Educators Facilitating International Mobility : Preparation and On-Site Support

This edited volume explores the vital yet often overlooked role of educators, coordinators, and support staff in international mobility. Examining educator identities, program design, and student preparation, it highlights how their work shapes meaningful study abroad and virtual exchange experiences across diverse global contexts.

International mobility and study abroad programs are often viewed through the experiences of students, yet behind every successful program is a network of educators, coordinators, and support staff whose work remains largely invisible. This edited volume explores the crucial role these professionals play in shaping international mobility across preparation, program delivery, and student support. Bringing together research and practitioner perspectives from diverse global contexts, the book offers new insights into how educators facilitate meaningful and sustainable study abroad experiences. The volume examines international mobility through three interconnected themes: educator roles and identities, study abroad program design and implementation, and student preparation for mobility experiences. Chapters explore a broad range of international and higher education settings while also examining emerging forms of mobility, including virtual exchange and digitally mediated international collaboration. The chapters demonstrate that successful international mobility depends not only on institutional structures or student participation, but on the sustained pedagogical, relational, and organizational work carried out by educators across the entire study abroad lifecycle. This volume makes an important contribution by repositioning educators as central actors in international mobility rather than peripheral administrators. It provides an integrated and practice-oriented understanding of how mobility programs are designed, negotiated, and sustained in increasingly complex global environments. The collection highlights the interconnected nature of educator identity, program design, and student preparation while foregrounding emerging challenges such as virtual mobility, institutional pressures, and changing student needs. As such, the volume offers valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, administrators, and policymakers engaged in international education.