The Overseas Student Teaching Experience: Creating Optimal Culture Learning

Abstract

The preparation of teachers to address the diverse needs of societies demands that more than just the demographics of the teaching force be questioned. This study examined the nature of the international student teaching experience and its impact on the professional and personal development of new teachers. Fifty returning students responded to an open-ended questionnaire designed to elicit how the experience helped or hindered them personally and professionally. Findings suggest that an overseas experience has immense benefits for the student teacher, having impact on beliefs about self and others, professional development in terms of global mindedness, and improved self-efficacy. These categories combine to demonstrate a new understanding of one's own role and improved ability to interact and teach in diverse cultural settings.