Experiences of Tensions of Intercultural Teaching Among Novice Teachers

• In Event: 25.061 - Narratives of Challenges and Barriers of Intercultural Teaching

Abstract

Objectives:
In this presentation I deliberate over the application of narrative inquiry tools (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) for unpacking teachers’ experiences of immersion in a foreign country and culture of schooling. I reflect on my own experiences as a teacher in Japan and draw on an inquiry into the experiences of novice Canadian teachers in Hong Kong or Japan to shed light on fluid conceptions of culture shock and reverse culture shock in terms of cultural identity transformations. I also raise to the forefront inquiry puzzles about the phenomenon of intercultural competence acquisition.
Theoretical Framework:
This narrative self-study with co–participants is founded on Dewey’s (1938) notion of the interconnection between education and experience. Furthermore, this study is supported by work on intercultural teaching and learning (Cushner & Brennan, 2007; Garii & Schlein, 2011; Phillion et al., 2008; Walters, Garii, & Walters, 2009). I expand here on notions pertaining to the intersections of narrative inquiry and intercultural teaching and learning (Elbaz-Luwisch, 2004; Eng, 2005, 2008; He, 2002).
Data Sources:
I focused on collecting stories of experience as data (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990) in this narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). I conducted five 90–minute informal, tape–recorded interviews with three participants. I logged extensive technical and reflective field notes following all interviews. At the completion of the data collection stage of the investigation, I reviewed all field notes and interview transcriptions in–depth to uncover common narrative themes. I employed the narrative inquiry three–dimensional framework to search for patterns across the variables of time periods, personal and social interactions, and context or culture.
Results:
Attending to my own and my co-participants’ experiences provided a tentative, shifting, and experiential quality to the impact of intercultural teaching. The context of schooling seemed to render salient cultural features, due to the possible positioning of education as a vehicle for cultural socialization. Our professional lives thus seemingly forced us to swim against the currents of curricular cultural norms and expectations. In addition to this professional tension, my findings lead me to wonder whether for some people, it might be necessary to return to the home country and culture to safely unpack experiences of crossing personal and professional cultures. I reflect on these storied tensions and narrative puzzles in detail within my presentation.
Scholarly Significance:
Few studies examine the experiences of in–service teachers or novice educators who teach abroad. I provide a narrative and experiential basis as a foundation for understanding some of the possible tentative and interconnected qualities of cross cultural teaching. I also raise important questions about how such experiences might change teachers and whether cross cultural teaching opportunities might be more impactful for certain teachers than for others.

Author

• Candace M. Schlein, University of Missouri - Kansas City