Learning Outcomes of Short-term Study Abroad Programs and Readiness as a Clear Growth Factor (A Case of the Two Week Program at the University of Hawaii)

Abstract

Since 2010, the Japanese government has tried to increase the number of local students who study abroad to further nurture so-called global talents in the 21^st century. Although the number dropped dramatically due to the widespread COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2022, those numbers started to recover in the middle of 2022. However, scientific evidence is limited in terms of showing that study abroad programs, especially short-term ones, provide learning outcomes to the extent that students become global talents in such a short period of time. This paper provides evidence of short-term study abroad programs' learning outcomes based on the global research tool called BEVI that is useful regardless of the length of studying period. The sample included students of University A, a national university in Japan, who studied at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA, for two weeks in February 2023. The results of BEVI tests show that, among 17 indicators, global resonance increased the most after the program. In this sense, a study abroad program, however short it is, could be significant. The research also shows that the upper cohort, eight students who had been ready to study abroad, grew most in the three most important indicators.