We are living in a complex, global society in need of wise leadership to understand, navigate, and celebrate our interdependence. To develop these leaders, educators must seek pedagogical practices that deeply influence students’ understanding of themselves, their communities, and their place in the global milieu. Leadership scholarship emphasizes relational (Komives et al. 2009), culturally relevant (Bertrand Jones et al. 2016), positive-peace (McIntyre-Miller and Green 2015), and systems-oriented (Priest et al. 2025) frameworks as collectively shaped toward interconnection, equity, and repair; reinforcing that leadership processes should reframe and build up, rather than marginalize and destroy. In light of the current leadership moment, leadership educators must intentionally integrate opportunities to prepare students to be global citizens and culturally competent leaders ready to address our most complex global challenges. Leadership development is a journey—of personal exploration, interpersonal connection, and learning to navigate the complexities of the unknown; the same statement holds true for the transformational experiences offered through education abroad. Imagine the powerful possibilities that arise when we combine leadership learning in study abroad contexts. In this issue of New Directions for Student Leadership, we offer foundational tools to understand the current context of leadership learning abroad and innovative examples of how to implement these programs. Study abroad is one of the most powerful yet underutilized contexts for leadership learning, offering immersive experiences that cultivate global awareness, intercultural competence, and adaptive capacities essential for contemporary leadership. Although scholarship consistently identifies study abroad as a high impact practice that fosters transformational learning (DiMaggio 2019; IIE 2024), access remains uneven, with persistent racial and socioeconomic disparities limiting who benefits from these developmental opportunities (Hoffa and DePaul 2010; Salisbury et al. 2011). Leadership educators are therefore uniquely positioned, and ethically compelled, to design programs that intentionally integrate leadership theory, critical reflection, and culturally grounded experiential learning while also expanding pathways for equitable participation (Beatty & Manning-Ouellette, 2022). As illustrated in this issue of New Directions for Student Leadership, there are leadership educators who are innovating in this field. When structured with intentionality, study abroad can serve as a pivotal anchor experience that shapes students’ leadership identity and capacity, preparing them to navigate and positively influence an increasingly interconnected world. The first section of the issue offers articles grounded in foundational literature and research on leadership learning, study abroad, and how these topics intersect. Authors in this section bring expertise in teaching and research on leadership education as well as education abroad. We begin this section with a foundational article from Joshua Taylor and Trisha Teig, introducing the historical context of leadership in education abroad and the current landscape of education abroad in higher education. The article closes by exploring leadership learning outcomes and examining the typical programmatic structures in study abroad courses. The following articles examine contextual frameworks for approaching leadership learning abroad, including programmatic structure, length, and pedagogy. Tara Widner recommends incorporating leadership competencies (Seemiller 2013), applying a critical lens, and utilizing an international leadership model as key pedagogical practices for study abroad programs. Narrowing the focus on short-term study abroad opportunities, Evan Witt and Tara Coste identify challenges and opportunities for leadership learning in a brief timeline. Jessica Hench and Eden Baroody's research supports these ideas by examining how students in multiple short-term study abroad leadership courses developed leadership competencies in personal behavior, self-awareness, civic responsibility, and learning and reasoning. Next, Kathy Guthrie and Charles Panarella offer insights on how to apply the leadership learning framework (Guthrie and Jenkins 2018) in international study centers. In the next articles, the authors identify ethical considerations, disciplinary opportunities, and complex challenges that arise with facilitating learning abroad. Trisha Gott wrestles with the ethical implications of international service learning, emphasizing the importance of critical service learning (Mitchell 2008) as a foundational framework. Education abroad experts Joshua McKeown and Giselda Beaudin examine leadership learning outcomes embedded in education abroad programs and explore the possibilities of interdisciplinary programs that intentionally incorporate leadership learning. Finally, implementing adaptive leadership theory (Heifetz and Linsky 2014), Trisha Teig concludes this section with a narrative exploration of the good, bad, and messy complexities of preparing for and executing leadership study abroad programs. In the second section of the issue, authors share their experiences with specific study abroad programs, illustrating the potential and value of leadership study abroad courses. These articles additionally draw on student voices to demonstrate the leadership learning outcomes associated with the programs. In the first article in this section, Joshua Taylor, Tashia Cheves, and Brancen Redman show how partnering with a university alumna shaped a transformational immersive leadership course in rural Zimbabwe, emphasizing relationships with local leaders and reflective practice in decolonial leadership learning. In the next article, Natasha Turman demonstrates how Ubuntu principles shaped a three‑week STEM study abroad in Cape Town, strengthening students’ leadership development through culturally grounded, immersive engagements. Leaning into the value of intentional emergence as a pedagogical tool, Joe Walsh and Paul Kosempel discuss a short-term study abroad course in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Kellie Gerbers and Han Kim examine the ethical tensions and transformative potential of their long-running service-learning program in Thailand, discussing both the profound learning potential and structural challenges that must be continually confronted. In the next article, Sofia Clark, Savannah Johnson, Sophia Martinez, and Vivechkanand Chunoo show how university‑affiliated study centers use structured coursework, cultural immersion, and reflection to strengthen students’ intercultural and adaptive leadership growth. Looking through a lens of decolonial leadership practice, Kem Gambrell, Kim Arakawa, Toni Armstrong, Kasey Bentz, Sarah Brock, Britnee Christen, Kate Rysemus, and Meredith White show how a doctoral study abroad program in Aotearoa uses Māori relational frameworks and critical reflection to deepen students’ decolonial leadership learning. In the final article, Amber Manning‑Ouellette and Cameron Beatty argue that leadership study abroad programs are most transformative when grounded in critical, culturally relevant frameworks that deepen reflection and prepare students for justice‑oriented leadership. As you will read throughout this issue of New Directions for Student Leadership, leadership study abroad programs must become an essential component of the leadership curriculum rather than an optional enhancement reserved for a select few. Whether you are a staff member in student affairs, a faculty member teaching leadership, or part of another unit committed to student development, there are multiple pathways for creating meaningful leadership study abroad initiatives. The authors in this issue are experienced scholar practitioners innovating across contexts, and their work demonstrates that leadership learning abroad offers developmental perspectives that are difficult to replicate in traditional classrooms. When we change the learning environment to an international setting and intentionally harness experiential learning, students expand how they understand themselves, their communities, and the world they hope to influence. This issue is not an ending point, but a continuation of an evolving conversation. The authors and editors stand on the shoulders of great scholar practitioners who pioneered the field, and now we offer new innovations that aim to carry that work forward. Our hope is that these articles create space for further innovation in a developing area of leadership studies and inspire educators to explore what is possible. The path ahead is critical for the success of emerging leaders, and it is a path with room for all of us to intentionally shape more just, accessible, and empowering leadership learning opportunities for every student.
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