Date of Award

2026-5

Degree Name

PhD Leadership Studies

Dissertation Committee

Robert Donmoyer, PhD, Chair; Kimberly A. White-Smith, EdD, Member; Denise Dimon, PhD, Member

Keywords

Study abroad, homestay, host families, commodification of education, community cultural wealth, immersion dilution, intercultural competence, qualitative case study

Abstract

The growing commodification of education has reshaped study abroad in ways that extend beyond marketing and program design. While homestays have traditionally been viewed as the ideal format for cultural immersion and language acquisition, research has largely overlooked how these trends affect the student-host family relationship from the family's perspective.

This study examines whether, and, if so, how Spanish host families perceive their roles and relationships with the American students they host have been impacted by these trends. Using a qualitative exploratory case study design, the research focused on representatives from eight families in Madrid, who have hosted U.S. students for at least ten years. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using narrative methods for within-case and a cross-case analysis to identify recurrent themes.

The findings reveal that participants define their contributions as far exceeding the provision of accommodations. They indicated they function as educators, community knowledge holders, and agents of cultural immersion. This reframing of their role, consistent with Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth framework, positions host families not as service providers but as bearers of familial, linguistic, and cultural capital that programs depend upon but rarely recognize.

While participants did not use the terms consumerism or commodification, their observations consistently describe what this study terms immersion dilution: the convergence of market logic, touristic orientation, and liquid modern subject formation that erodes the conditions for intercultural engagement before the study abroad experience begins. Families observed a significant increase in student international travel, diminished engagement with local culture and program administrators’ heightened focus on student comfort that leads host families to feel like service providers rather than partners.

Most notably, and contrary to what the commodification literature would predict, host satisfaction increased over time. As families became more seasoned, motivations shifted from primarily economic to a desire for social fulfillment and human connection. A finding this study identifies as the satisfaction paradox.

The study concluded that study abroad practitioners should reframe the homestay as a cultural learning partnership, invest in structured host family development, and build communication models that treat host families as co-educators rather than service providers.

Document Type

Dissertation: Open Access

Department

Leadership Studies

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