Incremental Pathways to Educational Transformation: Transcultural Dialogue as a Tool to Develop Critical Cultural Competence

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: International and Comparative Perspectives on Language Education

Abstract

Contemporary educator preparation programs face legislative constraints that limit critical discussions of systemic inequities, leaving future educators underprepared to support multilingual community thriving. We explored how video-mediated transcultural dialogues between 90 U.S. and Taiwanese pre-service educators fostered essential critical cultural competencies. Using a critical global literacies perspective, we analyzed participants’ discussions of unfamiliar educational practices. Analysis revealed participants developed interconnected global awareness, self-determination, reflexive relationality, and social justice orientations through modest individual perspective shifts that created a foundational framework for broader educational transformation. Despite limitations including small sample size and two-terms duration that narrowed generalizability, this pedagogical innovation demonstrates a viable pathway for developing critically socio-politically conscious educators within restrictive contexts while building lasting transcultural partnerships.

Authors

• Kristen L. Pratt, Western Oregon University

• Ya-Fang Cheng, Western Oregon University

• Bogum Yoon, Binghamton University - SUNY