Global Educators Encouraging Participants to Find Their Unique Voice to Speak Their Absolute Truth

by DA Global | May 12, 2025 | Global Impact Exchange, Winter 2023

Authors:

• Kimberly Van Cleave Michaels, Au Pair In America, Western Field Representative

Cultural exchange provides its participants with a glimpse into seeing the world in a different light. Perhaps even more importantly, however, it gives that person the ability to see themselves in a clearer light so that they enter their chosen career with their authentic voice defined and ready to be heard. A self-realized participant can not only enjoy these rich global diversities, but with active, empathetic guidance and intentional support from the global educators, they can add their own voice to the world’s choir, exploring their unconscious bias, values, and truths, making the journey as deep within themselves as it is far.  

As practitioners in the field, best practices for getting a participant career ready to speak their truth can be boiled down into three foci. Being curious ourselves, passing the mic often, and locating the opportunities within your organization:

1. Being Curious Ourselves

First, practitioners must go on our own journey of discovery and learn how our approach to the work affects others. As a white, female, cisgender person I continue to do my own work on my unconscious bias, understanding perspectives that differ from my own. Learn, study, and then learn and study more. There is a wealth of information we can absorb on diverse perspectives and it is imperative we do. From those in leadership positions to those in support divisions to those working directly with participants, everyone must practice humility to ensure they are properly representing what every participant needs for success. The practitioner must listen through nonverbal cues—eye gazes and body language—in order to gently draw out those participants unaccustomed to taking the space in a conversation. Be brave enough to not talk, but just listen.

2. Passing the Mic Often

As a global educator, when you actively listen to participants, you give them the courage to continue. Repeat what is heard, highlight its importance back to that participant and group. We as practitioners carry power through what we highlight. It is said that public speaking only gets easier with practice, so passing the microphone will allow that participant the practice to use their voice, to understand how to successfully cross-culturally communicate with the confidence to speak in a crowd, and to tell their story, influencing those around them toward more empathy. Design meetings throughout the global journey in which the participants share what they have learned and how they have grown. Create a safe space for sharing by starting off with something simple but meaningful. For example, suggest they bring an object from home and discuss how that object represents them. Maintain an open agenda that can go where participants’ minds and passions flow. 

As a waitress in Japan, I recall when my chef instructed me to make green tea every day with slight variations. It helped to teach me patience, effort, and grit. We as practitioners can also prepare a young adult to enter into the workforce with these skills behind them. Micro-adjustments can be made in the telling of one’s own story, choosing diction, recognizing the differences in communication styles across the cultures—more or less direct—and selecting non-verbal cues that will resonate with one’s audience. Practitioners can coach participants on these important global workforce skills. Working within the au pair population for the last decade (au pair translates to “on par” from the French), the (perhaps reluctant) au pair must meet in the middle, knowing and understanding their own truth first and then having the confidence (and support) to share it.

3. Locating the Opportunities Within Your Institution

When participants are ready to tell their story to larger audiences in your institution, and your institution is ready to get messy, having discussions around diversity, find allies within leadership to give them the platforms. 

• Allow the participant to write a blog post.  
• Let them take over your social media accounts to share.
• Invite them to speak at your conferences.
• Create a podcast that highlights voices preparing for the workforce.

Passing that mic to those who are ready to speak and then moving out of the way becomes our role and will also aid in their career readiness.

In summary, preparing a cross-cultural exchange participant to be career ready in this global world starts from understanding how to communicate the core of who they are. From many reports soft skills such as interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills, and team building when coming together on projects, will be what the workforce most needs now. Our world will only be made better when all can live and share authentic lives, when participants can identify their unique gifts and have the courage to share them.

Reflecting again on my own global adventure, I learned that in flower arranging in Japan, it is not the flowers themselves, but the positioning that matters—the space created between them. The unseen holds the beauty. The same is true for cross-cultural exchanges. It is the space between people where the magic happens on an exchange. When practitioners nurture these confident new voices to speak in a quickly evolving world, the world too will discover an unrevealed beauty.

Reframing Equity in Higher Education: The Link Between Education Abroad, Racial Equality, and Black Social Citizenship Rights 

by DA Global | May 12, 2025 | Global Impact Exchange, Winter 2023

Authors:

• Linda D. Smith, PhD, American University in Dubai, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Relations
• Karen E. Clay, PhD, Spelman College, Director for Semester Study Abroad and Cultural Orientation

The focus on access to higher education is part of a larger struggle for achieving racial equality for Black Americans. As universities attempt to be on the forefront of the growing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) movements, often absent from national discussions is the role of international education. This further highlights the elitist and exclusionary nature of university education. Without drastic measures to improve current disparities in access to higher education and education abroad, racial inequality which has been perpetuated throughout the history of higher education in the United States will be exacerbated. 

W.E.B. DuBois modeled over a century ago that access to higher education and learning abroad are the impetus to solutions for racial inequality. “[B]etween the time that I graduated from college [PhD, Harvard, 1895] and the day of my first experience at earning a living, there was arising in this land, and more especially within the Negro group, a controversy.”¹ The controversy dealt with what type of education Blacks and the formerly enslaved should receive in a country that prioritized the standing of White men. DuBois underscored an approach to Black liberation which requires education. According to Beck, DuBois’ three years abroad in Germany were crucial to DuBois’ development of inquiries on racial inequality, expansion of social citizenship, and the role of educated elites and government interventions in framing solutions to the Negro Problem.² Higher education and more specifically education abroad has historically played an instrumental role in shaping the country’s leadership which created persistent institutionalized exclusion of Blacks from higher ranks in politics, government, and industry.

From the mid- to late 1800s, the greatest beneficiaries of higher education and education abroad were the sons of White wealthy elites.³ This cadre of Americans incorporated and completed education abroad through “grand tours” as a mark of sophistication, eruditeness, and access to international circles with social and political reach.⁴ Progressive Era politics and its ethos of social citizenship rights led to government reforms expanding access to higher education for middle- and working class Whites while often excluding Blacks. The Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 (Land Grant Acts) resulted in a proliferation of public flagship universities while requiring states that practice segregation to create separate institutions for Blacks. Additionally, the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or GI Bill, proved instrumental to the expansion of access to higher education by equipping White veterans and simultaneously denying Black veterans funding to support educational opportunities.⁵ The relationship between expansion of access for Whites and exclusion of Blacks in higher education and its link to education abroad are illustrated in the case of University of Delaware (UD).

Founded in 1743, UD is credited with establishing the country’s first wide-scale study abroad program in 1923 by World War I veteran Raymond W. Kirkbride.⁶ As Black students were denied admissions to UD, to comply with the second Morrill Act 1890, the Delaware Legislature opened Delaware State University in 1891 as the state’s college for Blacks. Because historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) quickly became overcrowded and under-resourced, this inequity served as the basis of several civil rights court cases that targeted segregation in public schools, especially institutions of higher education. In Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1948), the court held that colleges offering coursework and degrees not available at Black colleges must permit Blacks to apply and enroll into those programs at the segregated White institutions. It was only then that UD and other land-grant universities admitted Black students into programs not offered at HBCUs. 

These universities continued to exclude Black people from admissions and subsequently opportunities and resources these institutions provide, such as education abroad. During the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, several land-grant universities in the South were placed under federal court order to demonstrate action plans to address Black exclusion. However, these plans which came to be termed affirmative action were not enforced and were swiftly challenged in federal courts starting in the 1970s, a battle which continues presently.^{7 8} In fact, research clearly illustrates that Black enrollment rates, particularly at public elite universities, continue to decline as Supreme Court decisions, state ballot initiatives, and legislative acts restrict the use of race-conscious admission strategies.⁹ Further, these larger trends of declining Black enrollment must be central to discussions on low participation rates of Black students in education abroad.

As of 2021 Black participation in study abroad is at its lowest in years. According to the Institute for International Education (IIE) Open Doors Report 2022 Fast Facts, Black represented 4.1% of students who studied abroad compared to 68% White in 2020-2021.¹⁰ Whereas participation increased by other ethnic groups including Asian/Pacific Islander 10%, and Hispanic/Latino(a) 12%.¹¹ Only Blacks’ (4.1%) and Native Americans’ (0.4%) rates decreased during the pandemic years of 2020-2021.¹² These participation figures in isolation provide an incomplete illustration. Participation rates must be considered in the larger context of declining Black enrollment rates at more resourced land-grant universities under affirmative action bans.¹³

As the world becomes more interconnected, preparing Black graduates for the globalized workforce and opportunities that maximize their earning potential is clearly an issue of equity and access. However, those concerned with racial equity in higher education must not only recognize the material and monetary impact Blacks suffer when denied opportunities for access to higher education and education abroad, but importantly they also should recognize the loss of intangible and intellectual opportunities. Consider DuBois. Recall that it was during his education abroad when he formulated liberation theories and action plans that had an incalculable impact on Blacks throughout the world.

1. DuBois, W. E. B. 1932. “Education and Work”. Journal of Negro Education 1 (1): 60–74. ↩︎
2. Beck, H. 1996. “W. E. B. Du Bois as a Study Abroad Student in Germany, 1892-1894”. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 2 (1): 45–63. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v2i1.25  ↩︎
3. Hoffa, W., and Forum on Education Abroad. 2007. A History of US Study Abroad: Beginnings to 1965. Carlisle, Pa: Forum on Education Abroad. ↩︎
4. Cleveland, H., Mangone, G., & Adams, J. 1960. The Overseas Americans. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Hibbert, C. 1969. The Grand Tour. Weidenfeld and Nicolson; Hoffa and Forum on Education Abroad. 2007. ↩︎
5. Katznelson, I. 2006. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America. New York: W.W. Norton. ↩︎
6. University of Delaware. (2023). “Our Study Abroad History.” Website https://www.udel.edu/academics/global/study-abroad/history/  ↩︎
7. Saul, Stephanie. 2023. “If Affirmative Action Ends, College Admissions May Be Changed Forever.” The New York Times, January 15, 2023, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/us/affirmative-action-admissions-scotus.html. 
   ↩︎
8. Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy. 2023. “Supreme Court Justices Question When Race-Conscious College Admissions Can End.” Higher Ed Dive. October 31, 2023. https://www.highereddive.com/news/supreme-court-asks-when-race-conscious-admissions-ends/635394/.  ↩︎
9. Smith, Linda. 2021. “Discourse, Threats, and Affirmative Action: A Comparative Analysis of Race-based University Admissions Programs in Brazil and the United States.” PhD diss. (Florida International University, 2021). ↩︎
10. Open Doors Report 2022 – Fast Facts. n.d. Institute for International Education, Inc. Institute of International Education. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast-facts-2022/. ↩︎
11. Open Doors Report 2022 – Fast Facts. n.d. Institute for International Education, Inc. Institute of International Education. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast-facts-2022/. ↩︎
12.  Open Doors Report 2010-2021 – Fast Facts. n.d. Institute of International Education. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fast-Facts-2010-2021.pdf. ↩︎
13.  Smith, Linda. 2021. ↩︎

References:

Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy. 2023. “Supreme Court Justices Question When Race-Conscious College Admissions Can End.” Higher Ed Dive. October 31, 2023. https://www.highereddive.com/news/supreme-court-asks-when-race-conscious-admissions-ends/635394/.

Beck, Hamilton. 1996. “W. E. B. DuBois as a Study Abroad Student in Germany, 1892-1894.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 2 (1): 45–63. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v2i1.25. 

Bista, Krishna and Anthony L. Pinder. 2022. Reimagining Internationalization and International Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Springer Nature.

Cole, J. B. 1991. “Black Students and Overseas Programs: Broadening the Base of Participation.” Proceedings of CIEE 43rd International Conference on Educational Exchange: International Education: Broadening the Base of Participation. Charleston, South Carolina: Council on International Educational Exchange.

Cleveland, Harlan, Gerard J. Mangone, and John C. Adams. 1960. The Overseas American. McGraw-Hill Book Company.

DuBois, W. E. B. 1932. “Education and Work”. Journal of Negro Education 1 (1): 60–74.

Hibbert, Christopher. 1969. The Grand Tour. Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Hoffa, William W. 2007. A History of U.S. Study Abroad: Beginnings to 1965 (Volume 1). The Forum on Education Abroad.

J. W. Thompson Education, J.W. n.d. “An Exploration of the Demand for Study Overseas from American Students and Employers.” IIE: The Institute of International Education, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the British Council, and the Australian Education Office. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Publications/Demand-for-Study-Overseas-from-American-Students-and-Employers. 

Katznelson, Ira.  2006. When Affirmative Action Was White: An Untold History of Racial Inequality in Twentieth-Century America. W.W. Norton and Company.

Open Doors Report 2022 – Fast Facts. n.d. Institute of International Education. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://opendoorsdata.org/fast_facts/fast-facts-2022/.

Open Doors Report 2010-2021 – Fast Facts. n.d. 

Institute of International Education. Accessed December 7, 2022. https://opendoorsdata.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Fast-Facts-2010-2021.pdf. 

Preston, K. (2006). “Recent Graduates Survey Graduates.” https://www.iesabroad.org/system/files/resources/recentgraduatessurvey_0.pdf.

Saul, Stephanie. 2023. “If Affirmative Action Ends, College Admissions May Be Changed Forever.” The New York Times, January 15, 2023, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/us/affirmative-action-admissions-scotus.html.

Smith, L. 2021. “Discourse, Threats, and Affirmative Action: A Comparative Analysis of Race-based University Admissions Programs in Brazil and the United States.” PhD diss. (Florida International University, 2021).

Trooboff, Stevan, Michael Vande Berg, and Jack Rayman. (2007). “Employer Attitudes toward Study Abroad.” Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 15 (1): 17–34. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v15i1.214.

University of Delaware. (2023). “Our Study Abroad History.” Website https://www.udel.edu/academics/global/study-abroad/history/.

Developing T-Shaped Professionals Through Expanded International Experiences 

by DA Global | May 12, 2025 | Global Impact Exchange, Winter 2023

Authors:

• Tammy Rosner, University System of Georgia, Director of International Education

According to the Job Outlook 2022 survey, which is a “forecast of hiring intentions of employers as they relate to new college graduates” collected by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), we see that employers are looking for evidence of problem-solving, analytical, and written communication skills in new employees (NACE, 2022). Beyond providing information from the Job Outlook survey, NACE also provides eight career readiness competencies (NACE, 2021) that “provide a framework for addressing career-related goals and outcomes of curricular and extracurricular activities [and] offers employers a framework for developing talent through internship and other experiential education programs” (NACE, 2022). The NACE career readiness competencies are career & self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity & inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and technology. These NACE competencies and corresponding survey results are closely watched by higher education institutions and have become a guidepost for experiential activities as colleges and universities focus more on career readiness and workforce development.

While the main focus and connection to NACE skills and workforce development in higher education has long been realized through incubators and creative partnerships with businesses, the core development of these needed skills has been crafted through numerous classes, internships, and practicums. Despite this, an unaccounted-for hub, the international education department, has been honing these skills in students for years. In a study conducted by IIE (Farrugia & Sanger, 2017), it was shown “that study abroad has a positive effect on the development of many employment-related skills [and students] who intentionally sought to develop work-related skills through study abroad … reported more positive employment outcomes” (p. 19).

In 2020 NACE created additional competencies that “embrace diversity, equity and inclusion … and outcomes for diverse student populations” (NACE, 2022). Unfortunately, it is well documented (Martel et al., 2021) that underserved populations participate in international activities at far lower rates than well-served populations. Further, through the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen how fragile some international programs can be due to uncontrollable factors. So, if we assume that international-based experiential experiences help develop the key skills as identified by NACE, how do we obtain higher participation from underserved students to take advantage of and capitalize on these experiences?

First, more attention should be placed within higher education on not just workforce development but on how to develop the needed skills in students in an accessible and equitable way. Higher education can easily adapt curriculums to focus more on “T-shaped” student development, rather than the current focus on I-shaped development. Colleges and universities are very good at creating I-shaped professionals—those with deep discipline knowledge. But, to create T-shaped professionals, we need to add another dimension to our students’ learning. A T-shaped professional is someone who possesses “deep disciplinary specialization and breadth across several areas that equip them to engage in deep problem-solving in their discipline, culture, and/or system … and communicate and collaborate using skills that cross many areas” (Bierema, 2019, p. 4). Students with these traits are the types of graduates that employers are looking to hire. So, beyond creating graduates with the deep discipline knowledge that higher education is already very good at, they need to also concentrate on teamwork, resilience, global thinking, and curiosity (the horizontal part of the “T”). The traits that make up the horizontal part of the “T” align well with the NACE career competencies. Some, such as communication, critical thinking, and teamwork, are a few that are naturally obtained through international experiences. As an international educator, I see the path to creating these types of graduates easily attainable through internationalization. Through internationalization our students can gain many of the personal benefits that international student mobility and an internationalized curriculum can provide, as well as professional. 

Creating T-shaped graduates that can “take on real-world challenges, including any combination of economic challenges, personal issues, and political transitions” (Eady et al., 2021, p. 263) is now an essential driver of undergraduate education as workforce development becomes a major focus of higher education (Holzer, 2021) and a logical connection to developing the NACE competencies. Efforts to create a curriculum in higher education that focuses on T-shaped learning are emerging (Eady, 2021), but one could argue that studying abroad, international virtual exchange, and other international experiences already provide a venue within our curriculums to help create T-shaped professionals, and institutions of higher education should make this connection more visible.  

Further, while much more work needs to be done to diversify study abroad participants, a recruitment base for more diverse students to participate in study abroad and other globalized experiences should focus on the fast-track attainment of skills living in the cross-section of the “T” such as flexibility, cultural adeptness, and problem solving, which mirror the NACE competency skills. With fewer than 300,000 students in the United States participating in study abroad each year (Martel et al., 2021), viewing the outcomes of other internationalized experiences through the lens of creating highly desirable T-shaped graduates through international experiences could generate interest in higher administration as well as underserved student groups. 

Lee et al. (2021) present a study that shows that students who participated in international virtual exchange were twice as likely to study abroad than those who didn’t participate. While this study was unable to show an effect across demographics, more research in this area should be pursued. While the purpose of the study was to show a direct connection between international virtual exchange and building capacity for study abroad, what if the lens focused solely on students participating in international virtual exchange and the development of T-shaped attributes and career outcomes? Applying the same logic to international virtual exchange as it applied to study abroad could propel the field of international education to consider enhanced internationalized experiences that allow for more participation from underserved populations to develop the same skills “at home” that can be developed abroad, thus opening up an accessible link to career competencies. 

Finally, since the majority of higher education students are not engaging in international student mobility, then internationalization at home efforts that are directly tied to the NACE career competencies, such as international virtual exchange, could be a route that not only attracts underserved students due to accessibility and costs but also generates interest in global education careers. As indicated in the IIE study regarding study abroad’s impact on careers, it was noted that study abroad participation opened up “unanticipated career pathways” (Farrugia & Sanger, 2017) for returning students. Since this study in 2017, much has changed in the world of international education, but if these same outcomes apply to international virtual exchange and other internationalization at-home ventures, then not only is international education contributing to the creation of T-shaped professionals, but also the diversification of career options. Students can have transformative experiences regarding global interest from any location, as long as the experience provides a personalized global connection and develops key skills. 

References:

Bierema, L. L. (2019). Enhancing employability through developing T-shaped professionals. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 163, 67–81.

Eady, M., Earle, A, Green, C., Mayi, A., Hatfield, L. & Namaste, N. (2021). Repositioning SoTL toward the T-shaped community. Teaching & Learning Inquiry 9(1), 262–78. 

Farrugia, C. & Sanger, J. (2017). Gaining an employment edge: The impact of study abroad on 21^st century skills & career prospects  in the United States. Institute of International Education Center for Academic Mobility Research and Impact. https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A78209 

Holzer, H. (2021). After COVID-19: Building a more coherent and effective workforce development system in the U.S. (IZA Policy Paper No. 174). Institute of Labor Economics [IZA]. 

Koncz, A. & Gray, K. (2022, February 2). The attributes employers want to see on college students’ resumes. National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE). https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/press/the-attributes-employers-want-to-see-on-college-students-resumes/ 

Lee, J., Leibowitz, J., & Rezek, J. (2021). The impact of international virtual exchange on participation in education abroad. Journal of Studies in International Education, 26(2), 202–221. 

Martel, M., Baer, J., Andrejko, N., & Mason, L. (2021). Open Doors report – U.S. study abroad. https://opendoorsdata.org/data/us-study-abroad/student-profile/

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). (2021). Competencies for a career-ready workforce. https://www.naceweb.org/uploadedfiles/files/2021/resources/nace-career-readiness-competencies-revised-apr-2021.pdf 

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). (2022). What is career readiness? https://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/career-readiness-defined/

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). (2022). Career readiness competencies task force.  https://www.naceweb.org/committees/committeedetails.aspx?ID=424

When Gray Area Is a Good Thing: Developing Global Readiness Through Ambiguity

by DA Global | May 12, 2025 | Global Impact Exchange, Winter 2023

Authors:

• Sean Reilly, AFS Intercultural Programs, Director of Program Development
  Molly Stern, AFS Intercultural Programs, Global Up Manager

As global educators we have the tremendous opportunity to prepare young people for how they act—and interact—in the world. Intercultural experiences can help broaden students’ perspectives so that they are better prepared to enter the workforce and collaborate in a globalized economy. But are we preparing students to deal with the cultural ambiguity that they will inevitably encounter? 

We argue that global education should prepare students to navigate intercultural “gray areas”—the ambiguous moments where one must face discomfort, navigate conflict, express curiosity, or practice flexibility—with an understanding of DEI and a toolkit of global competence skills. 

The principles of DEI (ideally) enable our institutions to create opportunities to address systems of power and privilege around the world. In practice, however, an institution’s commitment to DEI may be limited to certain resources, geographies, or communities. Our peers at SPARK and the ISDC, for example, observe that programs serving refugee and displaced communities are tasked not only with delivering on imposed metrics, but also with significantly influencing participants’ attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors toward their “new” host societies. “Us-versus-them” approaches like this limit global education from leaning into intercultural ambiguity and nuance. 

The following are four reflections on how navigating ambiguity develops global readiness, and why global educators should lean into it. These reflections emerged from our own practices as well as our partnerships with NGOs, higher education institutions, and organizations working toward global competence development. 

1. Discomfort can be used as a tool.

When students are challenged to navigate uncomfortable or new situations—like studying abroad or working abroad—they may experience confusion, pain, or judgment about the culture or program. Unpacking these situations can further exacerbate discomfort and exhaustion, especially when there isn’t one clear solution to the issue at hand. How can we encourage students to be reflective about their own interpretations, behaviors, and coping skills, and to pause during conflict or discomfort? When we help our learners view ambiguity and discomfort as an opportunity to practice different actions, consider multiple approaches, or examine power and privilege, we’re not only setting them up for success on their program—we’re setting them up with an essential skill for life.

2. Coalition building is not black and white.

Showing up strong in the world requires building networks and communities we can turn to when navigating life’s gray areas. At the same time, we must break down silos and address inequitable barriers that we see in our communities. This is true not only for our students, but for ourselves as educators. Are we working together across departments on our campuses and at our institutions? Are we empowering students to engage thoughtfully and build connections with their new community? We need to embrace differences in order to explore and develop our understanding of ourselves, inequalities, and different perspectives of DEI around the world. We know that emotional intelligence and global competence start with one’s self-understanding, and that that practice is never fully complete. 

3. Societies are rapidly changing. 

Cultures, communities, and people that once existed worlds apart exist now just down the road from one another, or just a few clicks away on social media. The world’s boundaries and borders (both literal and figurative) are changing, and we must prepare students to thrive in a world where they can cope with change and difference. To that end, global learning programs should be goals-based and include self-reflection, peer learning, active experimentation, guidance, and support along the way. Global competence development, such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking, intercultural awareness, and teamwork, can equip students to navigate the world effectively and adaptively as societies evolve.

4. The world demands action.

Governments, corporations, and institutions around the world are calling on a new generation of people to solve the world’s problems collaboratively—and we have the opportunity to urge and inspire our students to act. Through global competence development, we can integrate real concerns around political and social conflict, human rights, climate change, and the environment into our programs, without compromising the “fun stuff.” Students need to be prepared to tackle challenges together with their global peers, despite language barriers or cultural differences that may arise. They should learn to approach problems, practice tolerance, navigate ambiguity, and consider multiple perspectives while suspending judgment. When we incorporate these practices into our programs, we equip our students to make a positive impact on their future careers and industries, engage with social causes, and contribute meaningfully to their communities—whether at home, abroad, or online.

References:

Berg, M. V., Connor-Linton, J., & Paige, R. M. (2009). The Georgetown consortium project: Interventions for student learning abroad. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 18(1), 1–75.
doi:10.36366/frontiers.v18i1.251

Ferguson, N. T. N., Wolfe, R. J., Amine, L., Ramadi, E., & Shahin, L. (2022). Building stability between host and refugee communities (Report No. 10101). World Bank Group. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099049506232232375/pdf/IDU06366e329021f404ec10bce50d363c97acb98.pdf

UNESCO-APCEIU & AFS Intercultural Programs. (2019). Creating global citizens: The AFS effect. https://www.gcedclearinghouse.org/resources/creating-global-citizens-afs-effect?language=en

No Way Forward Without Us: Doctoral Student Reflections on the Future of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

by DA Global | May 12, 2025 | Global Impact Exchange, Winter 2023

Authors:

• Ashley N. Watson, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, PhD candidate
• Charis N. Tucker, Virginia Tech University, PhD student
• Neal J. McKinney, The Ohio State University, PhD student

We believe the Winter 2023 Global Impact Exchange (GIE) theme “Getting Career-Ready: Global Education and the Workforce” creates space for a timely discussion on both historical and contemporary topics related to higher education. From a historical perspective, critical scholars acknowledge White supremacy’s influence within higher education as largely uncontested (Patton, 2016); however, current racial injustices have led many organizations, particularly within international education, to consider the role their institutions play in upholding oppressive systems of the past. To that end, we argue in this article that more action-oriented racial justice strategies are needed to ensure the core tenets of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice are achieved for students’ career readiness as well as at the professional level and hiring practices. Such efforts can only be sustained through transparent acknowledgement about how racism is cultivated and reproduced. To accelerate movement towards democratizing access to international educational experiences, the field of international education needs future leaders who can address critical issues, create new knowledge, and implement innovative and inclusive approaches to learning.

It is beyond the scope of this article to fully unpack these needs. Nevertheless, in the spirit of recognizing the unique voice of people of color (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002), this article introduces our reflections of the field as three Black PhD students who aspire to assume senior-level faculty and administrator roles in international education and beyond. Ashley is a Black woman and PhD candidate in organizational leadership, policy, and development. Stemming from her decade-long career in international education, her research examines issues of multicultural and intercultural solidarity. Neal identifies as a Black queer man who is a third-year PhD candidate studying higher education and student affairs. His previous background in education abroad advising has sparked his interest in studying the role of education abroad advisers as a barrier to participation in education abroad programs by students of color. Charis identifies as a Black woman who is a third-year PhD student majoring in business with a specialization in hospitality and tourism management. Her extensive experience working in education and tourism related fields has helped to shape her research agenda designed to advance theory and practice in both areas. 

  International Education has a diversity issue, a serious one. In the United States, there is an absence of representation across various identity intersections, such as gender, race, and sexual orientation. Since 2018, Diversity Abroad has published an annual survey of the field as it relates to diversity and inclusion. Self-reported data from the 2020 survey indicates that 78% of U.S. international educators are female, 80% are heterosexual, 76% are temporarily able-bodied or do not have a disability or impairment, and 68% are White. The second largest racial group among international educators is Black. However, only Black and Hispanic international educators faced significant reductions between 2019 and 2020. In 2019, Hispanic/Latinx represented 8.3% of the field, which decreased to 7.8% in 2020. Black international educators underwent the greatest change in workforce representation, declining at nearly 32%, adding to the homogeneity of the international education field (Lopez-McGee, 2019, 2020). These changes occurred as organizations “doubled-down” on DEI rhetoric in the wake of the highly visible murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and the astronomical increase of anti-Asian attacks. Although Black international educators make the second largest population of international educators, this data suggests their standing might be the most tenuous.

As emergent researchers and accomplished practitioners, we recognize the dearth of literature which centers the role of race not only in international education, but also in the experiences of international education administrators in the United States and abroad. We advocate for increased exploration into the ways in which this work addresses and challenges the dominant ideology associated with power and privilege. Therefore, in addition to the discussions raised by Diversity Abroad, we ask of the field:

• What additional research/scholarship can be developed to inform university practices, as well as professional recruitment, hiring, and development opportunities that support diverse work environments?
• Are Black international educators exiting the field or are they being pushed out? 
• What needs to be done to make Black professionals, in particular, feel safe in the field? 
• What expansions are necessary to make international education truly inclusive?

References

 Lopez-McGee, L. (2019). 2019 Survey of diversity & inclusion among international educators. Diversity Abroad. https://www.diversitynetwork.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Research_Reports/2019_survey_of_diversity_report.pdf

Lopez-McGee, L. (2020). 2020 Survey of diversity & inclusion among international educators. Diversity Abroad. https://www.diversitynetwork.org/common/Uploaded%20files/Research_Reports/2020_survey_of_diversity_report.pdf

Patton, L. D. (2016). Disrupting postsecondary prose: Toward a critical race theory of higher education. Urban Education, 51(3), 315–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085915602542

Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2002). Critical race methodology: Counter-storytelling as an analytical framework for education research. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 23–44.