
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populations of college goers spending semesters or full years abroad. And while the majority of
students still study in Europe, 11 of the top 20 destinations of choice were Africa, Asia, Latin
America and Oceania in 2004-2005 (Obst, Bhandari, & Witherell, 2007). In sub-Saharan Africa
alone, participation increased by 8% between the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 academic years
(Institute of International Education, 2011). As the student experience in developing nations like
those in sub-Saharan Africa is profoundly more different and challenging than in traditional
study abroad locations like Western Europe, more needs to be understood about the ways in
which programs are administered there.
Much of the research on study abroad reviewed in chapter two focuses on the
achievement of student development outcomes from the overseas experience. Many studies show
that study abroad generally has a profoundly positive effect on students’ personal growth and
development as global citizens. Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009) state succinctly what
many researchers agree, that study abroad can be a powerful tool for holistic student
development, provided the programming is designed intentionally with student outcomes in
mind. Simply offering study abroad programs is not enough to lead to students’ global learning
and development, but programs that are well-designed with those goals in mind can be
successful in encouraging outcomes in students (Lutterman-Aguilar & Gingerich, 2002). A brief
overview of the higher education landscape in sub-Saharan Africa was also presented in chapter
two, highlighting the significant difference from U.S. institutions of the extreme lack of
resources in many sub-Saharan African locations. Whereas in traditional study abroad locations
such as countries in Western Europe, resources such as internet, classroom facilities, plumbing
and electricity, and fresh water, are as abundant as in the United States. These challenges that
study abroad programs face uniquely in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa further support the
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emphasis of this study that there is a critical need to understand the ways in which programs are
administered in that region.
Chapter three thoroughly explained the research methods employed in this study.
Qualitative research was undertaken to provide a rich understanding of a phenomenon from the
perspectives of those directly involved and the descriptive nature of qualitative studies that can
reveal how separate aspects of a phenomenon connect to form a whole (Merriam, 1998). For
example in this study, the ways that programmatic aspects of MSID provide overseas
experiences to students. Visits to the MSID sites in Kenya and Senegal provided ample data with
which to analyze the ways in which the program operates. Interviews with MSID administrators
and staff were conducted, data from which was supported by documents and observations.
The data was coded and analyzed using the holistic student learning and development
abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) as a framework for understanding the
elements that make up an intentionally-designed holistic study abroad program. The model uses
the uniqueness of the study abroad setting and suggests that students develop interconnected
intellectual and social lives while abroad (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). The framework
for connecting student learning and the sociocultural environment in study abroad offers four
“means”, parts of study abroad programs, including culture, curriculum, cocurriculum, and
community, which should ideally lead to three “ends” displaying students’ global learning and
development including cognitive, interpersonal, and intrapersonal dimensions (Gillespie,
Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). Each of the four components of a sound study abroad program,
according to Gillespie, Braskamp, and Dwyer (2009), was found throughout the case study
MSID program. An analysis of the data through the holistic student learning and development
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abroad framework was provided throughout chapter four. A review of the main important
components of that analysis is provided below.
Research Questions
In chapter four, findings were analyzed for each of this study’s research questions. The
analysis of data gathered by interviews, documents, and observations exhibited the unique ways
in which a study abroad program operates in sub-Saharan Africa, and were shown through the
lens of the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, &
Dwyer, 2009), which denotes four main categories of study abroad program characteristics:
curriculum, cocurriculum, culture, and community. Overarching themes from this analysis are
briefly summarized below.
Overarching Research Question
What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study abroad
program in Kenya and Senegal? The unique “blend of academics and Peace Corps”, MSID’s
intentional combination of curriculum and cocurriculum, affects the ways in which aspects of the
program are designed and administered for students both in and outside the classroom. Various
aspects of Kenyan and Senegalese culture and community also influence these curricular and
cocurricular components of the program.
Matters that may be specific to sub-Saharan Africa, or at least to the developing world,
appeared to have great consequence the MSID program. Culture shock in general, with specific
examples provided throughout chapter four, was found to be a profound factor affecting
curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID program. Language barriers, homestay living
situations, communal beliefs, pedagogical differences, and health and safety issues certainly
influence the ways in which the MSID program is designed and administered. For example,
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language instruction is provided to assist students in communicating with their host
communities. Students are afforded opportunities to discuss and learn about cultural differences
they may experience in their homestays and pedagogical changes they may experience in the
classroom with MSID staff and faculty. Staff members also provide health and safety warnings
to students at orientation and provide continual support to them with such matters throughout the
semester.
Research Sub-Question 1
What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal? As mentioned
throughout this dissertation, study abroad experiences can have profoundly beneficial impacts on
students’ personal development, which appeared to be quite important to the MSID program as
well, influencing the ways in which experiential learning is designed and carried out for MSID
students. Evidence of ways in which cognitive (cultural knowledge), interpersonal (cultural
sensitivity), and intrapersonal (self-confidence) development was nurtured through students’
experience in MSID were evident throughout the data analysis. Not all effects of the MSID
program on students are positive, but the intent is that even negative experiences, such as
robberies, conflicts with homestays, or tedium in internships, can become learning experiences.
The homestay living arrangements are an integral part of MSID which the program wants
students to experience, as it gives them firsthand cultural insight into their local host community.
Likewise, another hallmark of the program is the internship experience, which MSID has
designed to promote students’ global learning and development. Data suggested that MSID also
intends all of the immersion aspects of the program to lead towards students going on to make a
difference in the developing world, exemplified by countless examples of MSID alumni
returning to their host countries, working for non-profit organizations, volunteering in local
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 117

communities, and more. One piece of community engagement that the program lacks is
formalized interaction with MSIDers’ peers in Kenya and Senegal. Some host families have
college aged children with whom MSID students form relationships, but since classes are
comprised solely of MSID students, the opportunity for interactions with peers in Africa is
limited and detracts from students’ exposure to the entire host community.
Research Sub-Question 2
How does MSID support student learning outcomes? The notion of challenge and
support (Chickering & Reisser, 1993), by which students learn through challenging experiences
with the support of college administrators or faculty members, is clearly part of the way in which
MSID supports students in achieving the specific learning outcomes the program sets out. The
in-depth orientation program, specific to each location but equally as extensive and preparatory
in both Kenya and Senegal, readies students for their experiences in Africa. By spending time as
a group, the supportive internal community is built amongst MSID staff, faculty, and students.
Through a variety of learning experiences including short field trips, reading assignments, and
creative ways to learn case studies of former MSID students, MSIDers are given the tools needed
to begin learning and experiencing their new host cultures.
The internal community that begins in orientation continues throughout the MSID
semester. The supportive nature of the staff, under strong leadership by the on-site directors,
assists in creating a culture devoted to MSID students gaining deep experiences and giving back
to their local host communities. The bookends to orientation are the reflection and reentry
exercises which are built into the MSID curriculum. By requiring students to analyze the
experiences they have had in and outside the classroom, MSID staff and faculty assist students in
digesting what they have learned.
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Challenging experiences are an ordinary part of any study abroad experience, but those in
sub-Saharan African can prove to be even more intense for students than in more traditional
program locations such as Western Europe. The ways in which programs such as MSID support
students in learning from challenging situations is important for the benefit of students’ global
learning and development. The high staff to student ratio of the MSID program in both Kenya
and Senegal allows for a strong internal community to be built through open relationships
between students and staff. On the other hand, this arrangement implies the program could not
accommodate higher numbers of students or would sacrifice the high student to staff ratio.
Whereas programs in developing countries such as MSID in Kenya and Senegal can provide
students’ with substantially more challenging and ideally more impactful experiences than those
in traditional locations such as Western Europe, it may be inherently necessary that student
populations remain small. One weakness of programs in the developing world realized in this
study is that they might not be able to accommodate the large numbers of students that are more
common to programs in Western Europe.
Research Sub-Question 3
How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and cocurricular
goals for students in mind? The intentional ways in which the MSID program is structured
follows its “blend of academics and Peace Corps” characteristic. The program sequence is
deliberate in providing students with formal academic coursework as a base first, a curriculum
which includes language learning, development theories, specifics about the host country culture,
and specific topics important to the development work such as education, environment, public
health, microbusiness, and social work. Throughout the coursework, MSID faculty members tie
in experiential learning in order to assist students in connecting the academic portion to their
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experiences outside the classroom. The intent is for the students to be prepared to begin their
independent internship thereafter.
The structure of the MSID program is ever-changing. The coursework has changed over
the years in response to varying theories of development and important topics in the world such
as entrepreneurship. The optional research component was introduced in response to changing
university goals in preparing students to perform research. And the field trips and internship
components are revisited in order to ensure the structure of the MSID program continues to be
supportive of its goals for students.
Discussion & Analysis
Throughout the data gathered in this study are examples of the ways in which study
abroad programs based in sub-Saharan Africa are different than those in more traditional
locations such as Western Europe. The vast majority of literature on study abroad program
management, reviewed in chapter two, focuses on the Western European setting. Data from
interviews, observations, and documents of the MSID program revealed a stronger magnitude of
societal and cultural differences in Kenya and Senegal as compared to Western European
countries described in the literature. Poverty, for example, can be seen in some fashion all over
the world. But in sub-Saharan Africa, the degree of poverty is often staggering for students, and
also puts constraints on resources available for study abroad programs. Safety is again an issue in
many large cities across the globe, but in Nairobi, which one administrator notes is often referred
to as “Nairobbery”, and Dakar, where muggings of MSID students are common.
Cultural differences also appear more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa than in the
Western world. While the concepts of time and structure may also be looser in some countries,
such as in Southern Europe, the extreme difference in sub-Saharan Africa challenges MSID
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students. Staff noted that students often sit at their internships all day without a single task
assigned to them. A students’ supervisor may be late, there may be a community event causing
all operations to cease, or the organization’s staff may simply not be invested in any particular
projects that day. As mentioned in chapter four, many of the extreme cultural differences
students notice in their homestay families, such as live-in maids and strong gender roles, are also
quite different than they would face in Western Europe.
In the “cultural iceberg” example taken from the MSID Kenya orientation (Appendix B),
approximately 10% of cultural differences are visible, such as food, art, and language, while 90%
is hidden and not easily discernible, such as roles, values, expectations, attitudes, and
assumptions. Were this orientation model used in a program in Western Europe, perhaps the tip
of the cultural iceberg visible and understandable to American students would be closer to 50%
since the culture in most traditional study abroad locations is much closer related to American
culture than that in sub-Saharan Africa. It is because of the magnitude of these societal and
cultural differences in sub-Saharan Africa that it is important for American university
administrators to understand the ways in which study abroad programs in the region operate.
Also as the literature in chapter two detailed, study abroad programs are often developed
and administered with little intentionality (Skelly, 2009). However, the purposeful design of
these programs is a significant factor in if and how student development outcomes are achieved
(Kaufmann, Martin, & Weaver, 1992). In other words, in order to achieve their learning and
developmental objectives for students, study abroad programs must be purposefully designed
(Bennett, 2008). Features of the MSID program directly tie to the four overall student learning
outcome goals identified by the University of Minnesota: foster an understanding of the global
context through classroom and experiential learning, cultivate awareness and appreciation for
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development issues through engagement with diverse communities, translate insights gained into
thoughtful and respectful long-term perspectives on concepts of social justice and sustainable
development, and strengthen communication skills through acquisition of local languages and
cultural awareness (University of Minnesota, 2012). It is apparent that the MSID program is
indeed intentionally designed to support these student learning outcomes: in its “blend of
academics and Peace Corps”, the support that faculty and staff provide to students, and in the
planned sequence of the program’s structure.
The intentional mix of curricular and cocurricular aspects in the MSID program, that
“blend of academics and Peace Corps” is an important characteristic of the program that allows
MSID the opportunity to both pursue its goals for students in learning and experiencing sub-
Saharan Africa, as well as its mission to give back to the developing world. This feature relates
directly to the MSID goal of developing students’ “understanding of the global context through
classroom and experiential learning” (University of Minnesota, 2012). As noted in chapter two,
the integration of cocurricular, excursion, and immersion type activities in study abroad
programs are an important way in which programs are intentionally designed. Hovey and
Weinberg (2009) suggest that in order to develop students into active global citizens, their study
abroad experiences should involve internships, community service activities, or other ways in
which they are involved in the local host community. Brockington and Weidenhoeft (2009)
concur that internships as well as research projects can provide substantial opportunities for
students’ global learning and development. The intentional integration of community service
activities in the MSID program provides students with the opportunity to learn about, experience,
and give back to the communities in which they live while studying abroad.
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An important facet of the MSID program’s integration of volunteer work into its
curriculum is the reciprocity achieved by students’ involvement in their host communities. As
seen through the interview data, MSID staff members learn a considerable amount themselves,
about American culture, the English language, and values of the Western world. Community
service in study abroad is generally seen as reciprocal in that students gain as much from
learning about their host community as they give back (Lutterman-Aguilar & Gingerich, 2002).
In developing countries like Kenya and Senegal, community service opportunities abound. One
consideration for improvement of the MSID program is to increase the connection MSIDers have
with local peers, especially in an academic setting. While some host families may have children,
not all have sons or daughters of a similar age range to MSID students. More importantly, there
is no interaction with local peers in the classroom. Even though classes are taught by local
faculty, the classes are limited to American college students so there are few opportunities for
MSID students to gain insight from Kenyan or Senegalese peers. Hosting MSID classes in a
local university may present challenges associated with difficulties in the sub-Saharan African
higher education system as discussed in chapter two, along with the uniquely short classroom
phase of the program. However, some sort of structured peer interaction should be considered.
Secondly, the support that local MSID faculty and staff provide to students aids them in
working through the challenges they experience in Africa. MSID’s internal community, an
important feature of the holistic student learning abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer,
2009) was evidently important to its members. It was clear through observations that the local
faculty and staff help students achieve the MSID learning goal associated with increasing
cultural awareness. MSID faculty and staff help students understand challenging situations they
confront in Kenya and Senegal. Research indicates that faculty and support staff members are
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integral in supporting students’ challenges while abroad, so that difficult encounters lead to
developmental growth (Hoff, 2008). In their time abroad, study abroad students generally
respond positively to the diverse situations in which they encounter, especially when they feel as
though they are supported by their program through challenges that might arise (Braskamp &
Engberg, 2011). The way in which MSID staff, faculty, and administrators support students
through challenging learning experiences allows opportunities for their personal growth.
Finally, the way in which the MSID program is structured to create building blocks
through which students learn, experience, and grow in Africa combined curricular, cocurricular,
community, and culture aspects of the holistic student learning abroad model (Gillespie,
Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009). MSID evidently strived towards the learning outcome goal for
students to “translate insights gained into thoughtful and respectful long-term perspectives on
concepts of social justice and sustainable development” (University of Minnesota, 2012).
Specific study abroad features, most notably orientation programming, excursion opportunities,
and reflection exercises, are important components of intentionally-designed programs as
described in the literature review section in chapter two. The interview, observation, and
document analysis revealed the various ways in which MSID is structured with student learning
outcomes in mind.
More important to the success of student development in study abroad is the general
program design being purposeful. Programs described as “low road” by Hovey and Weinberg
(2009) send college students to study abroad with little preparation and offer weak cultural
experiences overseas; these types of programs also happen to enroll the majority of study abroad
participants. In contrast, “high road” programs are developed to ensure students are well-
prepared for their journey and supported in integrated learning and immersion into the host
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community (Hovey & Weinberg, 2009). The intentional sequence of the MSID program, which
moves from pre-departure preparation, on-site orientation, classroom learning, internship
placements, reflection activities, to reentry preparation, appears to be thoughtfully put together
so that each facet of the program builds upon the last in order to best support students in their
global learning and development.
As with any study abroad program, there are potential improvements that could be made
to MSID. But for the most part, MSID is a study abroad program that is designed intentionally to
strive toward its goals for student participants. As noted, the analysis of this research reveals
three most important facets of the program’s operation, including the “blend of academics and
Peace Corps”, the support students receive from faculty and staff, and the purposeful sequence of
programming.
Another aspect of MSID that could further enhance the program is a stronger focus on
reentry. While the onsite faculty and staff present programming to assist students in dealing with
returning home and processing their experiences, the interview data revealed students still report
to staff members significant difficulties in reverse culture shock. A formal debriefing program
for students returning specifically from certain regions or programs in developing nations would
help students in further processing the global learning and development they may have achieved
overseas. Instead of facing relationship difficulties with friends and family members, students
could perhaps be counseled through how to utilize their new knowledge to become leaders on
campus and share their global views with students who have not had the same study abroad
experiences. This kind of programming admittedly takes on-campus resources that may not exist,
but it seems to be worth consideration due to the trouble it seems many students have in
returning home.
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It is important to note again that since assessment of student learning outcome
achievement was not part of the scope of this research, nor were students interviewed for data
collection on the student experience in MSID, conclusions cannot truly be drawn as far as the
success of MSID’s program design and administration in leading to its intended student outcome
goals. This research does deduce, however, that the program is well set up to support its goals for
students.
Recommendations for Research
While this study’s analysis certainly does not assume that all aspects of the MSID
program are relatable to all study abroad programs in sub-Saharan Africa or in the development
world in general, this case study does intend to provide important information with regards to
ways in which programs of this nature may be unique versus programs in more traditional
locations such as Western Europe. As more students are choosing to attend programs in
developing countries, research on the ways in which they are uniquely administered should be
expanded. Case studies of programs in other developing regions of the world would add to the
depth of this research. Understanding different program models, including for graduate or
professional students, involving other experiential components, and with other curricular foci,
will also benefit the literature in this area.
As the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, &
Dwyer, 2009) notes and other research agrees, intentionally-designed programs are best set to
provide students with impactful experiences. Research on curricular and cocurricular aspects of
non-traditional types of study abroad programs and characteristics of their culture and
community is lacking. The scope of this research limited the ability to study the success of the
MSID program in achieving its student outcome goals, but an important addition to this topic is
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the student experience. A significant expansion to this study would be the assessment of program
design in leading to positive student learning and global development. Student interview data
could reveal student views, ideally longitudinally, on specific aspects of the MSID program such
as orientation, homestays, classes, and internships.
MSIDers’ global learning and development could also be assessed pre-departure and
post-program using one of many survey instruments available in order to gain clarity into what
impact the unique facets of a sub-Saharan African study abroad program may or may not have on
student development. On a grander scale, these assessment data could also be compared to that
from students who have participated in programs in more traditional locations such as Western
Europe. While prior research clearly indicates there is greater opportunity for student
development in programs located in more challenging locations such as the developing world,
survey data could reveal which specific aspects of programs in these locations most supports that
development. Further filling this gap in literature can provide universities with unique insight
into the development of new study abroad programs in order to support all students in
considering the experience.
Recommendations for Practice
The set of three significant facets of MSID described previously can be used as a model
for new program development in sub-Saharan Africa. The “blend of academics and Peace Corps”
that carefully combines curriculum and cocurriculum allows students to gain both academic
knowledge as well as outside the classroom experiences in the developing world. The close,
thoughtful support that local faculty and staff provide to students follows the Chickering and
Reisser (1993) model of challenge and support in providing students with safe environments in
which to grow. And finally, the intentional sequence of the MSID program, including pre-
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 127

departure, orientation, classes, internships, reflection and reentry, creates building blocks through
which students can learn and grow. The combination of these facets can be replicated in other
programs and adjusted according to specific locations, foci of study, or other characteristics.
Support of study abroad programs in Africa should undoubtedly be enhanced. As noted in
the literature review chapter, concerns over areas of the world such as Africa frequently prohibit
parents from being supportive and students from having interest in participating. “In America,
whatever they show about Africa is war,” one MSID Kenya staff member worried, “Probably the
only news that comes is bad news.” Staff members in both locations noted that they saw several
parents each semester coming to visit their son or daughter participants, and through those
experiences gained a more positive, less fearful attitude about the program and the region in
general. Study abroad administrators can and should do a better job of promoting programs like
MSID to parents, not just students, to appease their fears and concerns.
Another important reason to support expanded study abroad programming in Africa, as
noted in the literature review, is that students may be drawn to participate in programs located in
countries from which they have ethnic heritage. While this did not yet appear to be the case in
the MSID program, it is still an important reason to support the development of study abroad
programs in regions of the world such as Africa and Latin America where minority American
students may have ethnic heritage. In families of minority students, it may be even more
important to involve parents in the early programming. Scholarship programs meant specifically
for minority students going to locations connected to their heritage would also increase the
diversity in study abroad.
The interesting “blend of academics and Peace Corps” so integral to the MSID program
found to be a remarkable way of not only providing substantial experiences to student
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participants but also as a means to make a difference in the world. Many study abroad programs
still focus on exposing American students to the art, language, and literature of Western Europe,
which compared to the potential impact MSID can make on the world seems quite antiquated.
Although the benefit MSID makes to the developing world may be minute in actuality, it is the
belief of the researcher that the program is making a substantial contribution and that
administrators who develop study abroad programs should take notice of similar opportunities
for universities and their students to give back. The reciprocal nature of programs like MSID
have an important impact on the diplomacy of the United States throughout the world, just as is
the mission of the Peace Corps.
Conclusion
Internationalization in higher education is not going away. Exposure to the ever
interconnected world has become one of the key goals administrators intend graduates to take
away. A multitude of research substantiates the profoundly positive affect study abroad
participation can have on college students’ global learning and development, provided the
programming is intentional. The unique learning challenges students experience in programs
located in developing countries, along with the potential opportunity to give back, provides great
reason for the expansion of study abroad programs in the developing world.
MSID factors characteristics of sub-Saharan Africa, such as language barriers, family
differences, communal beliefs, poverty, health and safety, into the curriculum and cocurriculum
of its program design and administration. The program expects students to experience a variety
of academic learning and personal development in Kenya and Senegal and go onto make an
impact on the developing world. To support students in getting to those end goals, the program
intentionally works in an intensive orientation program, builds a strong internal community of
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support, and allows students to reflect on their experiences in order to expound upon them. That
characteristic “blend of academics and Peace Corps”, with a specially designed curriculum and
tied-in experiential opportunities, sets students in an ideal path to become true diplomats of the
United States in leadership roles in non-profit and government organizations and contribute
towards a better world.

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Appendix A
Interview Protocol

Research question: What factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of the MSID study
abroad program in Kenya and Senegal?

1. How would you describe the MSID community and relationship between staff,
faculty, and students at MSID in Kenya and Senegal?
2. What do you think MSID students learn that they could only learn in Kenya and
Senegal?

Sub-research question 1: What does MSID expect students to experience in Kenya and Senegal?

3. What does MSID want students to experience outside of the classroom and why?
4. Please provide any examples of times you saw or heard about MSID students learning
from the local community, for example in visits to local neighborhoods or community
service projects?
5. In your view, how does students’ community involvement contributes to their
educational experiences abroad and their personal development? For example, do
they seem to become more sensitive to cultural differences or work better in diverse
groups of people?

Sub-research question 2: How does MSID support student learning outcomes?

6. What do you think students learn or gain through the internships they complete
during the MSID program?
7. What challenges does MSID face with regards to African and American cultural
differences, for example with differences in academics or students’ living
arrangements?
8. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of the students’ transition to Kenya
and Senegal, for example language, cultural customs, or living arrangements?

Sub-research question 3: How is the MSID program structured with potential curricular and
cocurricular goals for students in mind?

9. What kind of information is provided and activities take place at the MSID
orientation program, and how are they helpful to students?
10. How is the MSID curriculum developed?
11. How are extracurricular activities planned and run in MSID, and what are those
activities intended to accomplish?

UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 144

Appendix B
MSID Kenya Cultural Iceberg Orientation Material

Music Food Language

Visual Art Holiday Customs

Flags Games Dress
Nature of Friendships Values Notions of Beauty

Religious Beliefs Body Language

Norms Etiquette Rules

Gender Roles Learning Styles

Expectations Leadership Styles

Attitudes towards Social Status Notions of Self

Perceptions Attitudes towards Age

Notions of Modesty Thought Processes

Views on Raising Children Concept of Fairness

Approaches to Problem Solving

Notions of Cleanliness Importance of Time

Assumptions
UNDERGRADUATES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD 145

Appendix C
MSID Program Sequence Diagram

Pre-departure
Orientation
Classes
Internship
Reflection
Reentry

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study follows the framework of the holistic student learning and development abroad model (Gillespie, Braskamp, & Dwyer, 2009) to examine the elements of a study abroad program located in sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study was to examine how the Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program is implemented in Kenya and Senegal, specifically what factors affect curricular and cocurricular aspects of MSID, what MSID wants students to experience in Kenya and Senegal, how MSID supports student learning outcomes, and how the MSID program is structured with curricular and cocurricular goals in mind for students. This single case study utilized qualitative techniques in the form of interviews of MSID staff and administrators, site observation, and document analysis in order to gain perspective into the ways in which the University of Minnesota administers its study abroad program in sub-Saharan Africa. Findings revealed important aspects of the MSID program include: its “blend of academics and Peace Corps”, the support that faculty and staff provided to students, and the planned sequence of the program’s structure. Based on analysis of the MSID program, recommendations for universities seeking to develop or expand programs in sub-Saharan Africa include developing an intentional combination of volunteer experience tied with academic content, and acknowledging challenges students may face with regard to cultural differences and providing necessary support so that those encounters may become learning opportunities.

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Creator Marlenga, Anne Kleinschmidt (author)

Core Title Undergraduates in the developing world: study abroad program management in sub-Saharan Africa

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education

Publication Date 03/22/2013

Defense Date 02/07/2013

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Tag Africa,OAI-PMH Harvest,student development in study abroad,study abroad,study abroad program management,sub-Saharan Africa

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Advisor Diamond, Michael A. (committee chair), Robison, Mark Power (committee chair), Tambascia, Tony (committee member)

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