DOES THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION MODEL DISCOURAGE AUTHENTIC CROSS-CULTURAL EXPERIENCES?

Much scholarship has been conducted on the purpose of international education programs in the wake of globalization. Researchers agree that economic integration, mobility, and multiculturalism through postsecondary study abroad programs create long-lasting relationships and knowledge. Nevertheless, some analysis has suggested that universities form international partnerships with postsecondary institutions that have similar socioeconomic, cultural, and academic backgrounds as the home university, reducing the likelihood that low-income students at less selective universities will experience the cross-cultural and socioeconomic development international education claims to offer. Over the past 20 years, international students have shifted away from attending community colleges and less-selective universities as well as America's most selective schools in favor of exclusive enrollment in the most prestigious postsecondary institutions in the United States. This paper seeks to uncover the extent to which the current international educational model discourages authentic cross-cultural experiences through descriptive statistical analysis of current trends in student educational mobility. Data from the 2000-2001 Open Doors study shows that while international students prefer to study abroad in America's most populated states, they are willing to attend institutions ranging from open enrollment community colleges to Ivy League Universities. Over the proceeding decade, foreign students overwhelmingly preferred to attend large schools with excellent academic reputations. The standard metric for measuring scholastic prestige is ranking classifications. U.S. News and World Report and Shanghai World University Rankings systems were selected to analyze a variety of factors related to academic esteem as these datasets contain robust statistics from 700 institutions about a number of variables including academic selectivity, class size, faculty prominence, scientific publication, Nobel Laureates, and so on. Analysis confirms that the top 20 destinations in America for international students were highly ranked in both datasets. Moreover, American students wishing to engage in educational mobility are concentrated in traditional destinations like Europe and Latin America, eschewing the opportunity to further international education initiatives in less-frequented locations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The data shows that schools partner with similarly ranked institutions, creating fewer opportunities for students at less-selective institutions to interact with students and cultures that are not similar in educational background or socioeconomic status (SES).