Teaching, Reflecting and Learning: Exploring Teacher Education Study Abroad Programs as Transformational Learning Opportunities

Abstract

An essential goal of teacher education is to reveal cultural blindness, bias that may be hidden from preservice teachers' awareness. This may include unintentional biases, misunderstandings, and stereotypes, which can affect what happens in the classroom. Transformational learning through cultural immersion experiences can reveal what is hidden, allowing students to critically reflect and revise assumptions and perspectives leading to cultural competence and culturally relevant pedagogy. Teacher education study abroad experiences can transform preservice teachers' ethnocentric worldviews and lead them to adopt more culturally competent mindsets. Reflection is key to participants understanding the impacts from a study abroad experience, and several years may pass before participants realize how much impact their experiences abroad had upon them. We used case study methodology to examine the meanings four teachers make of the long-term effect of a study abroad experience on their cultural awareness and pedagogical decisions. This use of retrospective methods may help to understand that the impacts of teacher education study abroad are difficult to articulate and assess directly after the program, and thus encourage program designers and researchers to provide participants opportunities to venture out of their cultural comfort zones and reflect upon their experiences a year or more after the study abroad program.

Reimagining a framework for parent involvement in South Africa: Preparing preservice teachers

“…This study proved transformative, challenging teachers' anecdotal knowledge and dispelling professional myths about 'difficult' parents. Given the significance of transforming perceptions and addressing bias in authentic family engagement (Freed et al 2019), initiating this process during preservice training could be pivotal in enhancing teachers' readiness to work with families. Despite notable contributions from Van Wyk (2001) and Lemmer (2011), there appears to be limited further research on preparing South African teachers for more effective parental engagement in their students' learning.…”

“…Therefore, there is a call for higher education institutions to make more deliberate attempts at preparing teachers to form and sustain home, school and community partnerships (Epstein 2018;Nathans et al 2022;Walker 2019). Teacher training can facilitate critical reflection on attitudes and beliefs about families and better equip preservice teachers to collaborate across lines of cultural difference (Freed, Benavides & Huffling 2019;Paz-Albo, Jor'Dan & Hervás-Escobar, 2023;Smith & Sheridan 2019). One of the main goals of teacher education is to facilitate transformational learning that brings into awareness bias, misunderstanding and stereotypes that may hinder culturally competent interaction with families (Freed et al 2019), and to prepare teachers to work with families as collaborators in education (Walton & Engelbrecht 2022).…”

“…Teacher training can facilitate critical reflection on attitudes and beliefs about families and better equip preservice teachers to collaborate across lines of cultural difference (Freed, Benavides & Huffling 2019;Paz-Albo, Jor'Dan & Hervás-Escobar, 2023;Smith & Sheridan 2019). One of the main goals of teacher education is to facilitate transformational learning that brings into awareness bias, misunderstanding and stereotypes that may hinder culturally competent interaction with families (Freed et al 2019), and to prepare teachers to work with families as collaborators in education (Walton & Engelbrecht 2022). However, some argue that preservice teachers are not adequately trained for family engagement in schooling (Epstein 2018;Walker 2019).…”

Transformative Study Abroad and the Development of Preservice Teachers’ Culturally Competent Pedagogy as Action Toward a Re-Imagined Future

“…Transformative experiences, according to Mezirow (1997) possess certain factors or components. These factors include a disorienting experience, a critical frame of reference, and a change in perspective through thoughtful reflection, prompting future action planning (Freed et al, 2019;Addleman et al, 2014). Transformative teacher education study abroad experiences have long-term effects.…”

“…This low number is caused by extensive program requirements, as well as a view that study abroad does not increase job prospects (Cavanaugh & Corbett, 2014). However, research has also shown that study abroad programs can be successful in increasing cultural awareness and competency (Cavanaugh & Corbett, 2014;Freed et al, 2019;Medina-Lopez-Portillo, 2004;Chieffo & Griffiths, 2004;Malewski, Sharma, & Phillion, 2012). Cultural awareness can be impacted through cultural activities experienced through study abroad programs, which can in turn reveal the assumptions and biases the participants have of the host country.…”