Degree Name

MA in International Education

First Advisor

Adrian Sherman

Abstract

This Re-Entry Orientation (REO) design is a proposal created for Youth for Understanding (YFU) to prepare students to return to their home countries after an academic exchange year in the United States. This REO focuses on high school students on exchange in the Saint Louis metro area.

The orientation design incorporates hands on sessions geared towards teenage learners into YFU’s existing REO standards. The REO focuses on reverse culture shock post-exchange and how to effectively readapt, readjust and revisit the time spent abroad through reflection.

The REO redesign is based on a wide array of educational theories, including student development and the social learning theory (Social Learning Theory, 1999). The curriculum topics are consistent with NAFSA’s (Association of International Educators) Guide to Education Abroad (Thebodo & Marx, 2005, 305) and their common standards for re-entry. The curriculum aims to address each diverse learning style by using the Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC) (Kolb, 1984) in every session. The curriculum includes: personal growth and change; new knowledge and skills; changed relationships with family and friends; lifestyle adjustments; feeling critical of home society; facing career and post graduation decisions; fear of losing the international experience; and other emotional issues.

The REO outlined below will prepare students to return home with an understanding of their time abroad, and be able to communicate effectively with family and peers in their home country. Students will be prepared to become the future of international education in the ever expanding globalized world.

Disciplines

Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Psychology | International and Comparative Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services

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