Learning Mobility - High School Exchange Programs as Part of Transnational Mobility

Weichbrodt, Michael

Abstract

Long-term high school exchange is a popular way to go abroad for German youth (2.5% of 16-year-olds go abroad for 6-12 months). The ongoing research project is dealing with the long-term impact of high school exchange programs on further mobility of the participants. Using an online survey among 3,000 former exchange students and 30 qualitative focus interviews, it is shown that mobility reproduces itself. Six years after the exchange, about 80% of the respondents have been abroad again for a period of longer than six weeks. This is seen as part of a normalization of transnational social practices.