Transformative professional development for in-service teachers through international service learning

ABSTRACT

Teachers who participate in learning and teaching abroad enhance their intercultural competence, develop more globally informed and critical perspectives on education, and improve their foreign language and teaching skills. However, most of the research on teacher study abroad has been conducted with pre-service rather than in-service teachers. To address study abroad designed for working teachers, this study analyzes a month-long, instructor-led program in San José, Costa Rica in which 10 primary and secondary in-service teachers of English as a Second Language (TESOL) from New York City volunteered as English teaching assistants. Participants also engaged in Spanish language learning both formally through university coursework as well as informally through homestay. A conceptual framework for the design of such programs is suggested, drawing on the literature on teacher study abroad and transformative learning theory, with implications for the personal and professional learning of in-service teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• Study abroad
• transformative learning
• in-service teachers
• professional development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laura Baecher

Dr Laura Baecher is Associate Professor of TESOL at Hunter College, City University of New York. Her research interests and publications relate to teacher preparation including content-language integration, teacher leadership, the use of video for teacher learning, and practicum and supervision in teaching English learners.

Samantha Chung

Samantha Chung began her teaching career as an 8th-grade ELA/ESL teacher and now is an instructional coach at I.S. 145Q. She is also currently a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. She is passionate about educational equity for students and supporting schools and teachers in achieving success.