Based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this qualitative study examined the impact of home visits on a group of six Head Start educators. Each participant conducted two home visits. For the first home visit, participants were not provided any guidance. On the second visit, participants were provided a handout with questions intended to guide their visit. The participants were asked to document, in a reflective journal, their feelings and attitudes toward the children's families on two visits. Additionally, participants commented on their teaching beliefs and practice as impacted by their home visit. Results of the study indicated that home visits enabled participants to see the families and children that they work with from a different and more positive perspective. The guided home visit questions allowed participants to better understand children and their families from historical and cultural perspectives. Also, participants were better able to create a more multicultural learning environment and lesson plans for their children.

Using current events to help preservice teachers understand the world they live in encourages preservice teachers to learn about global issues. It also encourages them to develop skills in analytical thinking and reflective judgment by reading and discussing complex real-life scenarios. A semester-long pen-pal project was crafted to help understand how preservice teachers develop intercultural competence, critical empathy, and become less ethnocentric. Twenty-Six American early childhood preservice teachers in a Midwestern state were randomly paired with Turkish early childhood preserivce teachers as their pen-pals. The findings of this qualitative study revealed American preservice teachers had learning curves, but many eventually came to unpack their privileges and preconceived notions, as well as expend their worldviews. Implications of how to assist preservice teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students are addressed.

As globalization lessens the distance between peoples and diversifies the common classroom, teacher education programs lag behind in producing globally-minded educators. One approach used by some teacher education programs to remedy this issue is to offer international student teaching experiences. While the literature related to these programs is rather positive, information related to why students choose to participate in international student teaching experiences and the challenges they encounter while abroad is limited. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature. Drawing on interview and documentation data from current (n=3) and former (n=2) participants, as well as two program administrators, this multiple-case study utilizes a cross-case analysis to draw conclusions within and between the cases. Programmatic recommendations that are applicable to both faculty members and study abroad professionals are included.

No abstract

No abstract