ABSTRACT

Taking an explanatory mixed-method approach, this research examines how participation in short-term educational travel abroad affects young adults’ personal development. Different from previous research investigating the study abroad trip as one holistic concept, the current research deconstructs study abroad experiences into travel and education components and examines each component’s effect on undergraduate students’ post-trip developmental benefits. Through a quantitative survey-based study and a follow-up qualitative focus-group study, specific travel- and education-related components of study abroad experience are identified as salient factors promoting young travelers’ personal development progress, including participation in group excursions and experiential learning activities, self-management of travel logistics, and engagement in diverse and authentic social/cultural interactions. The research findings provide insights into how learning occurs through travel and highlight short-term study abroad as an impactful special-purpose tourism product. This research contributes to a niche tourism topic regarding travel experience design with the purpose of fostering personal development.

摘要

本研究采用解释性混合方法，检验参与短期教育出国旅行如何影响年轻人的个人发展。不同于以往将留学旅行作为一个整体概念进行调查的研究，本研究将留学经历解构为旅行和教育组成部分，并考察每个组成部分对本科生旅行后发展收益的影响。通过基于定量调查的研究和后续的定性焦点小组研究，出国留学经历中与旅行和教育相关的特定组成部分被确定为促进年轻旅行者个人发展进步的显着因素，包括参加团体旅行和体验学习活动，旅游物流自主管理，参与多样化和真实的社会/文化互动。研究结果提供了关于学习如何通过旅行发生的见解，并强调短期出国留学是一种有影响力的特殊目的旅游产品。这项研究有助于以促进个人发展为目的的关于旅游体验设计的利基旅游主题。