Engagement in Continuing Subject Knowledge Development: A Year After Short-Term International Courses

This article examines how students' subject knowledge acquired in short-term international courses (SICs) developed while engaging in university studies in the year following their SICs. It also explores factors associated with their engagement and disengagement. Two interviews with a 1-year interval with 25 students revealed their transformations in their SIC subject matter knowledge. Some students' engagement in continuing studies of the SIC-related subject matter was supported in a multifaceted manner by their personal motivation, teaching-learning environment, educational structure, and wider social relationships. However, the analysis demonstrated that many students discontinued deepening their knowledge of the subject matter. Students' personal factors and certain dimensions of the institutional educational system explained their disengagement in continuing studies. Concerning the continuing SIC impacts on students in interdisciplinary liberal arts programs, the study discusses some suggestions drawing on the concepts of integrative learning and formative assessment.