RAISE-Frontiers Residency Unites Scholars to Rethink Standards, Method, and Theory in Education Abroad

RAISE-Frontiers Residency Brings International Cohort Together for Three Days of Intensive Dialogue 
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A cohort of education abroad researchers from across the globe gathered in Cambridge, UK, last month for the first annual RAISE-Frontiers Education Abroad Research Residency, a working retreat dedicated to strengthening reporting standards, methodology, and theory across the field and uniting scholars who approach education abroad research from a range of multi- and interdisciplinary perspectives. The residency is part of the sponsoring partnership announced last year between Forum on Education Abroad-published Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad and the Center for Research on Abroad and International Student Engagement (RAISE) at Wake Forest University.

​​Participants stayed at Wake Forest's Warkworth House and were welcomed by residency co-hosts Dr. Patrick Bingham, Director of the RAISE Center; Dr. Elaine Meyer-Lee, Editor of Frontiers and Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Goucher College; and Dr. Amelia Dietrich, The Forum's Executive Director, Knowledge Mobilization and Research and Frontiers Managing Editor. 
 
"It is so exciting to see our partnership in action in Cambridge," said Dietrich. "We wanted a space where scholars from every disciplinary home could sit down together and ask hard questions about how we do this work, not just what we find — and the RAISE Center's collaboration and support gave us exactly that." 
 
Each day centered on a different theme, with scholars leading one another through discussion and activity. Day one focused on standards of reporting, with Dietrich and Bingham asking participants to map how their home disciplines expect research to be reported and how those varied expectations — shaped by disciplinary norms and even a researcher's home country — should inform a shared framework for education abroad scholarship. 
 
Day two turned to methodology and the field's knowledge gaps. Dr. Marketa Lepicovsky (Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE) and Dr. Melissa Whatley (College of William & Mary, USA) led a session on building sustainable guidance for methodological transparency and innovation, including how to teach mixed-methods research, experimental design, and real-time data capture to the next generation of scholars. Dr. Lori Czerwionka (Purdue University, USA) then led a gap-mapping exercise in which participants debated where the field's research gaps are most pressing — weighing topics from program design and career integration to technology's effect on the education abroad experience — and where new work could have the greatest impact. The day closed with Dr. Lou Berends (CEA CAPA Education Abroad) and Bingham examining who education abroad students actually are, a reminder that theory and standards mean little without a clear, disaggregated picture of the populations that the field studies. 
 
The final day turned to theorizing the field of education abroad. Each participant briefly presented the theoretical frame(s) they work within, feeding a broader discussion led by Meyer-Lee on whether the field needs a shared set of foundational texts. Attendees also included: Dr. Eylem Atakav (University of East Anglia, UK), Dr. Patricke Merle (Florida State University, USA), Dr. Taylor Woodman (University of Maryland, USA), Dr. James Illingworth (Verto Education, UK), and Dr. Heather Scott (University of North Georgia, USA). 
 
The residency closed with Bingham, Meyer-Lee, and Dietrich leading the full cohort in a conversation about contributions to the resulting upcoming Frontiers special issue, ideas for next year's residency, and how the group will stay connected. 
 
"What struck me was how quickly this group moved past politeness and into genuinely deep conversation about all the constituent aspects of rigorous research," said Meyer-Lee. "Given how selective our journal is, that's exactly the kind of conversation our field needs more of to support the next generation of successful scholars, and I'm looking forward to seeing it show up in the special issue." 
 
Bingham agreed. "Three days felt short for the scope of what we tackled, but the willingness of everyone in that room told me this community is ready to do the harder work of building shared standards and advancing our field," he said. "The relationships built this week are going to outlast the residency itself." 
 
The residency is the first in a planned series of RAISE-Frontiers convenings, with the groundwork laid in Cambridge expected to shape both the special issue and next year's agenda. Interested scholars are encouraged to watch Frontiers' LinkedIn for announcements of this and other upcoming opportunities.