Intercultural Competence: Physical Education Teacher Education Recommendations

ABSTRACT 

The increasing diversity of the K-12 student population presents challenges and opportunities for growth in the physical education profession. To address the cultural gap in today’s classroom, many people highlight the need to improve the intercultural competence of teachers. The focus of this article is to summarize the shifting demographics of American society, its impact on K-12 education, and how one California physical education teacher education (PETE) program is preparing pre-service teachers for the multicultural classroom. The article also outlines recommendations for PETE programs to address intercultural competence.

KEYWORDS:

• Physical education
• teacher education
• intercultural competence

Notes

1. A qualifying seminar must be attended to use the IDI®. The seminar costs $1,600 for faculty of an educational institution. Seminar attendees are then able to serve as an IDI® qualified administrator.