The Development of Vocational Calling, Identity, and Faith in College Students: A Preliminary Study of the Impact of Study Abroad

L v ng and learn ng n another country, pr mary cond t ons of the study abroad exper ence, are commonly assoc ated w th two fundamental outcomes . The first outcome s an ncrease n external connect ons, man fested through an ncreased ab l ty to converse n another language and an ncreased understand ng and sens t v ty to another culture . The second outcome s an internal red rect on, a deepen ng sense of dent ty and self-awareness . Joseph Campbell has much to say about both of these elements, as he wr tes about the mportance of journey . About the external d mens on he says: “And th s s the bas c mytholog cal problem: Move nto a landscape . F nd the sanct ty of that land . And then there can be a match ng of your own nature w th th s gorgeous nature of the land . It s the first essent al adaptat on” (Campbell, 200 , p .7) . Campbell notes, however, that external change s not leg t mate unless t s accompan ed by nternal change . Study abroad exper ences and the r relat onsh p to external educat onal goals have been stud ed extens vely n terms of ts effects on enhanc ng fore gn language acqu s t on as well as cultural awareness and ntercultural relat onsh ps . In add t on, there s grow ng ev dence of the mportance of study abroad programs on other external h gher educat on goals such as “h ghmpact” pract ces that engage college students to a greater extent than trad t onal classroombased nstruct onal exper ences . The Nat onal Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE), for example, recently descr bed ev dence of the most s gn ficant act v t es that mpact student success n and beyond the college years (Kuh, 2008) . Study abroad was one of these “h gh mpact act v t es,” dent fied as affect ng such areas as academ c ach evement, engagement n educat onally purposeful act v t es, sat sfact on, acqu s t on of des red knowledge, sk lls and competenc es,