Reimagining Global Cross-Cultural Education to Cultivate Preservice Teachers' Intercultural Sensitivity

• In Event: Post-Pandemic Teaching Preparation With a Global Focus: Reimagining Educational Inequalities to Embrace Equity and Justice

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Teacher educators are responsible for cultivating preservice teachers’ (PSTs) intercultural sensitivity (i.e., understanding, appreciating, and accepting cultural differences, (Chen & Starosta, 1998; Rissanen et al., 2016). However, existing intercultural activities in teacher education programs often lack focus on intercultural sensitivity, and PSTs may have less developed intercultural sensitivity towards some cultural identities, including race and language (Tabatadze & Gorgadze, 2018; Thapa, 2020). In this study, we investigated how a virtual, intercultural course, Global Social Justice in Education (GSJE) provided opportunities for PSTs to explore and reflect on cultural identities to develop their intercultural sensitivity and awareness of equitable education systems.
Methods: Our study design was guided by an interpretive qualitative approach (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Six PSTs enrolled in GSJE in Spring 2021 participated in the study. GSJE was a community of practice, wherein 12 educational leaders representing China (3), Kenya (2), Nepal (2), Tanzania (1), U.S. (2), and Zambia (2), as well as approximately 50 graduate and undergraduate students from these countries participated. We used the following theoretical perspectives to develop GSJE intercultural activities (Authors, in press) and to inform our research: Cazden’s (2012) Social Justice Framework (e.g., preservation of indigenous cultures), Chen and Starosta’s (1998) conceptualization of Intercultural Sensitivity (e.g., empathic to culturally different counterparts), and Lave and Wenger’s (1991) concept of Community of Practice (e.g., social configurations wherein people establish relationships with diverse people).
Video recordings of zoom meetings, participants’ reflections, and focus group interviews provided data for this study. Using a bottom-up approach of the content analysis method (Chi, 1997), we documented the cultural identities that participants discussed. We then used our theoretical frameworks as a top-down approach to generate themes concerning how those identities cultivated PSTs’ intercultural sensitivity development, and how GSJE facilitated such opportunities.
Findings: Our findings indicated that PSTs explored cultural identities associated with sexual orientation, religion, social-economic backgrounds, gender, race, nationality, family relationships, and professional roles. PSTs recognized that if educators surround themselves with people of similar identities, they lose the potential for diverse perspectives, which necessitated engaging with diverse cultural groups to facilitate the development of intercultural sensitivity. PSTs stated that after engaging in GSJE, they “actively decentralized [their] thought process to better understand what [their] non-US constituent peers described.” PSTs also expressed commitments to addressing the identities of diverse learners; they planned on their future classrooms to be inviting by “include[ing] everyone and not assum[ing] they are an expert because of their race or gender.” PSTs envisioned using strategies (e.g., “accommodate[ing] different learning styles”) to ensure equitable learning environments. These findings suggested that PSTs’ reflections on cultural identities (e.g., race, gender, nationality) facilitated development of their intercultural sensitivity.
Scholarly Significance: Our study demonstrates the potential of a virtual, intercultural course to re-imagine the preparation of teachers who are empathic to diverse learners, indicating that such a course provides a model for cultivating PSTs’ skills and commitments to ensure equitable classroom environments.

Authors

• Bima Kumari Sapkota, Purdue University

• Daphne Rae Fauber

• Rose Mbewe, Purdue University

• JoAnn I. Phillion, Purdue University

• Jill Annette Newton, Purdue University