Continuing on the topic of Soft/Smart Power that has been an on going
discussion theme on the NAFSA Teaching, Learning & Scholarship Research/Scholarship network (www.nafsa.org/RSnetwork) I am posting a link to a video from a December 3, 2007 panel discussion which is part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' (CSIS) series on Smart Power. This panel consisting of World Learning President and CEO, Carol Bellamy, H. Patrick Swygert, President of Howard University, and Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, President Emeritus of George Washington University discussed the role of international education and the influence it can have on restoring the United States' standing in the world. You can link to the panel discussion here:
http://media.csis.org/csistv/?071203_smartpower.
Related to this issues is the new poll: Americans Concerned About Long-Term Impact of Damaged US Reputation Abroad from the January 28, 2008 PRNewswire-USNewswire:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-28-2008/0004744241&EDATE=
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
A Theory on Students Compatibility with a Host Family While Studying Abroad
Propositions of the Theory
1. The greater one’s proficiency in a foreign language (same as host family), the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. This foreign language proficiency will facilitate easier communication between the student and the host family, which in turn will increase compatibility. This is a positive, linear relationship.
2. The greater the number of prior international/intercultural travel experiences one has experienced, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. Increased number of international/intercultural travel experiences a student has experienced will increase the compatibility with a host family because they enjoy such experiences. This is a positive, linear relationship.
3. The greater one’s age, the greater one’s level of maturity. The older a student is the more mature behaviors they will display in the host family living environment. This is a positive, linear relationship.
3. The greater one’s age, the greater their ability to adapt to an intercultural experience. Students will be able to adapt much easier to an intercultural experience the older they are. This is a positive, linear relationship.
4. The greater one’s maturity level, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. Students who display mature behaviors will be much more compatible with a host family than students who demonstrate immature behaviors. This is a positive linear relationship.
5. The greater one’s ability to adapt to an intercultural experience, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. The ability to adapt to an intercultural experience will have a direct impact on a student’s compatibility with the host family. This is a positive, linear relationship.
Contingency factor for proposition 5
5a. The higher one’s interest in an intercultural experience, the stronger the relationship between adaptability and compatibility.
6. The more one experiences home sickness, the less one’s compatibility with a host family. As students become more homesick they will not be as compatible with their host family because they want to be back home and not on their study abroad experience. This is a negative, linear relationship.
Contingency factor for proposition 6
6a. As the amount of contact from friends and family back home decreases, the stronger the relationship between homesickness and compatibility.
7. The length of stay of a study abroad experience is related to one’s compatibility with a host family. From a short length of stay to a moderate length of stay the relationship is positive. However, from a moderate length of stay to an extended length of stay there is no relationship. This is a curvilinear relationship.
1. The greater one’s proficiency in a foreign language (same as host family), the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. This foreign language proficiency will facilitate easier communication between the student and the host family, which in turn will increase compatibility. This is a positive, linear relationship.
2. The greater the number of prior international/intercultural travel experiences one has experienced, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. Increased number of international/intercultural travel experiences a student has experienced will increase the compatibility with a host family because they enjoy such experiences. This is a positive, linear relationship.
3. The greater one’s age, the greater one’s level of maturity. The older a student is the more mature behaviors they will display in the host family living environment. This is a positive, linear relationship.
3. The greater one’s age, the greater their ability to adapt to an intercultural experience. Students will be able to adapt much easier to an intercultural experience the older they are. This is a positive, linear relationship.
4. The greater one’s maturity level, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. Students who display mature behaviors will be much more compatible with a host family than students who demonstrate immature behaviors. This is a positive linear relationship.
5. The greater one’s ability to adapt to an intercultural experience, the greater one’s compatibility with a host family. The ability to adapt to an intercultural experience will have a direct impact on a student’s compatibility with the host family. This is a positive, linear relationship.
Contingency factor for proposition 5
5a. The higher one’s interest in an intercultural experience, the stronger the relationship between adaptability and compatibility.
6. The more one experiences home sickness, the less one’s compatibility with a host family. As students become more homesick they will not be as compatible with their host family because they want to be back home and not on their study abroad experience. This is a negative, linear relationship.
Contingency factor for proposition 6
6a. As the amount of contact from friends and family back home decreases, the stronger the relationship between homesickness and compatibility.
7. The length of stay of a study abroad experience is related to one’s compatibility with a host family. From a short length of stay to a moderate length of stay the relationship is positive. However, from a moderate length of stay to an extended length of stay there is no relationship. This is a curvilinear relationship.
To view a diagram of this theory follow this link: http://international.ed.consulting.googlepages.com/StudyAbroadCompatibilityTheory.doc
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