The Effects of Study Abroad : Methodological Approaches

Abstract

A qualitative ethnographic approach towards understanding the influence of overseas study permits researchers to see how a sojourn affects the daily lives of participants. However, the structure imposed by a school's curriculum limits the opportunities for ethnographic observation of high school sojourners. Students have only a few free minutes between classes and short periods during lunch and after school. These times, while permitting conversation, severely restrict the variety of socially interactive opportunities available to students. Any behavioral changes induced by overseas study are thus difficult to observe. This paper discusses these issues and the methodological solutions employed in actual fieldwork to avoid a potential dearth of information, namely utilizing additional methodologies to incorporate feedback from educators, parents, and other students to build a robust perspective of the participants. Examples from my own research into the influence of a one-year sojourn among a class of Japanese high school students are presented.