For more than 20 years, the benefits of international mobility for students have been taken for granted. Now, policy makers and educators have started to realize that internationalization and globalization do not magically happen by sending ever higher numbers of students abroad. The quality of international mobility has taken center stage of the debate. This article presents the findings of an evaluation study concerning the effects of international mobility activities in terms of advancements in specific competencies. The results indicate that periods of 3-4 months of study or work abroad are too short to achieve much progress in these competencies for many of the students. Other factors that strongly influence the effectiveness of international student mobility appeared to be student motivation and institutional support. Recom-mendations are put forward to enhance the potential of international mobility in equipping human resources for an ever more internationally oriented labor market in culturally diverse societies.
Allen, M. (2003). Frontier crossings: Cultural dissonance, intercultural learning and the multicultural personality. Journal of Research in International Education, 2(1), 83-110.
2.
Böhm, A., Davis, D., Meares, D., & Pearce, D. (2002). Global student mobility 2025. Forecasts of the global demand for international higher education [media briefing]. Sydney: IDP Education Australia.
3.
Bolen, M. (2003). Basic student data and outcomes assessment in international education (Position paper of the Outcomes Assessment Goal Committee, The Forum on Education Abroad). Available from http://www.forumea.org/papers.html
4.
Brislin, R. W. (Ed.). (1990). Cross-cultural research and methodology series: Vol. 14. Applied cross-cultural psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
5.
Brislin, R. W., & Yoshida, T. (1994). The content of cross-cultural training: An introduction. In R. W. Brislin & T. Yoshida (Eds.), Improving intercultural interactions (pp. 1-16). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6.
Burn, B., Cerych, L., & Smith, A. (1990). Study abroad programmes. London: King.
7.
Crowther, P., Joris, M., Nilsson, B., Teekens, H., & Wächter, B. (2000). Internationalisation at home. A position paper of the IaH Special Interest Group of the EAIE. Amsterdam: European Association for International Education.
8.
Cushner, K., & Landis, D. (1996). The intercultural sensitizer. In D. Landis & R. S. Bhagat (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (2nd ed., pp. 185-202). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
9.
De Keijser, R. (1991). Foreign language development during a semester abroad. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Foreign language acquisition research and the classroom (pp. 104-119). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
10.
Dyson, P. (2003). The year abroad: The effect on linguistic competence of the year spent abroad by students studying French, German and Spanish at degree level (Report of the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges). London: Seymour Mews House.
11.
Edelenbos, P., & Greven, H. (1996). Effecten van internationaliseringsbeleid op school: De fietspaden krijgen reliëf [Effects of internationalizing the curriculum in schools]. Groningen, Netherlands: GION.
12.
Frederiks, M. (2001). Kwaliteitsborging van internationale opleidingen en internationale trajecten [Quality assurance of international studies and curriculum activities]. The Hague, the Netherlands: HBO-Raad.
13.
Gillespie, J. (2002). Colleges need better ways to assess study-abroad programs. Chronicle of Higher Education, 48(43), 20-26.
14.
Ginsbergen, R. (1992). Language gains during study abroad: An analysis of the ACTR data (National Foreign Language Center working papers). College Park: University of Maryland.
15.
Haigh, M. J. (2002). Internationalisation of the curriculum: Designing inclusive education for a small world. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26(1), 49-66.
16.
Hannigan, T. P. (1997). The effect of work experiences on career development for U.S. undergraduates. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad. Retrieved from http://www.frontiersjournal.com/back/seven/hannigan.htm
17.
Hofstede G. (1994). Cultures and organisations: Intercultural cooperation and its importance for survival. London: HarperCollinsBusiness.
18.
Hoopes, D. S. (1979). Intercultural communication concepts and the psychology of intercultural experience. In M. D. Pusch (Ed.), Multicultural education (pp. 9-38). Chicago: Intercultural Press.
19.
Jochems, W. (1998). Internationalisering van onderwijs onderzocht: Over effectiviteit van internationale programma’s [The internationalization of higher education: Evaluating the effectiveness of international programs]. Delft, the Netherlands: Technische Universiteit Delft.
20.
Kehm, B. (2003). Internationalisation in higher education: from regional to global. In R. Begg (Ed.), The dialogue between higher education research and practice (pp. 109-119). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.
21.
Kitsantas, A., & Baldwin, S. (2001). The study-abroad enterprise: Does it enhance student’s learning, global understanding, and intercultural skills? Unpublished doctoral dissertation, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA.
22.
Knight, J. (2001). Monitoring the quality and progress of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5(3), 228-243.
23.
Knight, J. (2004). Internationalization remodelled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of Studies in International Education, 8(1), 5-31.
24.
Kolb, D. (1987). Learning style inventory. Boston: McBeer.
25.
Liljenstolpe, E. (2002). The effect of study abroad at the Latin American studies program on conceptualisation of humanity of other cultures in Caucasian university students. Washington, DC: Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from http://www.cccu.org/resourcecenter/resID.2009,parentCatID./rc_detail.asp
26.
Maiworm, F., Steube, W., & Teichler, U. (1991). Learning in Europe: The Erasmus experience. London: Jessica Kingsley.
27.
Milton, J., & Meara, P. (1993). How periods abroad affect vocabulary growth in a foreign language. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 107/108, 17-34.
28.
Nedermeijer, J., & Pilot, A. (2000) Hoger Onderwijs: Beroepscompetenties en academisch vorming [Higher education: Professional competencies and academic growth]. Hoger Onderwijs Reeks, Groningen, the Netherlands: Wolters Noordhoff.
29.
Onderwijsraad. (2002). Competenties: Van complicatie tot compromis. Studie [Competencies. From complication toward compromise]. The Hague, the Netherlands: Author.
30.
Onderwijsraad. (2003). Leren in een kennissamenleving. Verkenning [Learning in a knowledge society. An explorative study]. The Hague, the Netherlands: Author.
31.
Oonk, H. (2001). Characteristics of Dutch schools that are actively European: A study of the significance and results of internationalisation in secondary education in the Netherlands. Alkmaar, the Netherlands: European Platform for Dutch Education.
32.
Papatsiba, V. (2004). Erasmus mobility: Students in the European adventure. IAU Newsletter, 10, 1-2. Paris: IAU Secretariat UNESCO House.
33.
Perraton, H. (2004). Conventional and virtual student mobility: Factors influencing student success. Cambridge, UK: Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
34.
Rubin, D., & Sutton, R. (2003). Assessing student learning outcomes from study abroad. Retrieved from http://www.opendoorsweb.org/Lead%20Stories/Assessment.htm
35.
Scriven, M. (1967). The methodology of evaluation. In R. W. Tyler, R. M. Gagné, & M. Scriven (Eds.), AERA monograph series on curriculum evalua 314 Journal of Studies in International Education Winter 2005 tion: Vol. 1. Perspectives on curriculum evaluation (pp. 39-83). Chicago: Rand McNally.
36.
Stronkhorst, R. J. (2004). Leeropbrengsten van internationale mobiliteit: Een onderzoek aan twee hogescholen [Effects of international student mobility in higher education. A Dutch evaluation study]. The Hague, the Netherlands: Nuffic.
37.
Teichler, U. (2001). Changes of Erasmus under the umbrella of Socrates. Journal of Studies in International Education, 5(3), 201-227.
38.
Thomlison, D. (1991, February). Effects of a study-abroad program on university students: Toward a predictive theory of intercultural contact. Paper presented at the annual Intercultural and Communication Conference, Miami, FL.
39.
Tillema, H. (2001). Assessment van competenties: Van beoordelen naar ontwikkelen [Competencies: From assessment towards development]. Alphen aan de Rijn, the Netherlands: Kluwer.
40.
United Nations Development Program. (2004). Human development report 2004: Cultural liberty in today’s diverse world. New York: Author.
41.
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate. (2001). The international English language testing system. Cambridge, UK: Author.
42.
Van Berkel, A., Hofman, K., Kinkhorst, G., & Te Lintelo, L. (2003). Competentie-assessment. De ontwikkeling en toepassing van self-. peer-, en expert-assessment in het HBO: een praktijkvoorbeeld [Competency assessment. The development and application of self-, peer-, and expert assessment in higher professional education: A case from the Netherlands]. Utrecht, the Netherlands: LEMMA BV.
43.
Van Damme, D. (2000). Internationalisation and quality assurance: Towards worldwide accreditation?European Journal for Education Law and Policy, 4, 1-20.
44.
Van de Berg, M. (2003). The assessment of learning outcomes in study abroad. Retrieved from http://www.opendoorsweb.org/Lead%20Stories/Assessment.htm
45.
Van de Bunt-Kokhuis, S. (1994). Effecten van internationalisering in het hoger onderwijs [Effects of internationalization in higher education]. U&H, 40(4), 168-176.
46.
Van der Wende, M. C. (1997). Internationalising the curriculum in Dutch higher education: An international comparative perspective. Journal of Studies in International Education, 1, 53-71.
47.
Van der Wende, M. C. (2003). Globalisation and access to higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7, 193-206.
48.
Van der Zee, K. I., & Van Oudenhoven, J. P. (2000). The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: A multidimensional instrument of multicultural effectiveness. European Journal of Personality, 14, 291-309.
49.
Van der Zee, K. I., & Van Oudenhoven, J. P. (2001). The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire: Reliability and validity of self and other ratings of multi-cultural effectiveness. Journal of Research in Personality, 35, 278-288.
50.
Van Oudenhoven, J. P. (2002). Cross-culturele psychologie: De zoektocht naar verschillen en overeenkomsten tussen culturen [Cross-cultural psychology: Exploring differences and similarities between cultures]. Bussum, the Netherlands: Coutinho.
51.
Wächter, B. (2003). Internationalisation at home in context. Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(1), 5-11.
52.
Walker, G. (2002). To educate the nations: Reflections on an international education. Saxmundham, UK: John Catt Educational.
