Adults’ Global Learning Abroad in the U.S.: From the Perspective of Global Competence and Experiential Learning

Abstract: Globalization is a continuing reality and organizations and workers remain globally interconnected (Cascio, 2014), despite the argument that the COVID-19 crisis revealed inequities and increased locally based national responses (Ciravegna & Michailova, 2022). To navigate global complexities, knowledge of cross-cultural norms, effective cross-cultural communication skills, and the ability to understand different perspectives are critical for the success of today’s worker. These sets of skills, abilities, and attitudes have been labeled global competence (Hunter et al., 2006; Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, n.d.), intercultural competence (Spitzberg & Chagnon, 2009), and cultural agility (Caligiuri, 2012), among others.

Global competence may be developed through participation in university education abroad programs (Braskamp, et al., 2009). Ongoing scholarship explores the relationship between U.S. university study abroad experiences and career outcomes (Arghode, et al., 2021; Farrugia & Sanger, 2017; Hubbard & Rexeisen, 2020). Experiences abroad may support the development of skills that make students competitive job candidates and poised for leadership in the future global workforce.

A similar phenomenon is occurring in which international academic professional visitors, employed within their respective fields, are participating in their own “study abroad” programs in the U.S. to develop competencies through an experience abroad. This proposed research seeks to examine the phenomenon of learning abroad from a contrasting perspective: instead of studying the career impact on U.S. undergraduate study abroad students, this study will explore the experiences of international adults in-career who are learning abroad in the U.S. as understood through experiential learning cycle theory (Kolb, 2014). While program evaluations from governmental sponsors of similar programs such as the Fulbright Program exist (U.S. Department of State, 2005), this proposed study can address a research gap that allows for generalizable insight on professional learning abroad based in experiential learning theory.

The primary research question guiding this study is: How does global experiential learning abroad develop intercultural or global competence in individuals in a professional program? The sub-question more specifically asks: What are participants’ perceptions of the effects of global learning experiences on their own personal and professional development, the learning goals of their organization, or on their community or society?

The proposed research will take the form of a qualitative case study (Hamilton & Corbett-Whittier, 2013). This research method aligns with the aims of social research questions that seek human or social construction knowledge (Punch, 2005). Using purposeful sampling, the study will focus on faculty from universities in Kazakhstan who are past participants of a 6–9-month residency program based at higher education institution in the U.S. The participants’ global learning experiences were funded by their home government, which has the aim to build capacity in academic research, publishing, and teaching for scholars in Kazakhstan.

A pilot study was conducted with one international scholar who participated in a different professional development program in the U.S. and, like the target participants, is also a non-native English speaker. The pilot study process tested the validity of the interview protocol to see if the questions elicited responses that provided data relevant to the study’s research question (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Currently, data collection in progress is in the form of semi-structured interviews via Zoom, due to participants’ return to their home country at the conclusion of the program. Data analysis is simultaneously underway as interviews are being conducted using reflexive thematic analysis processes in which key codes are developed once the researchers have deeply familiarized themselves with the data and iterative reviews, initial themes identified, themes developed and compared to codes (Braun & Clarke, 2021). All themes generated will be compared to existing theoretical and empirical literature reviews conducted for the proposal and design of the study. In this way both inductive and deductive approaches will be utilized. To ensure trustworthiness, the researcher will discuss her positionality as a professional in the education abroad field and engage in member-checking by presenting thematic and analytic summaries to respondents for feedback and/or confirmation (Anderson, 2017).

As Buntain (2023) suggested, qualitative studies into how academic “staff and faculty grow intercultural competencies through participation in experiences abroad” is a recommended area for future research (p. 46). Findings from this study would add important qualitative accounts of adults’ professional development opportunities abroad into the existing scholarship on global competence development, which tends to focus on undergraduate student mobility and longer-term worker expatriation. This research may also provide insights for employer HRD practitioners and training providers that seek to design experiences that are aligned with organizational objectives and provide appropriate preparation for participant success while learning abroad.