Few studies have employed experimental designs adequate for documenting the value added of studying abroad; that is, learning outcomes above and beyond that which may be achieved in domestic or traditional campus-based courses. Using a pre-/posttest, two-by-two factor design of course location (study abroad vs. home campus) by course subject matter (sustainability vs. nonsustainability), we found significant highest order interactions for three dependent measures of global citizenry. Results suggest that it is the combination of location (abroad) and academic focus that yields the greatest increases in specified learning outcomes for study abroad. Implications for political agendas, academic initiatives, and research directions are discussed.

Short-term study abroad is the fastest growing area of international education and there is increasing interest in the role of modified applications of this form (e.g. faculty-led, field/environmental, and/or educational travel) in influencing global citizenship. Using an empirical database of over 650 students registered for a study abroad course in sustainable development offered in Australia and New Zealand, we explore the effect of short-term educational travel programs on environmental citizenship. We also identify differences among key student characteristics (past study abroad experience, gender, and program destination) in influencing citizenry. Results show that participation in the educational travel program significantly moderates (decreases) the difference in environmental citizenship scores for first-timers (vs. those with past experience in study abroad) and program destination, but increases the difference in environmental citizenship for males vs. females. Implications for destination image and national brand marketing of environmental-oriented educational travel programs are discussed.

We examined whether participation (n = 623 students) in educational travel programs influenced support for environmental policies across different citizen types (justice-oriented, participatory, personally responsible, and non-citizen). Findings showed that (1) participation increased support for environmental policies across all groups, (2) justice-oriented citizens reported the highest support, while non-citizens demonstrated the lowest support, and (3) significant interaction effects suggest these main effects cannot be interpreted without considering the effects of (a) destination/country and (b) student major. If educational travel programs are to respond to calls to foster global citizenry, they should focus less on promoting personal responsible citizenry and more on a critical assessment of the justice issues surrounding global environmental problems.

This paper specifically outlines an investigation of the influence of sustainability education and study abroad coursework on levels of a key component of academic success, student engagement. A quasi-experimental design compared pretest and posttest levels of engagement (measured by the Deep Learning Scale) among undergraduate students enrolled in four types of courses). Data were analyzed using a repeated measures MANOVA and supported two significant 2-way interactions (Sustainability * Time and Study Abroad * Time) suggesting that student engagement (Deep Learning) is more likely to increase with sustainability (than non-sustainability) courses and with study abroad (than non-study abroad/campus courses). Findings provide empirical support for university initiatives that seek to incorporate sustainability coursework and study abroad opportunities into the undergraduate curriculum as means to enhance students’ overall engagement and academic success. The paper provides insights into where sustainability education and study abroad courses have broad potential to promote engagement and, as such, should be considered part of the general learning requirement of university education. In terms of study limitations, the sample is drawn from one university and self-selection bias is possible for students choosing to enroll in study abroad and sustainability-focused courses.