Graduate Studies

 

First Advisor

Elizabeth Niehaus

Department

Educational Leadership and Higher Education

Date of this Version

Spring 2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Comments

Copyright 2024, Todd Karr. Used by permission

Abstract

This qualitative study utilized a constructivist grounded theory approach to understand how rural students engaged with people in their home community as it related to before, during, and after their study abroad experience and what impact that engagement had on their experiences. Participants included 15 students who self-identified as being from a rural background that studied abroad for a minimum of one semester. Participants included students from one of two large, public universities in the state of New Mexico. Data collection included two semi-structured, in-depth interviews with each participant. The study used a constant comparison method to generate a theory on how self-identified rural students engaged with their home community as it related to their study abroad experience. The implications for this theory are an increased understanding of how this engagement effected the self-identified rural students’ study abroad experience and how academic institutions can better support these students through the study abroad experience. Future research should focus on a longitudinal study of rural students and their study abroad experience and re-entry.

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