Effect of Short Study Abroad Course on Student Openness to Diversity

ABSTRACT: An important contributing factor to students' willingness to work with diverse people is their "openness" to diversity. The objective of this study was to test the effect of a short (3-wk) study abroad course to China on the openness to diversity/ challenge of the 23 students participating in the China study abroad course. Students were given the "openness to diversity" survey at the beginning of the course and at the end of the course. Statistical analysis concerning the change in openness to diversity between pre-test and post-test was conducted using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test ( P ≤ 0.05). A significant increase ( P = 0.007) in openness to diversity was observed as a result of the short study abroad course. The overall average change in openness to diversity found for this study (0.07) was consistent with that reported for semester-long study abroad groups (0.074). Together these findings imply that short study abroad courses may have a significant effect on students' openness to diversity and may be as effective as longer study abroad programs. Overall, any study abroad course presents an opportunity to increase students' openness to diversity.