African-American and Latino college students are significantly underrepresented in study abroad programs. While white students actually over-index in overseas study, lack of funds, fear of racism, concerns about delayed graduation and the lack of role models are all factors keeping minority students stateside.
According to research to be published by Research in Higher Education, “Minority students don’t need to seek out cross-cultural experiences by traveling to another country because in most cases—especially as students at majority white postsecondary institutions—they already interact across cultural differences every day.” However, interacting with people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds in your own city or state is vastly different from immersing oneself in a different culture in a different country. Acquiring this competence and adaptability is key to succeeding in an increasingly global marketplace.
Educators and politicians are stepping up efforts to assist minorities in obtaining funding to study abroad. Since 2001, low-income Pell Grant recipients have been eligible for the Gilman Scholarship. Additionally, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) has created a bill proposing the creation of the Sen. Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation, an $80 million entity that would award grants to students and institutions.
Additionally, positioning the study-abroad experience as one that fosters self-reliance, independent thinking and valuable job skills, rather than offering an essential cultural experience could go far in enticing minority students.
Sources: “Few Minority Students Studying Abroad, Educators Want to Change This,” HispanicallySpeakingNews.com, February 23, 2011. “Educators Seek Out More Minorities to Study Abroad,” by Kathy Matheson, February 21, 2011, Associated Press.
This article was featured in the March 2, 2011 issue of Diversity Best Practices’ email newsletter, Diversity in the News. To read additional stories from that issue, see the related content section below. To subscribe to Diversity in the News, register on the newsletter page of this website.
