Excluded Voices in Transit: Paving the Way for Diversity in Study Abroad through Unpacking the Stories of Facilitators of Color

Study abroad has long been recognized as a high-impact practice within higher education. This study specifically addressed the problem of practice of the lack of faculty and staff of color in leadership positions in study abroad. The study examined the experiences of seven faculty and staff of color as they facilitated and led two CIELO study abroad summer programs in Puerto Rico & Dominican Republic and the other in Vietnam & Thailand. Through this qualitative action research study, participants completed a pre-departure interview, journaling with Photovoice during the program, a focus group, and a reflective letter after the programs were completed. Based on Critical Race Theory and counterstory frameworks, the study sought to answer the research question of how faculty and staff of color make meaning of their experience within a study abroad program. The findings revealed asset based counterstories that challenged the deficit based dominant narrative of study abroad. Study abroad is not just about gaining new knowledge, but for faculty and staff of color, it is about extending and affirming their existing cultural knowledge. These counterstories support the efforts to disrupt institutional racism and establish a call for change in the current structure of study abroad. This alternative dissertation uses the findings to create a mechanism to engage and illuminate the benefits of faculty and staff of color in global education.