| Teachers play a critical role in educating students to be productive citizens in the interconnected, global society of the 21st century. As such, they should exemplify the culturally appropriate knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes, i.e., intercultural competence, that is required for success not only for their students but also for themselves. Despite the need for intercultural competence, teachers are not being adequately prepared either through pre-service or in-service training to respond to the realities of culturally diverse students and settings. One way for teachers to develop intercultural competence is through teaching abroad.; To determine if teaching abroad has an impact on teachers' intercultural competence and to document teachers' personal and professional experiences abroad, this study explored the experiences of twelve teachers, six from the United States and six collectively from Colombia, England, Hungary, and the Slovak Republic, who participated in the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program of the U.S. Department of State from 2005 to 2006. Participants completed the Intercultural Development Inventory (Hammer & Bennett, 1998, 2001), a measure of intercultural sensitivity, and the Strategies Inventory for Learning Culture (Paige, et al., 2002) both pretest and posttest; provided information about their expectations for their time abroad prior to teaching in their host countries; and completed monthly questionnaires while abroad about their personal and professional experiences. Each teacher took part in an interview three to five months after returning to their home countries to ascertain impact.; Study results showed positive growth in intercultural competence overall. Teachers reported increased awareness of themselves and others as cultural beings, heightened ability to interact effectively and appropriately with culturally diverse individuals, enhanced understanding of similarities and differences of educational systems, and positive impact on their professional and personal lives. Understanding how teaching abroad can increase the intercultural competence of teachers is an area of inquiry that has not been explored fully. This study provides insights into the challenges as well as benefits of living and teaching abroad for these teachers, as well as the value that teaching abroad can have for teachers in the classroom and beyond. |
