Cross‐cultural Collaboration in Special Teacher Education: An arena for facilitating reflection?

Abstract

The present study explored how cross‐cultural collaboration involving university lecturers from Norway (the North) and Egypt (the South), and student‐teachers from Egypt, can be an arena for facilitating student‐teachers’ reflection and for challenging student‐teachers’ preconceived beliefs and perspectives about disability and education. The findings, based on interview data, showed that an emphasis on reflection, exploration and evaluation rather than on drills and repetition was both unexpected and unfamiliar for most of the Egyptian student‐teachers. Some of the Egyptian and some of the foreign lecturers were able to encourage student‐teachers to reflect, although some of the foreign lecturers had a tendency to lecture as they had done at home. Lecturers who wanted to pursue teaching methods that enhanced reflection needed to prioritise time for this, even if the majority of the student‐teachers asked for more information, more facts and for presentations of “the right methods” for teaching learners with disabilities. As the findings in this study illustrate, the partner in the North carries a major responsibility for critically considering the request for expertise because the participants in the South may not necessarily question and challenge the authority of well‐educated professionals from the North. It may not be sufficient for lecturers and supervisors to be well‐qualified practitioners within their home culture. They should be context sensitive, have an inquiring and accepting attitude, and experience challenges, encounters and exposures in the project country over time. Competence in approaches in teacher education is also required, although this meta‐competence may not be explicitly requested by those concerned.

Keywords:

• cross‐cultural
• intellectual disability
• teacher education

Acknowledgement

There was no research funding for this study, and no restrictions have been imposed on free access to, or publication of, the research data.

Notes

1. “Mental handicap” and “mental retardation” were terms that the Egyptian informants used when they spoke English, and these terms are used when the informants are quoted. There are numerous Arabic terms used for the condition. They are not used or discussed here. In all other cases in the text, “intellectual disability” is used. The term is also used as a translation of the Norwegian term “utviklingshemming”.

2. Many of the students worked as teachers outside study hours.