Rewriting the Narrative: An Anti-Deficit Perspective on Study Abroad Participation Among Students of Color

Higher education literature has often documented the barriers to participation in study abroad for students of color. However, the majority of study abroad research to date employs a deficit frame; focusing on why students of color do not participate, rather than what enables students of color to rise above barriers. Using an anti-deficit orientation, this study analyzed survey responses of a sample of students of color who studied abroad, in order to highlight the self-reported motivational and influential factors present in their decision-making process. Building on previous applications of the integrated college choice model (Salisbury et al., 2011), and informed by Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth model, this article presents a new conceptual framework for understanding how students of color use forms of capital to enable them to study abroad. Implications and practical suggestions for future research and study abroad administration are described in light of the study’s findings.