This project draws attention to a disconnect between US higher education internationalization policy rhetoric which centers ideas of mutual cross-cultural exchange, and study abroad research, which focuses almost exclusively on the educational and experiential outcomes of the US based participant. Using neoliberalism as a theoretical framework, this comparative case study utilizes qualitative interviews with 57 host community members in the popular study abroad destinations of San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy, to focus on how those who engage with US study abroad students understand and are impacted by those encounters. Each descriptive case explores: a) what motivates locals to engage with US students; b) their modes of educative engagement; c) instances of harmony and dissonance that result; d) how they make meaning of these encounters; e) and what they see as outcomes of US study abroad in the community. Across these two diverse cases the findings suggest that many hosts perceive US students’ aversion to linguistic (and cultural) immersion as a lack of respect for hosts; the presence of US students contributes to foreign (US) imperialism; and that study abroad program design choices have an impact on the study abroad host experience.
","abstract_html":"<p>This project draws attention to a disconnect between US higher education internationalization policy rhetoric which centers ideas of mutual cross-cultural exchange, and study abroad research, which focuses almost exclusively on the educational and experiential outcomes of the US based participant. Using neoliberalism as a theoretical framework, this comparative case study utilizes qualitative interviews with 57 host community members in the popular study abroad destinations of San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy, to focus on how those who engage with US study abroad students understand and are impacted by those encounters. Each descriptive case explores: a) what motivates locals to engage with US students; b) their modes of educative engagement; c) instances of harmony and dissonance that result; d) how they make meaning of these encounters; e) and what they see as outcomes of US study abroad in the community. Across these two diverse cases the findings suggest that many hosts perceive US students’ aversion to linguistic (and cultural) immersion as a lack of respect for hosts; the presence of US students contributes to foreign (US) imperialism; and that study abroad program design choices have an impact on the study abroad host experience.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ficarra, Julie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Cultural Foundations of Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Gretchen Lopez"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-05-12T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-05-12T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:55:50Z","subjects":["higher education","host community impact","international education","neoliberalism","social relations","study abroad","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1041","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Gretchen Lopez"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ficarra, Julie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Cultural Foundations of Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["higher education","host community impact","international education","neoliberalism","social relations","study abroad","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1041"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This project draws attention to a disconnect between US higher education internationalization policy rhetoric which centers ideas of mutual cross-cultural exchange, and study abroad research, which focuses almost exclusively on the educational and experiential outcomes of the US based participant. Using neoliberalism as a theoretical framework, this comparative case study utilizes qualitative interviews with 57 host community members in the popular study abroad destinations of San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy, to focus on how those who engage with US study abroad students understand and are impacted by those encounters. Each descriptive case explores: a) what motivates locals to engage with US students; b) their modes of educative engagement; c) instances of harmony and dissonance that result; d) how they make meaning of these encounters; e) and what they see as outcomes of US study abroad in the community. Across these two diverse cases the findings suggest that many hosts perceive US students’ aversion to linguistic (and cultural) immersion as a lack of respect for hosts; the presence of US students contributes to foreign (US) imperialism; and that study abroad program design choices have an impact on the study abroad host experience.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Producing the Global Classroom: Exploring the Impact of US Study Abroad on Host Communities in San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Gretchen Lopez"],"dc:creator":["Ficarra, Julie"],"dc:description.abstract":["This project draws attention to a disconnect between US higher education internationalization policy rhetoric which centers ideas of mutual cross-cultural exchange, and study abroad research, which focuses almost exclusively on the educational and experiential outcomes of the US based participant. Using neoliberalism as a theoretical framework, this comparative case study utilizes qualitative interviews with 57 host community members in the popular study abroad destinations of San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy, to focus on how those who engage with US study abroad students understand and are impacted by those encounters. Each descriptive case explores: a) what motivates locals to engage with US students; b) their modes of educative engagement; c) instances of harmony and dissonance that result; d) how they make meaning of these encounters; e) and what they see as outcomes of US study abroad in the community. Across these two diverse cases the findings suggest that many hosts perceive US students’ aversion to linguistic (and cultural) immersion as a lack of respect for hosts; the presence of US students contributes to foreign (US) imperialism; and that study abroad program design choices have an impact on the study abroad host experience.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://surface.syr.edu/etd/1041"],"dc:subject":["higher education","host community impact","international education","neoliberalism","social relations","study abroad","Education"],"dc:title":["Producing the Global Classroom: Exploring the Impact of US Study Abroad on Host Communities in San Jose, Costa Rica and Florence, Italy"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Cultural Foundations of Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:55:50Z"}