International study visits and the promotion of intercultural capabilities

Valerie HugginsLecturer in Early Childhood Studies

Plymouth Institute of Education 18th December 2013

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Teaching as a profession in a in a global world

Globalization and internationalisation› (Aman, 2013; Gu et al, 2009)

Global flows› People (Goodwin, 2010)› Ideas (Ng, 2013)

Increasing diversity in settings – children and workforce

Expectations from policy, e.g. Connecting Classrooms

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Intercultural capabilities

Adapts quickly to new cultural circumstances Has a positive attitude and curiosity about other

cultures Is willing to see someone else’s point of view Can understand perspectives of people from

another culture Is knowledgeable about aspects of different

cultures Is critically self-aware Has an awareness of ‘self’ in relation to the ‘other’

Sinicrope, 2007; Perry and Southwell, 2011; Hillier & Wozniac, 2009

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I chose to do my course at Plymouth as it offered the opportunity for me to carry out an international placement……. I have just returned from my latest placement in Finland and I had a brilliant time. It was fascinating to study the differences between the two cultures and teaching methods. Kate, BEd Primary English

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International study visits and placements for student teachers Gambia Czech republic Hungary

Redbridge in London

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Facet methodology

Facet methodology

Facet methodology assumes that the world - and what we seek to understand about it - is not only lived and experienced, but is multi-dimensional, contingent, relationally implicated and entwined.

Facets involve different lines of enquiry, and different ways of seeing.

Facets cast light on each other, producing flashes of insight

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Student motivations

the experience will

add real depth to my

understanding of

alternative

approaches to the

provision and

inclusion of children

with EAL

I am looking forward to seeing

how the Czech education

system works, and hopefully

pick up some useful teaching

approaches that will help me

become a better teacher back

in England

I think it shows passion as well, it shows that you’re

committed to children and you, you want to go that extra mile

I believe it will g

ive me

something interesting

and extra to place in

my personal statement

and job applications.

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Tutor’s perspective

a life-long experience, an experience that is remembered for the rest of their lives which

adds to their profile of them as a teacher and as a person

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Current pedagogical approach

Experiential › Leibowitz et al (2010)

Unresolved dilemmas and discomforts

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Next steps…….

Explicit contract about intercultural capabilities

Active ‘pedagogy for discomfort’ (Boler & Zemblyas, 2003) underpinned by transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1978, 1990)

Critical literacy approach (Andreotti, 2011, 2006)

Tutor training (Buczyinski et al, 2011)

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Thank you

For more details about the research please contact me on

Valerie.huggins@plymouth.ac.uk

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References and further reading Aman, R. (2013). "Bridging the gap to those who lack: intercultural education in the light of

modernity and the shadow of coloniality." Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1-19. Andreotti, V. (2006). "Soft versus critical global citizenship education." Policy and Practice:

A Development Education Review 3(Autumn 2006), 40-51. Andreotti, V. (2011). Actionable Postcolonial Theory in Education, New York: Palgrave

Macmillan. Andreotti, V., and De Souza, M. (2008). "Translating theory into practice: lessons from the

project 'Through Other Eyes'." International Journal of Development Education and Global Learning, 1(1), 23-36.

Boler, M., and Zemblyas, M. (2003). "Discomforting truths: The emotional terrain of understanding difference ", in P. Trifonas, (ed.), Pedadogies of Difference: Rethinking education for social change. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, pp. 110-136.

Buczynski, S., Lattimer, H., Inoue, N., and Alexandrowicz, V. (2010). "Developing a policy for an international experience requirement in a graduate teacher education program: a cautionary tale." Teaching Education, 21(1), 33 - 46.

Cushner, K. (2011). "Intercultural Research in Teacher Education: An Essential Intersection in the Preparation of Globally Competent Teachers." Action in Teacher Education, 33(5-6), 601-614.

Goodwin, A. L. (2010). "Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: rethinking knowledge domains for teaching." Teaching Education, 21(1), 19-32.

Hiller, G. G., and Woźniak, M. (2009). "Developing an intercultural competence programme at an international cross‐border university." Intercultural Education, 20(sup1), S113-S124.

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References and further reading

Hillier, G. G., and Wozniak, M. (2009). "Developing an intercultural competence programme at an international cross-border university." Intercultural Education, 20(4), 113-24.

Huggins, V. (2013). "Widening awareness of international appraoches: an imperative for Twenty-First-Century Early Years Practitioners? ", in J. Georgeson and J. Payler, (eds.), International Perspectives on Early Childhood Education and Care Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Jakubiak, C. (2012). "“English for the global”: discourses in/of English-language voluntourism." International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25(4), 435-451.

Leibowitz, B., Bozalek, V., Rohleder, P., Carolissen, R., and Swartz, L. (2010). "‘Ah, but the whiteys love to talk about themselves’: discomfort as a pedagogy for change." Race Ethnicity and Education, 13(1), 83-100.

Martin, F., and Griffiths, H. (2011). "Power and representation: a postcolonial reading of global partnerships and teacher development through North–South study visits." British Educational Research Journal, 1-21.

McMullen, M., and Penn, E. B. (2011). "‘Egypt in transition’: uniting service-learning and short-term study-abroad." Intercultural Education, 22(5), 423-436.

Mezirow, J. (1978). "Perspective transformation." Adult Education, 28, 100-110. Mezirow, J. (1990). "How Critical Reflection Triggers Transformative Learning", in J. Mezirow and E. W.

Taylor, (eds.), Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Ng, S. W. (2012). "Rethinking the mission of internationalization of higher education in the Asia-

Pacific region." Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 42(3), 439-459. Perry, L. B., and Southwell, L. (2011). "Developing intercultural understandings and skills: models

and approaches." Intercultural Education 22(6), 453-466. Sinicrope, C., Norris, J., and Wtanabe, Y. (2007). "Understanding and assessing intercultural

competence: A summary of theory, research, and practice " Second Language Studies, 26(1), 1-5.