Unveiling the journey of self-reflection: pre-service Chinese teachers’ experiences in overseas internships

ABSTRACT

In an era characterized by globalization and interconnectedness, the field of education has become increasingly dynamic, demanding educators with not only pedagogical expertise but also deep understanding of diverse cultural contexts. The study aims to investigate self-reflection in pre-service Chinese teachers (PSCT) during overseas internships, exploring its impact on personal, professional, and intercultural development. The data were collected from 735 PSCT, out of whom the study engaged in qualitative interviews with 30. This study employed Python 3.9 and NVIVO 12.0 as the primary research tools. The findings revealed a positive correlation between exposure to diverse teaching methodologies and professional growth, indicating the significance of international experiences in shaping pedagogical efficacy. This demonstrates that overseas internships enhances job satisfaction and fosters a greater commitment to the teaching profession among PSCT. The study makes a novel contribution by emphasizing the pivotal role of global exposure in cultivating a sense of global citizenship, offering unique insights into mechanisms and diverse contexts. The study demonstrates the correlation between positive overseas internship experiences, heightened job satisfaction, and an enduring commitment to the teaching profession, underscoring the significance of integrating cultural diversity into the curriculum and suggesting a pathway for enhancing teaching philosophies.

KEYWORDS:

• Overseas internship
• pre-service international Chinese teachers
• theme analysis
• professional development
• professional experience
• challenges

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

All authors agreed on the content of the study. LY, BZ and TW collected all the data for analysis. TW agreed on the methodology. LY, BZ and TW completed the analysis based on agreed steps. Results and conclusions are discussed and written together. The author read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of data and material

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.

Ethics approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants.

Human and animal rights

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the Scientific Research Fund project of the Education Department of Yunnan Province “Research on the Digital Competence Assessment of International Chinese Teachers’ Online Teaching Based on Intelligent Algorithms”. Education Department of Yunnan Province (No.2023Y0536).

Notes on contributors

Liqing Yang

Liqing Yang is a doctoral candidate at the School of International Chinese Language Education,Yunnan Normal University. She used to be a international Chinese teacher,and currently engaged in international Chinese language teaching and research on Chinese teacher development.

Borui Zheng

Borui Zheng is a Chinese language instructor at University College Cork, Ireland. She is researching into Chinese as second language, interculturality and innovative approaches to education interventions.

Tianyu Wang

Tianyu Wang is a professor at the School of International Chinese Language Education, Yunnan Normal University, and is engaged in research on international Chinese language teaching and international Chinese teacher development.