Why Do So Few Men Study Abroad?

[rockwell20]

Males study abroad at rates that are about 2/3rds that of females and I can' figure out why!

[Chung-Hee]

[Howe]

Effectively, you could look around to see if anybody has some concerns already formulated -- do a swift lit assessment to figure it out. But the greatest way would be to get a bunch of students in a room, and just lead the discussion, and find out what they feel about it, and then to use that to formulate your concerns. If your university has a information librarian, or a information library, that would be a very good spot to go to get help. They need to be knowledgeable about information collection methods, and how to design and style surveys. If not, uncover someone who teaches survey style on campus, and choose their brain. Also, google survey design, and study a couple of hits. SurveyMonkey is truly great, and cheap, and assists you formulate inquiries, as nicely. If you want some quick tips about a questionnaire, I'd be content to appear at it, also. Just message me. It doesn't take as well long to maintain you from making typical mistakes. Don't forget, no double-barrelled concerns. Test your survey very first, and interview individuals on what they believed it meant. But really, that is jumping the gun. You require to do interviews or focus groups very first.

[Myron]

Can this be true? Wow, if that is true, it is very surprising.  Or maybe not.  First of all, women are taking over in education in general.  They go further in school, and are more educated, these days, on average.  It will not be long before the wage gap goes the other way, and men can claim to be discriminated against.  Women seem to be more suited for education, on average.  They can sit still longer(in lectures) and are less confrontational, and have better concentration and study skills.  They also may be more tolerant than men, and it takes tolerance to be willing to go overseas, and put yourself in a very strange situation, especially for learning.   In any case, with more women than men in higher education, you'd expect the same trend to apply for study abroad.  But not that much more.   I have a feeling that men, despite their machismo, are actually more insecure than women, and more appreciative of creature comforts.  Yes, there are more adventuresome men, on average, more physically agressive and risk-taking.  But perhaps these men don't do education?  Too static for them?    I wonder if men travel at the same rate as women, but prefer to travel on their own, rather than through programs.  Something to check out.    But my intuition is that somehow, men, on average, prefer to stay in their comfort zone, more,and if they do go outside their comfort zone, they want to do it on their own, and not with a program.  On the other hand, I suspect that somehow women are willing to, in a structured way, explore different cultures more.  This is pure speculation, based on what I believe I know about people.    Have you studied the issue?  Do you have any data?  Any attitudinal surveys?  Done any focus groups about what students feel about study abroad?  I'd do that, with both male and female groups, as well as mixed groups.  I'd set up a survey monkey survey about attitudes towards study abroad, and perhaps find a way to publicize it on facebook, or myspace.  It wouldn't be a generalizable study, but at this point you're just looking for reasons, not trying to figure out how prevalent those reasons are in the population. Sources: intuition, research consulting experience Zhop 76 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[fenwick]

Zhop said: 2 Well, you could look around to see if anyone has some questions already formulated -- do a quick lit review to figure it out. But the best way would be to get a bunch of students in a room, and just lead the discussion, and find out what they think about it, and then to use that to formulate your questions. If your university has a data librarian, or a data library, that would be a good place to go to get help. They should be knowledgeable about data collection methods, and how to design surveys. If not, find someone who teaches survey design on campus, and pick their brain. Also, google survey design, and read a few hits. SurveyMonkey is really good, and cheap, and helps you formulate questions, as well. If you want some quick advice about a questionnaire, I'd be happy to look at it, too. Just message me. It doesn't take too long to keep you from making common mistakes. Remember, no double-barrelled questions. Test your survey first, and interview people on what they thought it meant. But really, that's jumping the gun. You need to do interviews or focus groups first. 76 months ago

[Rodney]

StudyAbroad101 said: 1 I have done some study into the issue and work for a large International Center at a University. Regarding attitudinal studies, do you have any suggestions? 76 months ago

[Norval]

I have done some study into the issue and work for a large International Center at a University. Regarding attitudinal studies, do you have any suggestions?

[Hubbard]

recentgradtrish, regarding your answer "I think it's because women like to travel more and experience new cultures. Men like the comfort of home!":How do you account for this? Just speculate wildly. You don't have to be right. The questioner just needs ideas. What is different about men and women, if you had to say, that makes women like travel more, and men enjoy the comfort of home? Further, what might make men more willing to forgo those comforts?

[blaisdell]

I think it's because women like to travel more and experience new cultures. Men like the comfort of home! It always seemed to me that women have this fantasy of traveling to far away places, meeting new people, tasting exotic foods, and learning different languages. Most men that I've met have lived in the same town and state their entire life and are okay with that. They like feeling at home, so I guess going to another country can be discomforting and frightening to them. I think more men should study abroad so they can see that there is an entire world out there beyond their family and friends at home! Sources: www.studyabroaddomain.com recentgradtrish 76 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Schyler]

It always seemed to me that women have this fantasy of traveling to far away places, meeting new people, tasting exotic foods, and learning different languages. Most men that I've met have lived in the same town and state their entire life and are okay with that. They like feeling at home, so I guess going to another country can be discomforting and frightening to them. I think more men should study abroad so they can see that there is an entire world out there beyond their family and friends at home!