Going Out and Linking Back: The Impact of Student Teaching Abroad on Global Awareness and Teaching Practice

• In Event: 60.046 - Developing Cultural Competence and Awareness From Study Approach Experiences

Abstract

This study explores the effect of teaching abroad experiences on student teachers’ cultural awareness and teaching practice. This study uses a mixed-method, administering the MyCAP survey to prospective teachers before they teach abroad and then again when they return to gauge changes in their cultural awareness, and conducting classroom observation of the prospective teachers’ teaching before and after their study abroad experience to examinethe extent to whichthey bring their teaching abroad experiences and cultural awareness into their teaching. The results indicate the importance of teaching abroad in expanding prospective teachers’ cultural awareness, and the importance of adequate preparation and support in ensuring the greatest impact of teaching abroad experiences on both cultural awareness and teaching practice.

Authors

• Katrina Liu, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Sharon Marie Kolb, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater