Development of global citizenship in international student exchange programs in ASEAN+3 countries: The mediating role of host university academic experiences

This study investigates how student experiences in international exchange programs in ASEAN countries (i.e., Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam) and Korea facilitate the development of global citizenship. We build and expand upon prior study abroad research conducted mostly in North American or European countries to understand if findings and best practices based on the Western context are also applicable to the Southeast Asian region and Korea. We focus attention on how student characteristics are mediated by program experiences abroad that contribute to global citizenship outcomes. Results based on structural equation modeling show that students who report a strong interest to expand intercultural understanding are more likely to be satisfied with host university academic experiences related to the globally oriented curriculum and interact frequently with diverse students; these together positively affect the development of global citizenship. In other words, study abroad as a high-impact practice that is effective in cultivating global citizenship is applicable to international programming in higher education institutions across different regional contexts.