Equity in Study Abroad and the Need for African Heritage Programs
- Researchers have corroborated the importance of heritage programming in study abroad as a deliberate intention and desire by African American students to select SA destinations that connect them to their historical legacies and ancestral roots (Arunga, 2017; Boateng & Thompson, 2013).
- The voices of African American and African immigrant students, who share a common ancestry, have been minimized, leaving educators at a disadvantage in understanding how to support the unique needs of Black students overall, regardless of particular racial identifiers (Mwangi, 2016).
- Less than 5% of study abroad programs from US higher education institutions offer travel to Africa as compared to Europe which account for more than 70% or more of study abroad destinations. (IIE, 2017).
- Data about activities that foster high achievement among African American students are often excluded from educational reports (Perry et al., 2003).
- Study abroad programs are not sustainable, even when affordable, if students are not attracted to them (Dessoff, 2006).
- Little research has been done to capture the effect of study abroad on African American students (Willis, 2012).
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Developing Awareness of Transformation of African American Students
Compiled by researchers at DATAAS.org
“The paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated,” (Baldwin, 1963).
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