Increasing Preservice Teachers Intercultural Awareness Through Service-Learning

Abstract

Using a qualitative, interpretive research design, this study examined the development of intercultural awareness of preservice teachers in a service-learning setting. We believe that intercultural awareness is a critical disposition for the teaching profession. Data sources included electronic reflection journals of 130 service-learning course participants, comprised of mostly White, undergraduate university students working with elementary school children in culturally diverse settings. Findings illustrated that students increased their intercultural awareness in multiple contexts including linguistic diversity, socio-economic challenges, home culture norms, and military life. We concluded that preservice teachers capacity to recognize and work with learners different needs builds as they become aware of cultural differences. Increasing preservice teachers intercultural awareness is a critical professional disposition to develop given the extensive student diversity in todays schools.Teacher career development studies reveal that 33% of teachers leave the profession in the first three years (Boyd, Grossman, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2008). Beginning teachers report that inability to cope with the demands of teaching is the major reason they decide to leave. They enter the profession with a lack of initial training for the realities of teaching, including a lack of preparation to work with ethnically diverse student populations (Aguado, Ballesteros, & Malik, 2003; Gordon, 2000). This is further exacerbated by the fact that there is a cultural mismatch between teachers and the students they teach. Moreover, beginning teachers are often given the most difficult assignments for their first teaching experience with little support from the school (Croasmun, Hampton, & Herrmann, 1999). We are looking at pre-service learning courses as a possible solution.Research indicates that involvement in service-learning projects is considered to be a powerful tool that provides preservice teachers with a general foundation to better understand how to teach children from diverse cultural backgrounds (Reneer, Price, Keene, & Little, 2004). This understanding starts by assisting preservice teachers to raise their awareness of childrens cultural backgrounds and the impact diversity has on teaching and learning (Nieto, 1999). An increased awareness of other cultures is the first stage in understanding, and then accepting, differences between cultures. The broader concept of intercultural awareness includes the process of increased awareness, of which consciousness of one's own culture and assumptions about people who are different is essential (Pederson, 1988).Intercultural awareness is considered to be a critical professional disposition in many professions, including teaching (Campinha-Bacote, 2007; Garmon, 2005). This study examines the development of intercultural awareness in a service-learning setting. We partnered with schools composed of diverse student populations in which there is an opportunity gap related to students of socio-economic disadvantage. We believe that teachers who understand how students needs vary due to cultural factors are more likely to be retained within the profession. When teachers better understand their students backgrounds, student achievement increases (Black & William, 1998). In turn, this makes teachers feel more effective about their ability to teach all students in their charge. While the focus of this study is the development of intercultural awareness, it is informed by the literature on multicultural service learning, professional dispositions, as well as intercultural awareness.