Study abroad is an experiential learning pedagogy that has many positive outcomes. In the field of teacher education, study abroad provides opportunity for the development of global competencies and agency. Similarly, study abroad can help expand notions of what it means to be a global citizen. This article examines the effects of preservice teachers engaging in a study abroad program to South Africa. Critical Cosmopolitan Theory provides the article’s theoretical frame for the investigation of the impact of this study abroad program. The study’s participant sample comprised preservice teachers from a large research university located in the Southeast region of the United States ( N = 21). Using a mixed-methods research design, the study examined the participants’ perceptions of their study abroad and international teaching experiences. It was found that the study abroad experience was a catalyst for enhancing preservice teachers’ global competencies, intercultural awareness, and cultural responsiveness as the participants widened their perspectives of what it means to be a critically cosmopolitan educator and citizen.
Although controversial, perhaps no piece of legislation has the potential to transform India's future more than the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE). Upon the passage and enforcement of RTE in 2009, the Indian government instituted a series of wideranging reforms to India's education system. For example, the act mandates that all private elementary schools (Classes I-VIII) reserve 25% of their class strength to underprivileged children. Private schools have options regarding their adherence to this law. One option is to provide ''Equal Opportunity Schools'' where underprivileged children are provided a quality education but in a separate school building. In response to RTE, a number of private schools are considering the ''community school'' model as a possible way to meet the ''Equal Opportunity School'' provision. While many definitions exist for a ''community school,'' one defining feature of a community school is that it is more localized and often reflects the customs and traditions of village life. This article's purpose is to examine a Bangalore-based private school's response to RTE. Specifically, the article describes a case study of the creation of a community school with the mission to bridge the local and the global with the aid of laptop technology.
The purpose of this study was to examine how elementary preservice teachers ( n = 35) experienced museums as potential sites for K-5 students to read museums using two lenses: to learn the history of the place in which they live and examine how museum authors craft texts to tell those stories. Along with exploring historical content, preservice teachers studied the museum as an informational text. Through this experience, preservice teachers discovered: 1) the five informational text structures museum authors used to present information and 2) how museum authors conveyed contemporary and social issues using various forms of writing. Additionally, the museum experience provided a context in which the preservice teachers could engage in critical literacy practices.
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