Reconsidering the Local After a Transformative Global Experience: A Comparison of Two Study Abroad Programs for Preservice Teachers (original) (raw)
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Canadian Journal of Education/Revue canadienne de l'éducation
Baecher's edited volume, Study Abroad for Pre-service and In-service Teachers: Transformative Learning on a Global Scale, provides an overview of research being conducted in pre-service and in-service teacher study abroad programs worldwide, referred to throughout the book more simply as teacher study abroad. The 273-page book contains 18 chapters from 43 contributors. It is divided into three sections with Section 1 covering chapters 1-7; Section 2, chapters 8-14; and Section 3, chapters 15-18. As a study abroad researcher and former pre-service study abroad program director, I was eager to read this book, as study abroad in professional programs is understudied in comparison with study abroad in language learning contexts, therefore this book promised to shed light on findings unique to the profession of teaching. Section 1 highlights the role of intentionality in instructional design in teacher study abroad toward goals of global competence, global citizenship, and global readiness. These goals are common among programs with strong structural analysis and strong intercultural foci (Shultz, 2010). In other words, the authors speak to the need for education to "engage students as critical thinkers able to understand the historical, cultural, and socioeconomic processes and structures" and "learn how to engage in the relations that are surfaced in a globalized world… to transform these structures" (p. 16). Strengths of this section are its mix of outgoing (Chapters 1-4; 7) and incoming (Chapters 5-6) desti
Action in Teacher Education, Special Issue: Globalization and Teacher Development, 2014
This comparative case study analyzes two study abroad experiences for preservice teachers-a 4-month student teaching placement in Sweden and a 3-week intensive intercultural course with school observations in France. Although they differed in duration and structure, both programs focused on developing preservice teachers' understandings of diversity and pedagogy in a global context. Using transformative learning theory and drawing on grounded theory methods, research questions included (1) What are preservice teachers' experiences in two different study abroad programs focused on local/global diversity and pedagogy? (2) According to participants, what programmatic elements contribute to transformative learning experiences in such programs? Results underscore the need for relevant and interactive assignments, hands-on experiences, and support for personal growth in programs that aim to help preservice teachers "go global." Implications are raised for future research, teacher education, and university programming.
Intercultural Education, 2009
As the US student population becomes increasingly diverse, teacher education programs need to enable prospective teachers to meet the varied needs and expectations of students and families, while, simultaneously, creating viable classroom communities. Learning opportunities, such as travel and teaching abroad, and the perceptions of "otherness" this creates, lead to new perspectives regarding human differences. Such experiences, if wisely structured, can rectify misconceptions and reverse stereotypes. This paper explores the impact of teaching-related travel on novice teachers' cultural understandings and professional identity. The paper will discuss how prospective teachers challenge their perceptions of their professional self through international field experiences. The goal is to begin a discussion that explores the internationalization of teacher training. We will also discuss the role such training can play in the expansion and increased flexibility of classroom practices for teachers and, through them, the growth in international awareness and the intercultural sensitivity of their students.
International Journal of Comparative Education and Development, 2021
Purpose This paper aims to focus on the long-term international experiences of a group of preservice English teachers who studied abroad as part of their training and recently returned home. Design/methodology/approach Employing an interpretivist case study, five preservice English teachers participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. The participants were consulted to elicit feedback as the part of a member checking procedure. Findings This study revealed that the participants' views of their international experience were primarily shaped by two main themes: (1) postsojourn outcomes: intercultural learning, professional learning and personal growth and (2) “bumps” in the road: struggles in capitalizing the learning opportunities. Originality/value Recruiting students for extended study abroad programs alone without a concerted effort to address (inter)cultural learning and growth might not guarantee the quality and the outcomes of such programs. Based on the findings, the rol...
Experiencing the Local to Become Global: A Portrait of Teaching and Learning Abroad
Journal of International Social Studies, 2015
This case study analyzes the experiences of two first-year American (U.S.) social studies teachers, Sam and Libby, working aboard. Over the course of the year, these two teachers developed an understanding of place and themselves as global educators. Using place-based theory (Sobel, 1994) and drawing on case study methodology, the research question is: How do international teaching experiences impact in-service teachers' identities as global educators? I interviewed Sam and Libby six times over the course of one calendar year about their teaching and living experiences in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, their first-year teaching as well as their thoughts on global teaching and learning. Findings show each teacher developed a growing understanding of place and their identity as global educators. The implications of these understandings have an impact on their work as social studies teachers and ways in which international experiences may be used to facilitate better global understandings. Recommendations for future research, teacher education, and in-service teacher professional development are identified.
Journal of Studies in International Education, 2018
Study abroad is an experiential learning pedagogy that has many positive outcomes. In the field of teacher education, study abroad provides opportunity for the development of global competencies and agency. Similarly, study abroad can help expand notions of what it means to be a global citizen. This article examines the effects of preservice teachers engaging in a study abroad program to South Africa. Critical Cosmopolitan Theory provides the article’s theoretical frame for the investigation of the impact of this study abroad program. The study’s participant sample comprised preservice teachers from a large research university located in the Southeast region of the United States ( N = 21). Using a mixed-methods research design, the study examined the participants’ perceptions of their study abroad and international teaching experiences. It was found that the study abroad experience was a catalyst for enhancing preservice teachers’ global competencies, intercultural awareness, and cu...
Australian Association For Research in Education, 2012
This study presents an overview of the issues involved when a group of teacher educators implemented a global education focus across a variety of education programs at their university. Although these problems and issues arose from the global education agenda, some of the lessons learned and problems encountered can be applied to teacher educators in other fields. Their experiences provide a glimpse into the teacher educator world -a world of compromise. These experiences encompass the personal dilemmas, the professional learning and decision making, and the political dimensions of their work and provide a case study in professional co-operation and collaboration in the service of an ideal of encouraging a global perspective in a new generation of teachers.
Reimagining the Curriculum in Study Abroad: Globalizing Multiculturalism to Prepare Future Teachers
Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad
This article discusses research that indicates that the lived experience of studying abroad provides preservice teachers the intellectual and critical starting point for multicultural awareness of the educational, social, and political relationships between their lives and other cultures. With course work and field experiences that are grounded in multicultural life-experience, the authors argue that preservice teachers begin to develop the awareness, sensitivity, and skills they urgently need to bridge the gap between White teachers and their historically underprivileged student populations and to understand the rapidly diversifying classrooms in which they will teach.
Recent rapid changes in the ethnic and cultural make-up of school communities have highlighted the need for teacher education to prepare teachers for culturally diverse contexts. International study trips provide direct experience and interaction with culturally diverse 'others' as a way to extend pre-service teachers' understandings of difference and diversity. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of 15 Australian pre-service teachers who attended a short-term study programme in either Korea or India. Drawing on notions of the 'comfort zone' and 'pedagogies of discomfort', we discuss how the pre-service teachers were challenged to move beyond their comfort zone into new and unfamiliar territory, and into states of dissonance and discomfort. Three interrelated themes emerged from the interview data: (1) dissonance resulting from physical discomfort; (2) dissonance resulting from culturally different communication styles and expectations about appropriate behaviour and interaction and (3) dissonance resulting from incidents/events that challenged the pre-service teachers' views of themselves and their own cultures. We suggest that many of the participants experienced levels of discomfort and dissonance that hindered effective learning, and limited the transformative potential of the experience. We conclude by discussing some implications for international experience programmes in teacher education.
2017
This chapter presents information about Ball State University’s Study Abroad Program within the Department of Elementary Education. A general description of students enrolled in the Elementary Education program is given, both historically and currently. Then the origins of the Ball State Elementary Education Study Abroad program are explained, followed by a description of countries and program types that have occurred over the years. A general overview of program considerations, including making contacts, recruiting students, and working with schools is then provided. Next, three travel programs in the department are described, including development, recruitment, and vignettes focusing on experiences in each program. Next, research about program experiences is presented, including the impact of study abroad experiences on students. Personal reflections from instructors who have participated will then be shared. Finally, suggestions about developing and implementing programs will be ...