By Na’im Madyun

This is Part II of commentary on the gap in underrepresented students studying abroad. Read Part I here.

In a recent interview by the Association of International Education Administrators, Provost Mark Greenberg of Drexel University was asked why his institution decided to internationalize given the many current challenges in higher education. His response: “This was an easy decision for us….careers in the 21^st century are global”

In Part 1 of this two-part series on the Global Gap, I reflected on my recent visit to my hometown of Helena, Arkansas, and expressed my concern about a disappointingly large delay in providing opportunities for all students to successfully engage in U.S. citizenhood. In short, we are behind.

Historical and traditional achievement gaps suggest the broad learning contexts for marginalized students are insufficient. Aspirations, beliefs, perceptions, attitudes and values of marginalized students are colored by very real interactions with those same insufficient contexts. While there is a delay in getting everyone on board to sufficiently equip a 50 year old bus, its logical connecting train (or plane) is already leaving the station.

In a recent conversation I had with Christopher Johnstone , he expressed interest in the necessity of aligning Senior International Officers and Chief Diversity Officers, to elevate the discourse around the global gap and its connection to citizenry. He shared with me a reference to the Institute of International Education  where it identifies a demographically disproportional composition of the study abroad population.

According to their data tables consisting of reports from over 280,000 college students in the US, only 5% were students with a disability status. Interestingly, student of color representation in these study abroad experiences only increased by 6% over a recent 10-year span.  This is partly due to the influence of negative expectations on interest and participation given the unknown and the known ( reports of unrest, rape and murder due to ethnic differences or LGBTQ status). However, this poses an opportunity to promote the existence of transformative and/or  third spaces where students of color can develop a composite identity of attitudes, perceptions, and values informed by a more global context.

This becomes a sort of chicken and egg dilemma: although the attitudes, perceptions and values informed by a more global context can lead to a more complex identity equipped to engage successfully as a 21^st century citizen, the decision of whether or not to study abroad is informed by the attitudes, perceptions and values (or habitus) of students before studying abroad. The habitus (beliefs, attitudes, aspirations, perceptions and values that frame and constrain choices) also differs between students of color and non-students of color. So what do we do?

I suggest two steps are important. Firstly, we must educate to re-interpret international opportunities as welcoming spaces for diverse and low income students . Secondly, we must demystify the process  and experience of studying abroad  for our students as we cross their paths and make a part of our discourse. If we fail to do so or lag in our efforts, we help develop another generation of a marginalized population underprepared to engage as full citizens.

Na’im Madyun is CEHD associate dean for undergraduate, diversity, and international programs.

By Na’im Madyun

“As the Nation’s population becomes more diverse, it is important that the educational and training needs of all Americans are met. Underrepresentation of minorities in science and technological fields diminishes our Nation’s competitiveness by impairing the quantity of well prepared scientists, engineers, and technical experts in these fields.”

The above passage comes from Part E, Section 350, paragraph 2 of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Fifty years after this statement, there is still unequal access to STEM for our country’s diverse and poor.

Other countries with sizeable diverse and poor populations are faring better in math and science while we remain in the middle of the pack. Even our wealthiest students are among the worst of the wealthiest.

Unequal STEM access and outcomes are not as central to my concern as our comfort with lagging behind. As we approach the 50 year anniversary of the Higher Education Act and  “celebrate” the 50 year mark of Brown vs. the Board of Education, I am alarmed.

As part of the Brown vs. Board decision,  Chief Justice Warren share the following:

“Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.”

My approach to discussing global education efforts shifted after recently attending a wedding in my hometown of Helena, AR. In this small, Mississippi Delta town, crime is alarmingly high, poverty is depressingly pervasive and educational outcomes are disappointingly unequal. Sadly, I cannot claim amazement at the state of my hometown.
My father was among the first African American students in Helena to be allowed to attend the all-White high school for his senior year due in part to having at least a B+ average (according to an unwritten policy). The year was 1968. This integration of the school system was 14 years after Brown vs. the Board of Education and 3 years after the passing of the Higher Education Act. My father’s classmates, who knew little of integration as students, became my teachers and mentors. Policies and practices that birthed, established and maintained my favorite town, walked us into our current existence with all deliberate speed.

Now, with the discourse shifting to the 58 million students world wide having no access to education, global gaps in study abroad experiences (gender , low in come, and ethnicity ) and the importance of being competitive global citizens, I am quite concerned about the thousands of large and small Helenas across this country who are still trying to secure the foundation for a Head Start. Failure to prepare students to become engaged citizens endorses their disengagement with healthy social navigation; it is critical that we do not lag 50 years behind in the development of our students as global citizens.

Na’im Madyun is associate dean for undergraduate, diversity, and international programs.