Abstract
This chapter will consider the importance of case studies in helping study abroad (SA) researchers to nuance, refine, and reinterpret theory and research in the context of students as individuals with diverse learning needs and trajectories. It will take as its basis the experience of introduction and evaluation of a new program of SA learning support and assessment at Durham (discussed in Plews & Misfeldt, 2018), giving consideration to the challenges posed by overarching theoretical approaches and large datasets given significant variation in types of SA programming, and given each student’s unique SA experience. In addition, this chapter will describe the researcher’s experience of using case studies not as a means of extrapolating the general from individual experiences, but rather as a way of seeing how broad theories play out within individual students, and where individual experience fits within larger datasets. Finally, this chapter will make suggestions as to how a case study approach can be useful not only to individual researchers but also to the SAR community more broadly.
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McKinnon, S. (2022). Understanding Diverse Learning Abroad Through Case Study Research . In: McGregor, J., Plews, J.L. (eds) Designing Second Language Study Abroad Research. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05053-4_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05053-4_10
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