BarksdaleChan476
De BISAWiki
The CSIET (Council on Standards for International Education Travel) is really a not-for-profit organization that identifies reputable international youth exchange programs. They also help promote the importance and educational worth of international youth exchange, in addition to provide leadership and support towards the communities involved with exchange and education. They release annual reports on the statistics of both inbound (international students visiting the US) and outbound (American students going abroad) exchange students.
Now, we're talking about high-school students here. Not college students - that isn't governed or tracked by the CSIET. There are 60 programs on the CSIET Advisory List which have a "full" listing status, meaning they are fully reputable organizations that either send US students abroad or host international students in america.
Well, listed here are a handful of the data for the year 2009-2010.
- The top 5 countries that American students study abroad to are: 1. Germany 2. France 3. Italy 4. Spain 5. Japan
- California was their state sending the highest number of students abroad: 200.
- The majority of American students going abroad on exchange are from Western states (CA, OR, WA, AZ, CO, UT, NV, MT, ID)
- The total quantity of American students sent on exchange for whether school year or semester: 1,980. This is the lowest number of American high-school exchange students in the last seven years. Not counted in this statistic are the many summer programs offered to American high-school students.
Now contrast our final amount of students going abroad with the final amount of international students who found the united states: 28,142. Again, this really is high-school. Nearly all international students who arrived at the US during their senior high school career don't have that year counted; it is a lost year academically on their behalf. But they come.
According to the latest statistics, the majority of those 28,142 students are hosted in the Midwest region of america (MI, WI, IL, MN, OH, IN, IA), mainly Minnesota and Michigan.
These statistics prompt questions, at least for me personally.
Why would 28,000+ students throughout the world arrived at the US for any year of senior high school when that year doesn't give them any academic scores? So why do nearly all Americans who go on exchange range from Western states, mainly California? How come the primary countries where Americans go on exchange mainly in Europe?
I have no proven answers, however i have my own conjectures and theories.
Why would 28,000+ students from all over the planet come to the US for a year of high school when that year doesn't provide them with any academic scores?
Many of the international exchange students who I meet are very excited to live in another country. American culture has been broadcast out to them via a variety of mediums, from tv series to rock bands and pop stars to snacks and fast food chains. They see America all the time. Or will they? They're pretty sure American life is not like that. And they want to see on their own. They want to experience what it means to be American.
So why do nearly all Americans who continue exchange range from Western states, mainly California?
California is one of the most populous states in the united states. There have been 2,013,687 students signed up for a CA senior high school for the year 2008-2009. However this begs another question. If there were so many millions of students inside a CA senior high school that year, why do a couple hundred of these continued exchange? From my experience living in CA, most of the students I've asked why they want to go abroad, their reasons vary. Some say it is because they are fully aware someone who has gone abroad. Others had someone from the CSIET-identified program arrived at their school and give an exhibition. Perhaps there is very little penetration of exchange programs into California high schools. As stated above, nearly all international students are hosted in the Midwest. Students in Midwest high schools have a higher chance of coming in contact with an international student, perhaps prompting these to consider going abroad themselves.
How come the primary countries where Americans continue exchange mainly in Europe?
Europe happens to be closely mounted on our very own culture. European history is widely taught at both high school and university level. European languages are taught in high schools, mostly French and Spanish. It might make sense then that the countries Americans would like to learn more about are France and Spain. It simply so happens that Germany, since World War Two, has made incredible strides in opening itself up to other countries. The country's immigration levels have increased dramatically within the last 40 years. It is literally mind-boggling the amount of study abroad or work abroad opportunities Germans have as high-school or university students. In Germany, high school students ought to study abroad, perhaps unlike their American counterparts.
