The development of personal, intercultural and professional competence in international field experience in initial teacher education

U.S. Student Teachers in Belize, China and Mexico: Patterns of Cultural, Professional, and Character Development

“…Nevertheless, in terms of aggregate patterns found within each country, the resulting development pattern among student teachers in Mexico and Belize manifested a more numerous and complex range of experiences and reflections expressed within journals in the form of topics and themes than was the case for the student teachers in China. This finding supports the literature regarding differential affects on participants' student teaching abroad experiences due, in part, to the variation in instructional and socio-professional settings found within different country contexts (Tang and Choi, 2004 Their student teacher counterparts in China and Mexico, on the other hand, experienced multiple cultures in affluent schooling contexts, and had but limited and indirect exposure to low income/poverty conditions (e.g., street beggars). Thus, the Belize group of student teachers had a multicultural experience reflective of the lower socioeconomic status contexts of U.S. public schools, particularly those characterized by language and cultural diversity; in contrast, the China and Mexico student teacher groups' international schooling experiences and cultural contexts reflected private, affluent, nonsectarian schooling contexts.…”

“…Research (Wang, 2001, cited in Tang & Choi, 2004 has found that interaction between teachers and student teachers may differ in length and frequency, in location, and in topics according to the country. Also, differential effects on the development of student teachers' competence may occur due to variation in instructional and supervisory practices and socio-professional contexts within different countries (Tang & Choi, 2004). Additionally, Roose (2001) reports that cross-cultural education internships powerfully influence the beginning teacher in six areas: (1) the effects of culture on schooling; (2) understanding school as a culture; (3) understanding students and learning; (4) curriculum; (5) professional development; and (6) attraction to difference.…”

The intercultural competence of preservice teachers: An exploratory study

“…Having hands-on experiences such as participation in outbound mobility programs do not guarantee positive intercultural development (Dockrill, Rahatzad, & Phillion, 2015). Indeed, negative stereotypes can be confirmed if preservice teachers feel challenged or threatened in working with different cultures (Tang & Choi, 2004). We argue that because the majority of preservice teachers in Australia lack opportunity to undertake international experiences in their courses, teacher educators need to understand how their backgrounds, prior intercultural learning and experiences can be utilised to better prepare them for teaching diverse learners.…”

A Global Challenge: Overseas Immersion as an Effective Means to Enhancing English Proficiency?

“…They were organised by different universities in Hong Kong and held in various English-speaking countries (e.g. Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., and Canada) (Barkhuizen & Feryok, 2006;Bodycott & Crew, 2000Lee, 2009;Tang & Choi, 2004). The data collected were mostly qualitative data through pre-and post-questionnaires, self-reports and reflective papers.…”