Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education (SpringerBriefs in Education) 3031059603, 9783031059605

Table of contents :
Preamble
References
Acknowledgements
Book Introduction
Contents
About the Author
1 Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education
1.1 My Experience with Teaching Abroad
1.2 Book Overview
References
2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation and Twenty-First-Century Teaching
2.1 Globalisation, Human Mobility, and Initial Teacher Education
2.2 Learning Through Experience and Reflecting on Experience
2.3 Conclusion
References
3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning and Development During Teaching-Abroad
3.1 Personal Knowledge
3.2 Context Knowledge
3.3 Pedagogical Knowledge
3.4 Sociological Knowledge
3.5 Social Knowledge
3.6 Conclusion
References
4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects
4.1 Duration and Intensity
4.2 Home and Host Contexts
4.3 Teaching-Abroad Sojourn Activities
4.4 Teaching Activities
4.5 Culture and Social Activities
4.6 Supporting PSTs During Teaching-Abroad
4.7 Pre-Sojourn
4.8 While-Sojourn
4.9 Post-Sojourn
4.10 Conclusion
References
5 Creating a Community of Learning During Teaching-Abroad Experiences
5.1 Host Teachers
5.2 Host Students
5.3 Teacher Educators
5.4 Conclusion
References
6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities
6.1 Principles for Teaching-Abroad Experiences
6.2 Principle 1: Co-construct Project Objectives
6.3 Principle 2: Limit Barriers to Project Participation
6.4 Principle 3: Set Clear Eligibility Criteria for PST Participation
6.5 Principle 4: Select Host Countries and Schools Carefully
6.6 Principle 5: Decide the Timing, Duration and Intensity Carefully
6.7 Principle 6: Choose Accommodation to Maximise Immersion
6.8 Principle 7: Prepare PSTs Thoroughly for the Sojourn
6.9 Principle 8: Provide a Variety of Experiences
6.10 Principle 9: Cultivate a Collaborative Learning Environment
6.11 Principle 10: Provide Opportunities for Ongoing Dialogic Reflection
6.12 Principle 11: Develop Ways to Evaluate the Project Effectiveness
6.13 Principle 12: Involve Teacher Educators from the Home ITE Institution
6.14 Principle 13: Consider Ways to Maintain the Project’s Sustainability
6.15 Future Teaching-Abroad Possibilities
6.15.1 Virtual Teaching-Abroad
6.15.2 Students-As-Partners and Teaching Abroad
6.15.3 Reciprocal Teaching-Abroad Experiences
6.16 Future Research Possibilities
6.17 Conclusion
References

Citation preview

SpringerBriefs in Education

We are delighted to announce SpringerBriefs in Education, an innovative product type that combines elements of both journals and books. Briefs present concise summaries of cutting-edge research and practical applications in education. Featuring compact volumes of 50 to 125 pages, the SpringerBriefs in Education allow authors to present their ideas and readers to absorb them with a minimal time investment. Briefs are published as part of Springer’s eBook Collection. In addition, Briefs are available for individual print and electronic purchase. SpringerBriefs in Education cover a broad range of educational fields such as: Science Education, Higher Education, Educational Psychology, Assessment & Evaluation, Language Education, Mathematics Education, Educational Technology, Medical Education and Educational Policy. SpringerBriefs typically offer an outlet for: • An introduction to a (sub)field in education summarizing and giving an overview of theories, issues, core concepts and/or key literature in a particular field • A timely report of state-of-the art analytical techniques and instruments in the field of educational research • A presentation of core educational concepts • An overview of a testing and evaluation method • A snapshot of a hot or emerging topic or policy change • An in-depth case study • A literature review • A report/review study of a survey • An elaborated thesis Both solicited and unsolicited manuscripts are considered for publication in the SpringerBriefs in Education series. Potential authors are warmly invited to complete and submit the Briefs Author Proposal form. All projects will be submitted to editorial review by editorial advisors. SpringerBriefs are characterized by expedited production schedules with the aim for publication 8 to 12 weeks after acceptance and fast, global electronic dissemination through our online platform SpringerLink. The standard concise author contracts guarantee that: • an individual ISBN is assigned to each manuscript • each manuscript is copyrighted in the name of the author • the author retains the right to post the pre-publication version on his/her website or that of his/her institution

Benjamin Luke Moorhouse

Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education

Benjamin Luke Moorhouse Department of Education Studies Faculty of Social Science Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong, China

ISSN 2211-1921 ISSN 2211-193X (electronic) SpringerBriefs in Education ISBN 978-3-031-05960-5 ISBN 978-3-031-05961-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2 © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

This book is dedicated to all the pre-service teachers who missed out on the chance to teach abroad during the initial teacher education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope future generations of pre-service teachers can have the opportunity to learn and grow while teaching abroad.

Preamble

As I sat down to write this book in the summer of 2021, the world that I had known when I signed the contract to write this book (Autumn 2019) had changed fundamentally due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although different countries have been affected in different ways, the impact it has had on places of learning—such as schools, colleges and universities—has been profound. Institutions have cancelled in-person (face-to-face) teaching with educators and practitioners in a large number of countries, needing instead to find ways for their students to learn remotely (Hodges et al., 2020). At one point during the pandemic, over one billion students, representing more than 98% of the world’s student population, were affected by school closures that were mandated in order to reduce the spread of the virus (UNESCO 2020). Therefore, in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), the impact may have been even greater than in other disciplines due to the emphasis on practice and the application of theories and principles in authentic contexts, such as primary and secondary school classrooms (Allen & Wright 2013; Cirocki et al., 2019). This emphasis means that, in many institutions, ITE programmes include a wider range of experiences such as domestic professional practicums (Allen and Wright 2013), experiential learning (Gao 2015), service and community learning experiences (Amaro-Jiménez 2012; Harffit & Chow 2018), study abroad (Saviki & Brewer 2015) and/or teaching-abroad experiences (the topic of this book). Although it is not ideal, it is possible to find ways to adapt taught courses for onlineonly teaching. This can include modifying course and instructional methods for asynchronous and synchronous online modes (Moorhouse 2020). However, finding ways to adapt the practical experiences within initial teacher education was clearly more challenging. Unfortunately, many initial teacher education institutions had to modify, postpone or cancel these experiences as they could find no practical way to implement them within the complex, uncertain, fluid and often frightening context created by the pandemic. So, I admit, it did feel strange at this time to be writing a book entitled ‘Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education’, when the global pandemic is preventing human mobility (Kraemer et al., 2020). However, I also saw it as a good time to reflect on the growing literature on teaching-abroad experiences and on my own vii

viii

Preamble

experiences of leading a teaching-abroad experience for 3 consecutive years, and also to consider what ‘teaching-abroad’ could or should look like in a post-pandemic world. The book is targeted at teacher educators who are planning or currently implementing teaching-abroad experiences in ITE and wish to understand the current international practices of teaching abroad. It is also targeted at scholars and academics who are interested in researching teaching abroad in ITE and want an up-to-date source as a starting point for their exploration. I hope this book provides a succinct yet comprehensive overview of the growing field.

References Allen, J., & Wright, S. (2014). Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(2): 136–151. 10.1080/13540602. 2013.848568. Amero-Jiménez, C. (2012). Service learning: Preparing teachers to understand better culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Journal of Education for Teaching, 38(2), 211–213. Cirocki, A., Madyarov, I., Baecher, L. (2019). Contemporary perspectives on student teacher learning and the TESOL practicum. In Current Perspectives on the TESOL Practicum (pp. 1– 20). Springer: Cham. Gao, X. (2015). Promoting experiential learning in pre-service teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(4): 435–438. 10.1080/02607476.2015.1080424. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J. M. L. (2018). Transforming traditional models of initial teacher education through a mandatory experiential learning programme. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 120–129. Hodges, C. B., Moore, S., Lockee, B. B., Trust, T., Bond, M. A. (2020). The difference between emergency remote teaching and online learning. Educause Review, 27. Kraemer, M. U., Yang, C. H., Gutierrez, B., Wu, C. H., Klein, B., Pigott, D. M., et al. (2020). The effect of human mobility and control measures on the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Science, 368(6490), 493–497. Moorhouse, B.L. (2020). Adaptations to a face-to-face initial teacher education course ‘forced’ online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(4), 609–611, DOI: 10.1080/02607476.2020.1755205 UNESCO (2020). Education: From disruption to recovery UNESCO. https://en.unesco.org/cov id19/educationresponse. Accessed May 24 2020.

Acknowledgements

The success of any teaching-abroad project is dependent on the dedication, commitment and generosity of various organizations and people. I would like to acknowledge the following organizations and people who made the teaching-abroad project detailed in this book possible: • Prof. Stephen Andrews (Former Dean, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong). • Dr. Margaret Lo (My teacher and mentor). • Dr. Gary Harfitt (Former Assistant Dean, Experiential Learning, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong). • Ivy Cheung (Former Executive Office responsible for Experiential Learning, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong). • Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun GBM GBS JP and The Fan Family Charitable Trust (The project sponsors). • The teachers and students of Huizhen Academy, Ningbo (The host school). • The three cohorts of pre-service teachers who participated in the teaching-abroad project. • My colleagues in the Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong and the Department of Education Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University. • My loving wife and children.

ix

Book Introduction

This book explores Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, an increasingly common practice in the initial preparation of teachers. Teaching abroad involves pre-service teachers spending a defined period teaching in a foreign country or in an alternative, and preferably a distinctly different, education system from the one in which they are receiving their initial teacher education. The book, drawing on relevant literature and the author’s first-hand experience of developing and leading a teachingabroad project, is a concise but comprehensive introduction to the field. Important aspects of the initiative, such as rationale, project designs, benefits, criticisms and limitations, community considerations and future possibilities, are included. The book is an important starting point for teacher educators interested in developing teaching-abroad projects as well as academics and scholars interested in the principles, practices and debates around teaching abroad in initial teacher education.

xi

Contents

1 Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education . . . . 1.1 My Experience with Teaching Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2 Book Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 3 4 5

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation and Twenty-First-Century Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.1 Globalisation, Human Mobility, and Initial Teacher Education . . . . 8 2.2 Learning Through Experience and Reflecting on Experience . . . . . . 10 2.3 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning and Development During Teaching-Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 Personal Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 Context Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.3 Pedagogical Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 Sociological Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.5 Social Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17 18 19 21 25 27 29 29

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1 Duration and Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 Home and Host Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 Teaching-Abroad Sojourn Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 Teaching Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 Culture and Social Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 Supporting PSTs During Teaching-Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 Pre-Sojourn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33 35 36 37 37 39 40 40

xiii

xiv

Contents

4.8 While-Sojourn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 Post-Sojourn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42 44 45 45

5 Creating a Community of Learning During Teaching-Abroad Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1 Host Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Host Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 Teacher Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

49 50 52 53 56 56

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 Principles for Teaching-Abroad Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 Principle 1: Co-construct Project Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 Principle 2: Limit Barriers to Project Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 Principle 3: Set Clear Eligibility Criteria for PST Participation . . . . 6.5 Principle 4: Select Host Countries and Schools Carefully . . . . . . . . . 6.6 Principle 5: Decide the Timing, Duration and Intensity Carefully . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.7 Principle 6: Choose Accommodation to Maximise Immersion . . . . . 6.8 Principle 7: Prepare PSTs Thoroughly for the Sojourn . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 Principle 8: Provide a Variety of Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 Principle 9: Cultivate a Collaborative Learning Environment . . . . . . 6.11 Principle 10: Provide Opportunities for Ongoing Dialogic Reflection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.12 Principle 11: Develop Ways to Evaluate the Project Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.13 Principle 12: Involve Teacher Educators from the Home ITE Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.14 Principle 13: Consider Ways to Maintain the Project’s Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15 Future Teaching-Abroad Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15.1 Virtual Teaching-Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15.2 Students-As-Partners and Teaching Abroad . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.15.3 Reciprocal Teaching-Abroad Experiences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.16 Future Research Possibilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.17 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

59 60 61 61 62 62 63 63 64 64 64 65 65 65 66 66 67 67 68 68 70 70

About the Author

Dr. Benjamin Luke Moorhouse FHEA is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Studies, Faculty of Social Science, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China. He holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of Exeter, UK. He is a recipient of the Early Career Teaching Award 2019 from the University of Hong Kong and a Fellow of Advance HE. His research focuses on the experiences, beliefs and professional learning of pre-service and in-service teachers, with a specific focus on English language teachers. He believes strongly in the value of learning through experience and reflecting on experience. His research has appeared in international journals including Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Journal of Education for Teaching, Studying Teacher Education, Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, System, RELC Journal and ELT Journal. He is the author of the monograph Writing with Young English Language Learners published in 2020 by SEAMEO Regional English Language Centre, Singapore.

xv

Chapter 1

Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education

Abstract In this chapter, ‘teaching abroad’ will be introduced and defined, with a brief exploration of its role within initial teacher education and possible reasons for its inclusion. This is followed by an introduction to the author’s first-hand experience of leading a teaching abroad project. It ends with an overview of the content of the book. Keywords Teaching abroad · International field experience · Initial teacher education · International practicum · International professional experience For the past two to three decades, universities and initial teacher education (ITE) institutes have been offering pre-service teachers (PSTs) the opportunity to participate in teaching-abroad experiences during their ITE. Teaching abroad involves PSTs spending a defined period teaching in a foreign country (Cushner, 2007) or in an alternative, and preferably a distinctly different, education system from the one in which they are receiving their ITE. This could mean PSTs from the United States spending a period of time teaching in Mexico (e.g. Willard-Holt, 2001), PSTs from Australia teaching in India (e.g. Santoro, 2014), PSTs from Hong Kong teaching in mainland China (e.g. Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021) or PSTs from any context teaching in any other context. For the purpose of this book, ‘initial teacher education’ is defined as any teacherpreparation programme that leads to a recognised and certifiable qualification allowing graduates to teach in the country in which the qualification was awarded. ITE ‘represents the entry point into the profession’ (Musset, 2010) and is where teachers gain the knowledge, skills and attributes for teaching. The goal of ITE is, essentially, for graduates to be ‘workplace-ready’ (Clark & Newberry, 2019). In most countries, ITE is provided by universities or higher education institutions. They offer Bachelor of Education (BEd), Master of Education (MEd) or Post-Graduate Certificate /Diplomas of Education (PGCE/PGDE) qualifications, depending on national certification requirements. Traditionally, ITE programmes prepare teachers through a combination of taught courses and professional teaching practicums in school contexts. It is important to mention that while I have chosen ‘teaching abroad’ as the term to describe the experience of teaching in another country during ITE, several other terms © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_1

1

2

1 Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education

are used in the literature. Teaching abroad is also known as ‘international field experiences’ (e.g. Pence & MacGillivray, 2008), ‘international practicum’ (e.g. National Institute of Education, 2019), ‘overseas student teaching’ (e.g. Cushner & Mahon, 2002) ‘teaching practicum abroad’ (Tomaš et al., 2008), ‘international professional experience’ (e.g. Thomas & Talbot, 2019; Williams, 2019) and ‘outbound mobility experiences’ (e.g. Hepple et al., 2017; Power et al., 2017) in the related literature. The term ‘teaching abroad’ has been chosen for this book because it seems to encapsulate best what the PSTs are doing during such experiences; can help differentiate it from other experiences PSTs might be engaged in; and encompasses experiences of various durations and characteristics. Terms such as ‘international practicum’ and ‘teaching practicum abroad’ tend to give connotations of an extended period abroad, similar to that which students might experience as part of a domestic practicum, which is true of some experiences but not all of them. ‘International professional experience’ could conceivably include non-teaching related experiences, while ‘outboard mobility experiences’ is a broader term that can encompass both ‘study abroad,’ teaching abroad’ and other foreign experiences in contexts other than the PSTs’ home context (Hepple et al., 2017; Power et al., 2017). Home context refers to the locality of the students’ ITE programme. Some students may come from other international context. This book focuses on teaching abroad during ITE, which is distinctly different from other kinds of teaching in foreign contexts, such as ‘volunteerism’ (Slimbach, 2012); government-run overseas volunteer education experiences, e.g. Peace Corps; international teaching schemes, such as the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET), or the Native-speaking Teacher Scheme in Hong Kong (NSTS) (Moorhouse, 2017; Trent, 2012); or individuals who move to other countries with the intention of teaching in a new context, either temporarily or permanently (e.g. Copland et al., 2016; Slethaug, 2007). It is becoming common for students of different majors and disciplines and even for individuals to volunteer to teach for a period in a foreign country outside of formal ITE programmes. Companies, charities, government agencies, secondary schools, student unions and other organisations offer the chance for students and others to go abroad and ‘teach’. These opportunities are often promoted as ‘volunteering’, with participants paying a fee to participate (Stainton, 2018). Although, overall, these experiences are well-meaning and aim to benefit the host community, there can be an emphasis on making the participant ‘feel good’ about the experience (Stainton, 2018). Commonly, participants have limited cultural, subject and pedagogical knowledge, and lack extensive training. Predominantly these experiences involve citizens from the Global North or developed countries going to the Global South or developing countries, often to ‘teach’ English—due to the extraordinary global demand for English and English teachers (Crystal, 2012). Global North and Global South are terms used to describe a group of countries along socio-economic and political lines. The Global North refers to more affluent countries, while the Global South refers to less affluent ones. They are useful terms when discussing global inequality. However, they can lead to overgeneralisation, with unique geographical, social, historical and linguistic characteristics of a country also needing to be considered.

1.1 My Experience with Teaching Abroad

3

Obviously, these ‘alterative’ travel experiences are worth exploring and critiquing. Some literature argues for the benefits of these kinds of experiences, particularly noting that they fill a perceived need, such as a shortage of English-speaking teachers (Bernstein & Woosam, 2019). However, there is a body of literature that suggests that, if these experiences are ill-conceived and implemented, while well-intended, they can lead to more harm than good for all parties (Palacios, 2010). These experiences have been found to reinforce stereotypes around issues of race, culture, poverty and language, and a feeling of being exploited on the part of host communities (see Corbett & Fikkert, 2009; Slimbach, 2012 for discussions on the effects and issues related to teaching abroad and other alternative travel experiences outside ITE). Schemes such as JET and NET see teachers (either qualified or unqualified) from English-speaking countries working in state schools in English as a foreign language contexts. Often these schemes are designed to increase students’ exposure to English. There is a large body of literature related to international teaching schemes and teachers crossing borders to take up teaching roles in different countries (Copland et al., 2016). Teaching abroad during ITE is different to the above-mentioned experiences as it is offered only to PSTs, and forms part of their preparation for teaching. Therefore, the aim of teaching abroad during ITE is to enrich PSTs’ experiences and aid their professional learning and development.

1.1 My Experience with Teaching Abroad I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to develop and implement a teachingabroad experience that spanned three academic years. The project that I led was an optional, credit-bearing, elective course offered to students in their last three years of studying in a five-year ‘Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education (Lang)— English’ programme (BA & BEd) at the University of Hong Kong, in Hong Kong, China. During their BA & BEd, students take courses on various aspects of education, and the English-language and teaching practicums in local primary and secondary schools. The programme qualifies them to teach the English language in Hong Kong schools upon graduation, and most choose to do so. Although some students have chosen to teach abroad upon graduation including in Canada, the United Kingdom, Korea and mainland China. There are approximately 40 PSTs in each year of the programme. The teaching-abroad experience was developed in response to reforms, initiated in 2015, of the BEd part of the programme by the Faculty of Educaton, which established credit-bearing teaching-abroad projects in various countries, including Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Thailand and mainland China. These Faculty and programme reforms were in response to university reforms that created a new emphasis on experiential learning within students’ tertiary learning: Experiential learning refers to the kind of learning that requires students to tackle reallife issues and problems by drawing on theoretical knowledge that they have learnt in the

4

1 Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education formal curriculum…. Dealing with real-life problems requires students to integrate knowledge within and across disciplines, to go beyond technical considerations, and to take into account social and human factors that come into play. It is in these situations that students put theoretical knowledge to the test, gain a deeper understanding of theories and, most importantly, construct knowledge. Senate Paper, HKU, January 2012

The faculty hoped that through alternative experiences, such as teaching abroad, students could develop knowledge, skills, attributes and values that will enhance their preparedness for entering the teaching profession in Hong Kong (Harfitt & Chow, 2018) while benefitting the host communities (Gao, 2015). The project involved sessions taught at the university and a two-week experience teaching in a primary school in Ningbo, China. While Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, due to its historical context, the school systems are considerably different from one other (Morris & Adamson, 2010). As the teacher educator leading the project, I was responsible for developing, coordinating and implementing the teaching-abroad project. I conducted taught sessions and accompanied the PSTs for the full two weeks in Ningbo. The project aimed to benefit both the PSTs and the in-service teachers in Ningbo, through a ‘pedagogical exchange of ideas’ where they observed, discussed and reflected upon different teaching approaches and ideas with my support (Moorhouse, 2018). I will draw on this experience throughout the book to provide first-hand perspectives on developing, planning, implementing, evaluating and researching teaching abroad.

1.2 Book Overview This book has six chapters. In Chap. 2, the rationale for the inclusion of teachingabroad experiences in ITE programmes is discussed. In Chap. 3, the potential benefits of teaching abroad are discussed, as well as the complexities and issues inherent in such experiences. In Chap. 4, different teaching-abroad practices and projects are introduced and evaluated. In Chap. 5, attention turns to the host schools and accompanying teacher educators, and the considerations necessary for ensuring that no harm is done and that they benefit from such initiatives. In Chap. 6, principles for teaching abroad are considered, as well as future possibilities of teaching-abroad practice and research, including the potential that virtual teaching-abroad projects could provide. The book, drawing on relevant literature and the author’s first-hand experience of developing and leading a teaching abroad project for three years, is a concise but comprehensive introduction to the field. Important aspects of the initiative, such as project designs, benefits, criticisms and limitations, community considerations and future possibilities are included. The book is an important starting point for teacher educators interested in developing teaching abroad projects, as well as academics and scholars interested in the principles, practices, and debates around teaching abroad in initial teacher education.

References

5

References Bernstein, J. D., & Woosnam, K. M. (2019). Same same but different: Distinguishing what it means to teach English as a foreign language within the context of volunteer tourism. Tourism Management, 72, 427–436. Clark, S., & Newberry, M. (2019). Are we building preservice teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining teacher education experiences. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education 47(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2018.1497772. Copland, F., Garton, S., & Mann, S. (2016). LETs and NESTs: Voices, views and vignettes. British Council. Corbett, S., & Fikkert, B. (2009), When helping hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor...and yourself . Moody Publishers, Chicago, USA. Crystal, D. (2012). English as a global language. Cambridge University Press. Cushner, K. (2007). The role of experience in the making of internationally minded teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 27–39. Cushner, K., & Mahon, J. (2002). Overseas student teaching: Affecting personal, professional, and global competencies in an age of globalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 6(1), 44–58. Gao, X. (2015). Promoting experiential learning in pre-service teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(4), 435–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2015.1080424. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J.M. L. (2018). Transforming traditional models of initial teacher education through a mandatory experiential learning programme. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 120–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.021. Hepple, E., Alford, J., Henderson, D., Tangen, D., Hurwood, M., Alwi, A., et al. (2017). Developing intercultural learning in Australian pre-service teachers through participating in a short term mobility program in Malaysia. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 273–281. Moorhouse, B. L. (2017). Barriers to professionalism in the Native-Speaker Teacher Scheme in Hong Kong. TESL-EJ, 21(3), 1–17. Moorhouse, B. L. (2018). Taking an active role in our pre-service teachers’ overseas teaching experiences: A report on an experiential learning project in China. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(2), 241–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2017.1370482. Moorhouse, B. L., & Harfitt, G. J. (2021). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas during a teaching abroad experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019. 1694634. Morris, P., & Adamson, B. (2010). Curriculum, schooling, and society in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Musset, P. (2010) Initial teacher education and continuing training policies in a comparative perspective: Current practices in OECD countries and a literature review on potential effects OECD education working papers, no. 48. OECD Publishing. Palacios, C. (2010). Volunteer tourism, development and education in a postcolonial world: Conceiving global connections beyond aid. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18(7), 861–878. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669581003782739. Pence, H. M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008). The impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 14–25. Power, A., Truong, S., Gray, T., Downey, G., Hall, T., & Jones, B. (2017).When outbound mobility programs and service learning align in pre-service teacher education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18(3), 401–412. Santoro, N. (2014). If I’m going to teach about the world, I need to know the world’: developing Australian pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence through international trips. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 429–444 https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2013.832938. Slethaug, G. E. (2007). Teaching abroad: International education and the cross-cultural classroom, Vol. 1. Hong Kong University Press.

6

1 Introduction: Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education

Slimbach, R. (2012). Becoming world wise: A guide to global learning. Stylus Publishing, LLC. Stainton, H. (2018). TEFL tourism: The tourist who teaches. Tourism Geographies, 20(1), 127–143. Thomas, M. A. M., & Talbot, D. (2019). Exploring epistemologies: deepening pre-service teachers’ ways of knowing through international professional experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education.https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1695100. Tomaš, Z., Farrelly, R., & Haslam, M. (2008). Designing and implementing the TESOL teaching practicum abroad: Focus on interaction. TESOL Quarterly, 42(4), 660–664. Willard-Holt, C. (2001). The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 505–517. Williams, J. (2019). The professional learning of teacher educators leading international professional experience. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(4), 497–510.

Chapter 2

Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation and Twenty-First-Century Teaching

Abstract In this chapter, reasons for the inclusion of teaching-abroad experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) will be explored and discussed. The chapter will draw on two main interrelated justifications for the inclusion of teaching-abroad experiences in ITE: Globalisation and human mobility and learning through experience and reflecting on experience. Keywords Twenty-first century teaching · Teaching abroad · Globalisation and education · Reflective practice · Pre-service teachers Preparing teachers for the demands of teaching in the twenty-first century is the most important task facing initial teacher education (ITE) institutions globally (Ochoa, 2010). The world has changed and continues to change at an incredible speed due to globalisation and the digital revolution. Teachers, more than ever, are preparing students for a future that is hard to see, and therefore the knowledge and skills they need, unclear and ill-defined. We need, therefore, a teaching force that can respond rapidly and cater for the complex, shifting realities that the profession will inevitably face. This need is all too evident within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Teachers have had to rapidly shift their teaching to unfamiliar digital environments and cater for learners across physical distances (Moorhouse & Kohnke, 2021). Many have struggled with the changes in practices that are required. These ever ‘shifting contextual conditions’ (Gao, 2015) mean teachers’ need a different kind of preparation beyond the traditional ITE programme structure of taught courses and domestic practicums, which for years, have been criticised as falling short in the preparation of teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2006; Zeichner, 2010). Common issues include taught courses being overly theoretical (Allen & Wright, 2014) while the practicum only offers a loosely connected and narrow experience of teaching constrained by prescribed curricula, teaching plans and textbooks (Gan & Lee, 2016; Trent, 2018). Indeed, ITE graduates often struggle with the transition into the profession due to a sense of unpreparedness. Studies have highlighted that newly qualified teachers can leave ITE feeling underprepared in areas such as lesson preparation and planning (Bauml, 2014), communicating with mentors and colleagues (Hobson et al., 2009), catering to learners with diverse needs (Amaro-Jiménez, 2012), classroom management (Fantilli & McDougall, 2009) and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_2

7

8

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation …

educational technology integration (Gudmundsdottir & Hatlevik, 2017; Moorhouse, 2021; Starkey, 2020). A newly qualified teacher’s sense of preparedness can affect their self-efficacy, teaching confidence (Clark & Newberry, 2019) and job satisfaction (Mackenzie Davey & Arnold, 2000), as well as their belief that they have the knowledge and skills to carry out the duties of a teacher (Rowan, Kline, & Mayer, 2017). However, what knowledge, skills and attributes teachers’ need, and how ITE programmes can help PSTs’ acquire them, is still being debated (Cochran-Smith, 2001; Cochran-Smith et al., 2008). Clearly, ITE cannot prepare PSTs for all possible teaching contexts or scenarios, and any programme lasts for a finite time, so anything added will mean something needs to be taken away (Goodwin, 2010). This creates an immense challenge for ITE institutions and programmes. One-way ITE institutions are attempting to address this challenge is through offering additional and diverse educational experiences for PSTs. These include service learning, community-based projects (e.g. Amero-Jiménez, 2012; Harfitt & Chow, 2018), cultural-immersion experiences (see Smolcic & Katunich, 2017), and study-abroad programmes (e.g. Lee, 2009; An, 2016), as well as teaching-abroad experiences. In this chapter, given the challenges of teaching in the twenty-first century, and the finite time available to prepare teachers, reasons for the inclusion of teaching-abroad experiences in ITE will be explored and discussed. It draws on two main interrelated justifications for the inclusion of teaching-abroad experiences in ITE: Globalisation and human mobility and learning through experience and reflecting on experience.

2.1 Globalisation, Human Mobility, and Initial Teacher Education The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have seen huge increases in human mobility and dramatic changes in how people live, work, play and interact. Indeed, ‘crossborder mobility of both student-teachers and qualified teachers, which is connected to pressures to engage in flexible, transnational employment, is a key characteristic of the globalised, neoliberal economy of the twenty-first century’ (Larson, 2016, p. 402). Teaching is becoming increasingly globalised in terms of teachers and their careers (Cruickshank & Westbrook, 2013). More than ever, the country in which a teacher conducts their ITE may not be the place they end up living or working. For example, in the United Kingdom, one in six teachers qualified overseas (BBC, 2015). Indeed, several countries actively recruit teachers from overseas due to a shortage of locally trained teachers or the perception that they have specific skills lacking in the local workforce (Hong Kong Education Commission, 1995). These teachers bring with them different beliefs, competences, practices and needs from those prepared in the host country (Moorhouse, 2017). Mobility across professions is also common. Teaching has a high attrition and turnover rate compared to other professions, with recently qualified teachers more likely to leave the profession than

2.1 Globalisation, Human Mobility, and Initial Teacher Education

9

their experienced colleagues (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). For example, one analysis of two decades of administrative data on Mathemetics and English Language Arts middle school teachers in North Carolina found a turnover rate of 20–30% over a 20-year period (Sorensen & Ladd, 2020). Similarly, turnover rates have been found in other countries, such as Australia and the United Kingdom (Educational Policy Institution, 2021). Furthermore, governments are actively recruiting second-career teachers from other professions. The high attrition rate, turnover, and increasing number of second-career teachers, means that schools can lack stability and teaching teams can be quite diverse in terms of experiences. Along with the mobility of teachers is the mobility of students and their families. This mobility is both forced, due to famine and conflict, and optional, due to greater opportunities, quality of life, or education in different countries. In Hong Kong, where the initial teacher education (ITE) programme reported on in this book is situated, due to sociocultural and geographical factors, there has been a steady increase in the number of immigrants from outside of Hong Kong, primarily from Mainland China, South Asia and South-East Asia (Census and Statistics Department, 2006). In the US, almost 25% of students come from immigrant households (US Census Bureau, 2015). These students bring different social and cultural norms, different first languages, and different expectations and needs. The mobility of teachers and students mean classrooms have become more diverse, teaching teams more internationalised and it has increased mobility opportunities for teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2006; Santoro, 2014), at least those from the Global North. Human mobility has clearly affected the role and demands of teaching. No longer are subject and pedagogical knowledge alone seen as sufficient for a successful career in teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2006). Teachers need to be culturally responsive (Gay, 2000) and able to adapt to changing contextual conditions (Gao, 2015). They need the ‘ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with people whose attitudes, values, knowledge and skills may be significantly different from their own’ (Cushner, 2007, p. 27). Teachers are now required to be personally reflective—understanding how their experiences influence their decisions and actions as a teacher while confronting ‘their fears, prejudices, and misconceptions’ (Goodwin, 2010, p. 26). They need to be adaptable, able to engage in evidence-based problem-solving in evolving situations. ‘In order to prepare their students to be citizens of a global as well as a national society, prospective teachers need to themselves become comfortable as citizens of the world. They need to gain knowledge about the rest of the world and, through interaction with others, be able to take off their own country’s glasses and look at the world from multiple perspectives’ (Wilson, 1993, p. 21). Jansen (2007, p. 25) sums up the effects of globalisation on education: ‘In terms of education, globalisation has redefined how we teach, what we teach, where we teach, whom we teach—and even whether we teach.’ Combined with the demographic changes, teachers’ responsibilities are becoming more expansive; they are now seen to ‘extend far beyond the narrow boundaries of subject knowledge towards an understanding of and engagement with the child in its social context’ (Purdy & Gibson, 2008, p. 2076). Darling-Hammond (2006) contrasts the responsibilities of teachers today to those of the past:

10

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation … In previous decades, teachers were expected to prepare only a small minority for ambitious intellectual work, whereas they are now expected to prepare virtually all students for higher order thinking and performance skills once reserved for a few (p. 300).

The increased complexity and diversity provide clear justification for the inclusion of alternative experiences in ITE, such as teaching abroad. Through working and living in a different context and culture, PSTs and other stakeholders can gain cross-cultural understandings and perspectives that would be challenging to gain domestically (Cushner, 2007). Added to this is the desire amongst universities to internationalise to increase their global reputations and rankings. Universities and ITE institutions are exploring ways to internationalise their student bodies, faculties and programmes. Globally, universities actively recruit students and faculty from different countries, and develop international partnerships and programmes with partner institutions in various contexts around the world. In teacher education, this has led to reciprocal teaching abroad opportunities (Buchanan & Widodo, 2016; Stachowski & Sparks, 2007), with PSTs from different institutions being provided with the opportunity to teach in the respective contexts. However, not everyone is comfortable with the push for more international ITE curriculums, as ‘resistance to internationalization stems from a longstanding belief that teacher education programmes should prepare educators to teach locally’ (Larson, 2016, p. 404). Yet, this book will argue that, if implemented well, following certain principles, international experiences can aid in the preparation of educators to teach locally and develop competences that complement and go beyond those developed in domestic practicums (Buchanan, 2018). The knowledge, skills, attributes and values gained can better place PSTs, upon certification, to teach in domestic and international contexts (Larson, 2016). Indeed, research into recently qualified teachers suggests that teachers feel that the experience they had while participating in a teaching-abroad project added to their preparedness to teach (Moorhouse, 2020). Chapter 3 provides a detailed discussion of PSTs’ personal and professional learning.

2.2 Learning Through Experience and Reflecting on Experience ITE has long been criticised for its theory and practice divide (Ryan, 2012), with an emphasis on the acquisition and regurgitation of expert-generated knowledge in academic discourses. PSTs attend courses taught by educational experts, diligently engage in the readings and related tasks and are then assessed on the knowledge with which they have been presented. They can struggle to make a connection between what they are learning and their future roles as teachers. Indeed, many PSTs graduate feeling ill-prepared practically, and this can lead to them following the practices of their own teachers (Lortie, 1975) or the dominant practices in their school, without considering new ways of thinking about and doing teaching.

2.2 Learning Through Experience and Reflecting on Experience

11

In most programmes, the domestic teaching practicum, where students spend a fixed period of time on placement in a school, is seen as the context where PSTs can make connections between the theory they learn in courses and the reality of teaching. The practicum should be a safe mediated space for students to practice the skills of teaching and gain insights and feedback on how they can develop themselves. However, challenges can lie in the limited experiences that the domestic practicum offers. First, during the practicum, PSTs may work with a group of learners with whom they share a first language and culture. This linguistic and cultural homogeneity may not prepare them for working in other countries or with learners from different cultures. Furthermore, PSTs may interact with students or teachers with different cultural backgrounds without having an immersion experience in those cultures. They may hold stereotypes of certain learners from different cultural backgrounds (Sleeter, 2001) or fail to notice ‘cultural, ethnic, or racial differences between themselves and their students’ (Pilonieta et al., 2017, p. 22). For example, in Hong Kong, PSTs teachers have been found to perceive new immigrants from Mainland China negatively and see them as deficient when compared to ‘local’ students (Wing & Gao, 2014). Second, conducting the practicum in the educational context in which they received their education may lead them to take its practices as common sense and limit their critical evaluation of the methods that the teachers adopt. They can become ‘socialised’ into the teaching profession by following the practices of the teaching practicum school and mentor, rather than the skills and knowledge they are learning in their university-based courses (Cahn, 2014; Farrell, 2008). In Hong Kong, PSTs and even experienced teachers often feel pressured to adapt to school practices and norms by having to implement rigid and standardised curriculums and teaching approaches (Moorhouse, 2018; Trent, 2018). Finally, PSTs can lack interaction and the opportunity to learn collaboratively with their peers (Cho & Peter, 2017), often because of placements in different schools (Tomaš et al., 2008). Tomaš et al. (2008) state that ‘although some practicum programs encourage preservice teachers to give each other feedback through peer response, preservice teachers are not generally able to engage in intensive observations of each other’s work in the cooperative classroom or to collaborate on lesson planning’ (p. 660). Despite these potential limitations, domestic practicums remain an important part of professional ITE programmes (Farrell, 2008; Funk & Hoffman, 1982; Trent, 2018). It seems that traditional ITE programmes may not provide enough opportunities for ‘learning through experience and reflecting on experience.’ If we are placed into a context where we feel comfortable and safe, ‘our comfort zone,’ it is likely, unless challenged by others, that we will draw upon familiar and automatic processes to navigate the situation. What we experience will be ‘common-sense’ to us—and we will see no reason to critique it. Learning how to reflect on such experiences, through guided reflection practices or dialogic reflection with others, can allow us to critique these experiences and learn (Richards & Farrell, 2011). However, without first-hand experiences where our common-sense views are challenged, we may fail to learn from these experiences—what we are experiencing fits well into our terms of reference. This provides a strong rationale for alternative experiences in unfamiliar environments where our beliefs, conceptions and practices are made evident

12

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation …

(Talbot & Thomas, 2019). These opportunities can help PSTs connect the beliefs and experiences of others to their own situation, so they can ‘sensitively reflect different values, experiences and challenges and interact with diverse students’ and teachers (Harfitt & Chow, 2020). Teaching-abroad experiences, as a disruptive event (Buchanan, 2018), can provide a context for learning as PSTs often find themselves in a situation they have never been before. For example, • • • • •

from being an ethnic majority, to be an ethnic minority, from being an insider to an outsider, from being literate to being illiterate, from being a native speaker to being a non-native speaker, from being culturally knowledgeable to being unknowledgeable

In addition, being away from their home, and immersed in the unfamiliar environment, creates time and space for PSTs to think about teaching, learning and wider educational issues that the hustle and bustle of everyday life may not afford. As PSTs collaborate and problem-solve in the unfamiliar but authentic environment, such ‘situated experience’ creates new learning opportunities (Gross & Rutland, 2017). So, for learning to occur, the context of the experience is important, but so too is the opportunity, ability and appropriate conditions needed to reflect on the experience. As the educational philosopher Dewey (1938) stated, In the final analysis there is your experience. [Things happen over which we have no control]. Then there is our experience of our experience in which we actively impute conscious and unconscious meanings to our experience. Hence we move from reacting to experience to actively adding something of ourselves in making meaning out of the raw data of our experience.

This has come to be interpreted as the idea that the experience itself is not enough for us to learn from; we need to reflect actively and consciously on our experiences in order to learn, or, the words attributed to Dewey, that seem to be hard to find in context, ‘We do not learn from an experience … We learn from reflecting on an experience.’ Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one’s actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning (Schön, 1983). It involves ‘paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight’ (Bolton, 2010). A common element of reflection is the notion of a problem (a puzzling, curious, or perplexing situation) (Loughran, 2002). This is where unfamiliar environments and experiences can help us to become more reflective as we face curious and puzzling situations that challenge our thinking. We can then attempt to see the problem in different ways, through a process of framing and reframing which then influences our beliefs and actions (Loughran, 2002). Without genuine reflection, teaching-abroad experiences are found to be problematic (Santoro, 2014), as they can reinforce negative pre-conceptions around race, religion and poverty. It is the careful, guided and scaffolded effort to help PSTs put themselves in the shoes of the teachers and students with whom they are working, and understand the world from their perspectives, that can make teaching abroad transformative. This places the accompanying teacher educators, host teachers and other

References

13

PSTs in an important role in the process of the PSTs’ professional learning during the sojourn, as it is them, through open, non-judgemental and sustained dialogue, who can help them make sense of what they are experiencing and help make connections. Indeed, these stakeholders can foster a community of learning through a pedagogical exchange of ideas (Goodwin, 2010; Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021), where everyone has something to gain from the experience. The professional learning of the PSTs is discussed in Chap. 3, and host teachers, students and accompanying teacher educators in Chap. 5.

2.3 Conclusion In this chapter, two interconnected justifications for the inclusion of teaching-abroad experiences in ITE have been presented. Globalisation and human mobility have had a dramatic effect on teaching and the role of teachers, requiring teachers equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to adjust to changing realities and support the learning of diverse students who come to school with experiences, beliefs and needs that are different from their own. Through engaging in teaching-abroad experiences, PSTs can gain knowledge and skills that can help them navigate the complexity of teaching in the twenty-first century. Second, the immersive, situated, unfamiliar context provided by teaching abroad can provide the conditions for personal and professional transformative learning through experience and reflecting on experience.

References Allen, J., & Wright, S. (2014). Integrating theory and practice in the pre-service teacher education practicum. Teachers and Teaching, 20(2), 136–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2013. 848568. Amaro-Jiménez, C. (2012). Service learning: Preparing teachers to understand better culturally and linguistically diverse learners. Journal of Education for Teaching, 38(2), 211–213. https://doi. org/10.1080/02607476.2012.656448. An, H. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of research on efficacy and implementation of study abroad programs for P-12 teachers. IGI Global. Bauml, M. (2014). Collaborative lesson planning as professional development for beginning primary teachers. The New Educator 10(3), 182–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688X.2014.925741. BBC. (2015). One in six new teachers in England ‘qualified overseas’. https://www.bbc.com/news/ education-34808506. Accessed 25 October 2021. Bolton, G. (2010). Reflective practice: Writing and professional development. Sage. Buchanan, J., & Widodo, A. (2016). Your place or mine? Global imbalances in internationalisation and mobilisation in educational professional experience. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(2), 355–364. Buchanan, J. (2018). Wish you were here: Academic supervision of international professional experience. The Australian Universities’ Review, 60(2), 15–24.

14

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation …

Clark, S., & Newberry, M. (2019). Are we building preservice teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining teacher education experiences. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 32–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2018.1497772. Cahn, L. V. (2014). Great expectations: The TESOL practicum as a professional learning experience. TESOL Journal, 5(2), 199–224. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.103 Census and Statistics Department. (2006). Population By–census. Census and Statistics Department. Cho, H., & Peter, L. (2017). Taking the TESOL practicum abroad: Opportunities for critical awareness and community-building among preservice teachers. In W. Paterson (Ed.), Handbook of research on efficacy and implementation of study abroad programs for P-12 teachers (pp. 149–171). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Cochran-Smith, M. (2001). The outcomes question in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(5), 527–546. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00012-9. Cochran-Smith, M., Feiman-Nemser, S., & McIntyre, J. (Eds.). (2008). Handbook of research on teacher education (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge. Cruickshank, K., & Westbrook, R. (2013). Local and global–conflicting perspectives? The place of overseas practicum in preservice teacher education. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), 55–68. Cushner, K. (2007). The role of experience in the making of internationally minded teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 27–39. Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Powerful teacher education: Lessons from exemplary programs. Jossey-Bass. Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Collier Books. Educational Policy Institution. (2021). Local pay and teacher retention in England. Accessed 25 October 2021. Farrell, T. S. (2008). ‘Here’s the book, go teach the class’: ELT practicum support. RELC Journal, 39(2), 226–241. Funk, F., & Hoffman, J. (1982). The cooperating teacher as most significant other: A competent humanist. Action in Teacher Education, 4(2), 31–38. Gan, Z., & Lee, F. K. J. (2016). Understanding ESL student teachers’ learning of classroom practices in the practicum: A case study in Hong Kong. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 25(2), 251–266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0258-x. Gao, X. (2015). Promoting experiential learning in pre-service teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(4), 435–438. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2015.1080424. Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press. Goodwin, A. L. (2010). Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: Rethinking knowledge domains for teaching. Teaching Education, 21(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/104762109034 66901. Gross, Z., & Rutland, S. D. (2017). Experiential learning in informal educational settings. International Review of Education, 63, 1–8. Gudmundsdottir, G. B., & Hatlevik, O. E. (2017). Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: Implications for teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 214–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.14160. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J.M. L. (2018). Transforming traditional models of initial teacher education through a mandatory experiential learning programme. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 120–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.03.021. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J. M. L. (2020). Employing community-based experiential learning in teacher education. Springer Publications. Hong Kong Education Commission. (1995). Hong Kong Commission Report No. 6 Consultation Document. Hong Kong: Government Printer. Ingersoll, R. M., & Smith, T. M. (2003). The wrong solution to the teacher shortage. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 30–33.

References

15

Jansen, J. (2007). Learning and leading in a globalized world: Lesson from South Africa. In T. Townsend & R. Bates (Eds.), Handbook of teacher education: Globalization, standards and professionalism in times of change (pp. 23–40). Springer. Larsen, M. A. (2016). Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: A comparative case study of Canada and Greater China. Teaching Education, 27(4), 396–409. Lee, J. F. K. (2009). ESL student teachers’ perceptions of a short-term overseas immersion programme. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(8), 1095–1104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate. 2009.03.004. Lortie, D. C. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago Press. Loughran, J. J. (2002). Effective reflective practice: In search of meaning in learning about teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 33–43. Mackenzie Davey, K. M., & Arnold, J. (2000). A multi-method study of accounts of personal change by graduates starting work: Self-ratings, categories and women’s discourses. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(4), 461–486. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317 900167164. Moorhouse, B. L. (2017). Barriers to professionalism in the Native–Speaker Teacher Scheme in Hong Kong. TESL-EJ, 21(3): 1–17. Moorhouse, B. L. (2018). Taking an active role in our pre-service teachers’ overseas teaching experiences: A report on an experiential learning project in China. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(2), 241–242. Moorhouse, B. L. (2020). Teaching Abroad during Initial Teacher Education: The effects as perceived by recently qualified teachers on their preparedness for teaching. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. [Ahead-of-Print] https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1755222. Moorhouse B. L. (2021). Beginning teaching during COVID-19: newly qualified Hong Kong teachers’ preparedness for online teaching, Educational Studies. [Ahead-of-Print]. https://doi. org/10.1080/03055698.2021.1964939. Moorhouse, B. L., & Harfitt, G. J. (2021). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas during a teaching abroad experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019. 1694634. Moorhouse, B. L., & Kohnke, L. (2021). Thriving or surviving emergency remote teaching necessitated by COVID-19: University teachers’ perspectives. Asia Pacific Education Researcher. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s40299-021-00567-9. Ochoa, A. M. (2010). International education in higher education: A developing process of engagement in teacher preparation programs. Teaching Education, 21(1), 103–112. Pilonieta, P., Medina, A. L., & Hathaway, J. I. (2017). The impact of a study abroad experience on preservice teachers’ dispositions and plans for teaching English language learners. The Teacher Educator, 52(1), 22–38. Purdy, N., & Gibson, K. (2008). Alternative placements in initial teacher education: An evaluation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(8), 2076–2086. Richards, J. C., & Farrell, T. S. (2011). Practice teaching: A reflective approach. Cambridge University Press. Rowan, L., Kline, J, & Mayer. D. (2017). Early career teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach ‘Diverse Learners’: Insights from an Australian research project. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(10). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n10.5. Ryan, A. (2012). Integrating experiential and academic learning in teacher preparation for development education. Irish Educational Studies, 31(1), 35–50. Santoro, N. (2014). ‘If I’m going to teach about the world, I need to know the world’: Developing Australian pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence through international trips. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 429–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2013.832938. Schon, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action (Vol. 5126). Basic Books.

16

2 Teaching-Abroad as Response to Globalisation …

Sleeter, C. (2001). Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools: Research and the overwhelming presence of whiteness. Journal of Teacher Education, 52, 94–106. Smolcic, E., & Katunich, J. (2017). Teachers crossing borders: A review of the research into cultural immersion field experience for teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 62, 47–59. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.11.002. Sorensen, L. C., & Ladd, H. F. (2020). The hidden costs of teacher turnover. AERA Open, 6(1), 2332858420905812. Stachowski, L. L., & Sparks, T. (2007). Thirty years and 2,000 student teachers later: An overseas student teaching project that is popular, successful, and replicable. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 115–132. Starkey, L. (2020). A review of research exploring teacher preparation for the digital age. Cambridge Journal of Education, 50(1), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2019.1625867. Talbot, D., & Thomas, M. A. (2019). Experience in another place: teacher learning from an overseas placement. Teaching Education, 1–18. Tomaš, Z., Farrelly, R., & Haslam, M. (2008). Designing and implementing the TESOL teaching practicum abroad: Focus on interaction. TESOL Quarterly, 42(4), 660–664. Trent, J. (2018). ‘Fitting in’ or ‘being different’? Integration, separation, and identity construction during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Teacher Development, 22(4), 571–586. U.S. Census Bureau. (2015, April 8). Recent population trends for the U.S. island areas: 2000 to 2010 (Report No. P23–213). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Wing (Brad) Chan, Y., & Gao, X. (2014). Pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of newly arrived children from Mainland China. Journal of Education for Teaching, 40(2), 140–154. Wilson, A. H. (1993). Conversation partners: Helping students gain a global perspective through cross-cultural experiences. Theory Into Practice, 32(1), 21–26. http://www.jstor.org/stable/147 6478. Zeichner, K. (2010). Rethinking the connections between campus courses and field experiences in college and university-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1–2), 89–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109347671.

Chapter 3

Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning and Development During Teaching-Abroad

Abstract As teaching-aboard experiences in initial teacher education have become more commonplace, there has been an increase in the amount of research on the affordances and benefits of these experiences on participating pre-service teachers (PSTs). The chapter presents the existing research within the five knowledge domains for teaching in a global context proposed by (Goodwin, 2010). It also presents key considerations pertaining to each domain to maximise PSTs’ professional learning and development. Keywords Twenty-first century teaching · Teaching abroad · Teacher professional learning · Reflective practice · Pre-service teachers As has been stated in previous chapters, teaching-abroad experiences have become more commonplace in initial teacher education (ITE), and this has led to a considerable amount of research on the affordances and benefits of such experiences on PSTs’ learning and development (e.g. Cushner & Mahon, 2002; Larson et al., 2017; Kabilan, 2013; Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021) The research has tended to focus on the personal and professional growth of PSTs, such as the knowledge, skills, values and attributes they gain that better prepares them for teaching in complex and diverse contexts. In fact, in most of the literature, the benefits of teaching abroad are assumed. As Cantalini-Williams et al. (2014) suggested, ‘it is widely accepted that diverse practicum experiences contribute to professional growth among teacher candidates’ (p. 22). To help present the potential affordances of teaching-abroad on PSTs’ learning and development, and subsequent readiness for teaching, Goodwin’s (2010) five knowledge domains for quality teaching in a global context are used as a framework. Through using the domains, the intention is to present a holistic overview of the potential teaching-abroad affords as part of ITE in enhancing PSTs’ knowledge and competence as future educators. It is important to note, and has also been observed by others (Parr & Chan, 2015), that most studies exploring teaching abroad have been conducted by teacher educators, who have a vested interest in the success of such experiences. This knowledge can help readers place the following discussion in context. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_3

17

18

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

3.1 Personal Knowledge PSTs enter ITE with broad and diverse lived experiences. Unlike most other professions, PSTs have had extensive exposure to the profession, and those that work within it, daily, for most of their lives. As kindergarten, primary, secondary school and university students, they will have, consciously or unconsciously, gone through an ‘apprenticeship of observation’ (Lortie, 1975) where they form conceptualisation, assumptions, and expectations which constitutive their beliefs about teaching and learning (Goodwin, 2010). In fact, these pre-teacher preparation experiences are argued to have a bigger effect on their personal knowledge of teaching, and teaching behaviours, than their ITE (Richardson, 1996). Because of this, Goodwin (2010) and others suggest that ITE programmes need to acknowledge students’ past educational experiences and help them make connections between these experiences and what they are learning during their training. Through meaningful engagement with their lived experiences and time spent acknowledging, discussing, evaluating, critiquing and reflecting upon them, it is hoped that the knowledge, skills, values and attributes that they are exposed to during their ITE can be integrated into the PSTs thoughts and actions (Goodwin, 2010). A challenge for teacher educators, though, is that the experiences they may have during their ITE may support and validate their own lived experiences, or reinforce the belief that the theories and practices that they are learning in ITE are not applicable to the real world. It is possible, and even likely, that teachers with whom they interact during domestic teaching practicums will have similar beliefs and practices to those of their previous teachers. The PSTs may see their practices as common-sense and refrain from critiquing or evaluating the methods adopted. They can become ‘socialised’ into the teaching profession by following the practices of the teaching practicum school and mentor, rather than the skills and knowledge they are learning in their university-based courses (Cahn, 2014; Farrell, 2008). While some socialisation is beneficial and helps PSTs become accepted into the school community, some practices or attitudes within the workplace may be problematic. It is hoped PSTs can recognise these and challenge them. If we want beginning teachers to help transform practices over time, rather than continue practices found to be problematic, this needs to be a key aim of ITE. Teaching abroad has the potential to create an environment where PSTs need to think more critically about their existing knowledge and practical theories. Away from their ‘home’ environment—and fully immersed in a different physical space, linguistic environment and culture—notions that seemed like common sense can suddenly feel less so, as they do not fit what they observe and experience. This process of personal growth and development can accelerate as they interact and engage with teachers and learners with different knowledge, theories and assumptions about teaching and learning than themselves in situ. Through observing different practices, questioning their assumptions, and working and dialoguing with teachers and learners in the host context, they can gain a greater awareness of themselves and

3.2 Context Knowledge

19

others. For example, Cushner (2007) found that students who take part in teachingabroad ‘learn a significant amount about themselves as well as others, primarily by making the effort to understand another’s point of view’ (p. 31). Likewise, Kabilan (2013) found that exposure to a different worldview during teaching abroad allowed students to discern different educational philosophies that underline the way teachers teach and expect students to learn. The author suggested that ‘the comparisons and some of their experiences and understanding of the various philosophies enrich their knowledge, which in turn may have contributed to their own learning, development and growth as a future English language teacher’ (p. 206). It is important to mention, though, that while teaching-abroad experiences may provide a context for students to learn about themselves and critique their lived experiences with the aim of personal growth, such growth is not automatic and such experiences are potentially traumatic for PSTs. As Buchanan and Widodo (2016) argue, ‘an intercultural encounter of any kind is no guarantee of engendering deeper respect, understanding, and empathy for the other’ (p. 356). For example, Santoro (2014) reported on a study in which Australian preservice teachers went to India to teach English in orphanages and schools for the disabled. She found that the experience reinforced cultural stereotypes and biases around race, ethnicity, and poverty. The risk that such experience may strengthen and solidify students’ pre-existing conceptualisations, or senses of superiority and inferior other, are real ones (Parr, 2012; Santoro, 2014). Furthermore, assumptions of pedagogical superiority (Matthew & Talbot, 2021) may lead PSTs to look down on more experienced host teachers with whom they work (Buchanan et al., 2017). Therefore, teacher educators need to carefully and cautiously consider how to capitalise on the unfamiliar context teaching-abroad experiences affords in the learning and development of PSTs personal knowledge. Going abroad is not enough to develop personal knowledge and reflectivity (Santoro, 2014). Creating opportunities for students to reflect on their own conceptions is essential in ITE for students to become more open-minded about differences and the constantly adapting and changing field. However, these opportunities must be pursued in a safe and guided way.

3.2 Context Knowledge Any teacher will know that classrooms are complex places inhabited by learners with unique and diverse needs, lived experiences, interests, motivations, cultures, and expectations. As Goodwin (2010) articulates, ‘it would be presumptuous for teacher educators to believe that we can identify a priori that all our student teachers will need to know in order to be successful with the wide variety of human beings with whom they will work and in the varied settings in which they will do this work’ (p. 24). Graduates from my institution in Hong Kong have gone on to work in primary schools, secondary schools, schools for students with special education needs, private and state schools. They have begun their career in schools in Hong Kong or moved to other regions and countries, including mainland China, the United

20

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

Kingdom, Korea and probably other contexts as well. Today, teaching contexts could also mean either physical, in-person teaching contexts or virtual, online teaching contexts (Moorhouse & Kohnke, 2021). Furthermore, classrooms are becoming more culturally diverse (Hepple et al., 2017). It is important then that we equip students with the knowledge, skills, values and attributes that will help them effectively adapt to different and evolving teaching contexts and cater for the needs of diverse learners. The notion of context is a diverse and broad term itself, and it can be helpful to break it down into micro, meso and macro levels. These levels are interrelated. At the micro level, the classroom itself, teachers need the ability to create an inclusive learning environment that enables student learning and holistic development. This will involve gathering information, planning, decision-making, evaluating and reflecting on their students’ behaviours and actions as part of the teaching and learning cycle. At the meso level, teachers need to be able to comprehend, navigate and contribute to cultures, policies and systems. At the macro level, the community, education system and wider society, teachers need to be able to understand the role of education and schooling, and interact with various educational stakeholders. Furthermore, they need to understand the complex and fluid relationship between the micro, meso and macro contexts within the historical, sociocultural context that influenced the current way of thinking and doing. Although PSTs may feel they have an understanding of the context in which they are preparing to teach, often, they fail to see that different students experience the same system differently. They may hold stereotypes of certain learners from different cultural backgrounds (Sleeter, 2008) or fail to notice ‘cultural, ethnic, or racial differences between themselves and their students’ (Pilonieta et al., 2017, p. 22). Indeed, Salter et al. (2013) argued that ‘time in school alone is insufficient to develop the knowledge, skills and attributes required of teachers to address student diversity in meaningful ways’ (p. 85). When you consider that graduates could be teaching in any number of contexts, all potentially unique, as Goodwin (2010) mentioned, ‘A discussion about contextual knowledge on a global scale highlights the myriad changes all societies have undergone, as well as the many complexities young people face daily. Quality teachers for global communities need to develop an awareness of these numerous realities’ (p. 24). International experiences, such as teaching abroad, have been suggested as a way to help PSTs gain the knowledge, skills, values and attributes needed to become more aware of, and responsive to, their home teaching context while also being able to navigate and adapt to a myriad of complex, diverse, international environments. Roberts (2007) and Trilokekar and Kukar (2011) found that PSTs who participated in teaching-abroad experiences were more culturally aware, sensitive, and better able to interact with culturally and linguistically diverse students in a variety of contexts. Other studies have shown how PSTs become more open-minded and respectful of other cultures, showing greater empathy to their future students (Mwebi & Brigham, 2009). Indeed, many studies have focused on the benefits of teaching abroad in developing PSTs’ intercultural competence. These benefits have been found in situations where the cultures between the home and host countries are very different (Uusimaki & Swirski, 2016), and even in situations where they are seen as quite similar (e.g. Australia and USA, as reported on by Tambyah 2019). In Tambyah’s (2019)

3.3 Pedagogical Knowledge

21

study, even though it can be argued that Australia and the USA share many common characteristics, the PSTs who went to the US reported development and growth in contextual knowledge. One example was the use of language. The PSTs became more conscious of the Australian colloquialisms and phrases such as ‘hat meant beanie, pop meant soda, trash can meant bin’ in the US. This led them to understand that language was pivotal to communication, especially when teaching in different cultures, as well as the challenges that might be felt by students who have recently moved to a country or come from a different linguistic background. Marion, a PST in Tambyah’s study, reflected on this new awareness after her experience in the US: I now also have a much greater understanding for students who have moved from another country and who might one day be in my classroom. I think that the experience of speaking differently to everyone else in the room has made me realise how much of a struggle it is for children to start school in a new country. I know how hard it is for me and I am still speaking the same language as everyone else. I can’t imagine what it is like for students who have English as an additional language (p. 115).

This new awareness has been found in other studies, showing that these kinds of immersive experiences in unfamiliar environments can help PSTs reflect on the potential diversity that they may find in their future classrooms. Studies have found that the school environments, curriculums, teacher identity and value of schooling or specific subjects have also contributed to the development of the sojourners’ contextual knowledge. Hepple et al. (2017) called this ‘putting ourselves in another’s place’ (p. 279). The teaching-abroad experience alerts PSTs to the diverse learning contexts internationally and how they can create an inclusive classroom in their home country. In my experience, the PSTs I worked with became more conscious of the needs of linguistically diverse students and the challenges evident in low resource contexts with large groups of learners. However, as with personal knowledge, developing contextual knowledge is not a given, and students might not transfer what they are observing and experiencing to their home context. They can easily leave with a superficial understanding—such as ‘that was there, this is here!’—rather than a deep understanding of the complexity and uniqueness of the contexts. To help students make connections between their teaching-abroad experience and their future teaching contexts, the PSTs need to be provided with opportunities to reflect through guided reflection activities (Hepple et al., 2017). Therefore, opportunities for pre-sojourn, during-sojourn and postsojourn dialogic and guided reflection need to be provided, as do opportunities for personal reflection (See chapter three for activities that can aid reflective practice).

3.3 Pedagogical Knowledge According to Guerriero (2014), pedagogical knowledge refers to’the specialised knowledge of teachers for creating effective teaching and learning environments for all students’ (p. 2). The development of pedagogical knowledge is likely to be the focus of most ITE programmes, and acquiring it the priority of most PSTs. Yet, what

22

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

constitutes pedagogical knowledge, and how PSTs acquire it, are still debated within the educational field. There are, though, established concepts that we can use to categorise teacher knowledge. The first key study on teacher knowledge (Shulman, 1987) categorised teacher knowledge into seven categories, among which were the concepts of: • general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) • pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). GPK is concerned with knowledge general to all teachers regardless of their subject discipline, though it is still context-specific. This could include aspects such as classroom management strategies. PCK is the knowledge that integrates the content knowledge of a specific subject with the pedagogical knowledge needed to teach that specific subject. For example, in English language education, PCK could include the ability to exploit literary texts for language teaching (Richards, 2010). Teachers with relevant content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge will be able to make ‘better and more appropriate decisions about teaching and learning’ (Richards, 2010, p. 106). Richards (2010, p. 105) suggests a sound grounding in relevant PCK can prepare teachers to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Understand learners’ needs Diagnose learners’ learning problems Plan suitable instructional goals for lessons Select and design learning tasks Evaluate student learning Design and adapt tests Evaluate and choose published materials Adapt commercial materials Make appropriate use of technology Evaluate their own lessons.

However, while there are many books and articles exploring pedagogical knowledge, what exactly constitutes GPK and PCK remains unclear, and studies exploring the relationship between pedagogical knowledge and practice have provided mixed results (Bartels, 2005). This has led scholars to suggest that only equipping PSTs with different methods, or a ‘teaching tool kit’, may not be the best way to ensure graduates have what they need in order to teach effectively. Indeed the list of ‘tasks’ relevant PCK should allow teachers to do, proposed by Richards above, show that knowledge of methods alone is not enough to constitute teacher knowledge. Instead, we need to help them develop the ability to integrate GPK and PCK with their personal and contextual knowledge, so as to come up with pedagogical solutions and sequences of learning that move their students’ learning forward (Goodwin, 2010). ITE has been criticised for an overemphasis on content, methods and theories, with PSTs rarely given the opportunity to develop curriculum or sequences of learning. Often, they are required to learn established methods and approaches and implement them during their practicums while following externally imposed curricula developed by experts (Trent, 2018). This separation of instruction and curriculum, with teachers tasked

3.3 Pedagogical Knowledge

23

only with delivering a pre-designed curriculum, is problematic. First, they can feel a sense of detachment from the curriculum and a lack of autonomy to make decisions in the best interests of their learners. Second, they can become reliant on textbooks and other materials. In my experience in Hong Kong, it is common to hear teachers in staff rooms talking about ‘chasing the curriculum’ and having to complete ‘every page of the textbook’ regardless of the value they feel the materials have for teaching and learning and studies have found teachers are over-reliant on textbooks (Chien & Young, 2007). Standardised practices, such as assigning homework daily, can also restrict teachers’ autonomy, ownership and decision-making abilities (Moorhouse, 2018). PSTs often complain that they do not have the autonomy to develop learning sequences, lessons or activities that they feel would benefit their learners. This lack of autonomy can be coupled with an inadequate emphasis on curriculum design in ITE programmes, meaning teachers can feel that they lack the knowledge needed to design curricula for their learners. While teaching abroad is not, on its own, a solution to the issues raised above, a well-designed immersive experience—where the PSTs are living, planning, teaching and reflecting together for a specified period of time—can create a context for the development of pedagogical knowledge. Talbot and Thomas (2019) attest that ‘the “live-in”, overseas placement removes PSTs and academic mentors from many of the demands of their daily lives, creating “time” and “space” in which to approach learning to teach differently’ (p. 15). Working closely and intensively with host teachers, peers and teacher educators provides a context for pedagogical development and growth. In many of the studies, the explicit ways the projects reported on are designed to help develop the sojourners’ pedagogical knowledge are described and evaluated. The practices that seem to have the most positive effects are team teaching, lesson study, guided reflection and teacher autonomy (e.g. Ateskan, 2016; Cho & Peter, 2017; Toma´s et al., 2008). Ateskan (2016) found that the Turkish PSTs in the project he reported on felt they learned teaching skills from working with their peers and host teachers in the USA while being able to observe different learning strategies and techniques not common in Turkey but common in the USA. In the teaching-abroad project I was involved in, we designed it to include the practices identified in the literature to be beneficial to PSTs’ pedagogical knowledge. We agreed with the host school that the lessons would be developed and taught by two PSTs and one host teacher, creating a teaching team. These teams would teach one grade. The team would teach two or three classes at each level, adopting the lesson-study approach (Fernandez, 2002), where the team would develop a lesson, teach the lesson, receive feedback from the project leader or peers, and reteach the lesson to another class. In this way, teams would feel supported and encouraged to try new teaching ideas and methods. As the teachers and I felt the textbook adopted by the host school was too restrictive and did not match the learners’ needs, it was agreed that the teams would have the autonomy to develop their own teaching units and materials. These practices, we believe, contributed to the success of the project and the PSTs pedagogical development. In one of our studies where we examined one cohort of students’ learning from the project, we found that the PSTs did seem to develop pedagogical knowledge. We concluded that,

24

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning … The PSTs were found to reflect and re-examine their own learning and abilities and through their adjustment to the unfamiliar context, they become responsive to their learners’ needs, developed pedagogical skills beyond those developed in their domestic practicum, and through collaboration developed rapport and respect for the teachers and students in the school (cited in Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 12).

A follow-up study conducted on the students who participated in the project, who had graduated within two to four years after attending the sojourn and were teaching in schools, found that the participants perceived that the project benefitted their transition into teaching (Moorhouse, 2020). They reported positive effects on their lesson preparation and planning, and on their teaching confidence and flexibility. The following extract shows how one of the sojourners, Kate, believed the teachingabroad project helped her with lesson preparation and use of the textbook: The experience I had allows me to think more outside the box now whenever I plan lessons and design materials. Whilst having poor textbooks [in the Ningbo school], a lot of autonomy was given to me at the time and I had a lot of guidance and support from [the course tutor] and my mentor, so I was able to teach nice lessons and conduct interesting activities with my teaching partner, and we constantly sought improvements. This influences me not to be bound by the limitations of the textbooks. The textbooks may be inauthentic or poorly written, but teachers are here to get the most out of students by using textbooks wisely (cited in Moorhouse, 2020, p. 6).

Similarly, Sarah shared her reflections on how the teaching-abroad project increased her confidence and flexibility to address unforeseen situations and learn from lessons that did not go as planned: In Ningbo, I learned that there is no such thing as a perfect lesson because there will always be room for improvement. I learned that it is important to be constantly reflective in order to learn from experiences and think of how to improve. In Ningbo, I had opportunities to deliver the same lesson two times to two different Primary 3 classes. I practiced reflecting after the first time conducting each lesson so that I could do better the next time. I learned to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses and to think thoroughly and critically about what went well and what did not go well in each lesson. I would then think about how to improve my lesson. My lessons, teaching strategies, and confidence all improved after critical reflections. This practice of reflection has helped me in my current teaching career. I constantly learn from teaching my lessons by assessing myself and thinking of ways to improve. For example, in a lesson, my language input was not simple enough when I was explaining the structure of narrative texts. After reflecting on this, I improved by using simpler language in my following lessons (cited in Moorhouse, 2020, p. 7).

The PSTs commented on the safe mediated space created during the teachingabroad experience, which allowed them to take risks without fear of failure or judgement and to try new strategies that they were learning during their ITE. In turn, this allowed them to focus on exploring ways to improve lessons by drawing on their developing pedagogical knowledge, increasing their confidence as they saw improvement in their lessons the second time they taught them. Therefore, they saw ‘failed’ or ‘unsuccessful’ lessons as part of their development as teachers. Obviously, the perceived impact of teaching abroad on students’ pedagogical knowledge is dependent on the quality of the experience and its design. It is important then for teacher educators to design experiences in a way that maximises opportunities for pedagogical knowledge development.

3.4 Sociological Knowledge

25

3.4 Sociological Knowledge Sociological knowledge, according to Goodwin (2010), is concerned with the teachers’ awareness of the ‘sociological transformations’ (p. 26) to society caused by globalisation and how this affects their role. It is distinct yet related to a teacher’s contextual knowledge. As has been mentioned in the previous chapter, there is no doubt that in many countries and contexts around the world, societies are becoming more complex. There has been a massive increase in human mobility in the twentyfirst century. People of all ethnicities, ages and economic classes are moving in all directions around the world. They are settling permanently or temporarily. There is an increasing number of people considering multiple locations as their homes, speaking multiple languages and holding multiple passports. This has profound implications for education. Students and teachers are moving in and out of countries and their education systems, starting new lives in different countries, attending education abroad, or spending a short period abroad for work or life experiences. Coupled with this is global issues, such as climate change, migration, conflict and the global wealth gap. These issues require global-minded citizens who can see beyond national interests and identities. This means education cannot be a process of assimilation, as it has been traditional, but instead, should recognise and make space the multiple, shifting and hybridised identities (Abu El-Haj, 2007; Banks, 2008) many people now hold. In essence, we need to explore global citizenship and recognise and celebrate our diversity while understanding our rights and responsibilities to humanity. However, this knowledge domain is hard to cultivate. As Goodwin (2010) mentions, ‘Undoubtedly, this knowledge domain is the most challenging for teacher educators and students alike because issues of race, class, cultural difference and inequity are sensitive, loaded with meaning and emotion, and connect to each person’s core beliefs and values’ (p. 26). National, ethnic and financial imbalances can mean that historically advantaged groups maintain their status while disadvantaged groups can remain disempowered, ostracised and ignored. This means ITE needs to help PSTs gain a greater awareness of these injustices and confront their own fears, prejudices and misconceptions (Goodwin, 2010). Access to teaching-abroad and other international experiences is one example of the imbalance, with such experiences more commonplace in the Global North (or developed world), who have the financial means to fund an extended sojourn in another country (Buchanan & Widodo, 2016). Buchanan and Widodo (2016) present the imbalances concerning the conduct of teaching abroad between PSTs originating from Australia and others originating from Indonesia. Important considerations, such as relative cost to typical income, are raised. Even within the developed world, such experiences will only be open to a small minority due to cost and capacity limitations. For example, our project was limited to ten students a year out of an eligible cohort of about 120 students. Furthermore, even though many teaching-abroad projects may see PSTs spending a period of time in a country considered part of the Global South with the aim of benefiting the host community, Yu (2015) suggests the main benefits are accrued by the visitors, rather than the hosts.

26

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

This does not mean we should not include such experiences in our programmes. Rather, we should ensure our PSTs are informed about the benefactors of teaching abroad and consider ways that such experiences can enhance the benefits to the host context and provide a safe mediated space for PSTs to challenge their own misconceptions and prejudices. We also need to be conscious of the selection criteria for joining such projects and reduce barriers to access when possible. As has been stated in the previous chapter, preservice teachers in Hong Kong have been found to perceive new immigrants from mainland China negatively and see them as deficient when compared to ‘local’ students (Wing & Gao, 2014). Therefore, the opportunity to work alongside teachers and students from the mainland may help overcome these prejudices. This is something we found in our project. For example, the PSTs were particularly surprised by the respect that parents and students showed teachers and vice versa. Katie mentioned, It has definitely opened my eyes to the culture in Ningbo. The hospitality of the teachers at the Ningbo school was reflective of the warmth and care that they give to their students. The teachers welcomed us with opened arms, and their guidance really allowed me to understand more about the different traditions of Ningbo (cited in Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 240).

Furthermore, teaching-abroad has been found to nurture more globally consciences teachers, with students returning home after the sojourn with a more open-mind and better understanding of their own self’s, including their misconceptions, prejudices, and privileges, and greater intercultural competence (Hepple et al., 2017; Thomas & Talbot, 2019). Hepple and colleagues (2017) reported on a teaching-abroad project which involved PSTs from Australia spending two weeks in Malaysia with the aim of ‘building intercultural capabilities for global citizenship’ in the PSTs (p. 275). They found that the experience, combined with a process of guided reflection, led to a profound ‘multicultural awakening’ (p. 280). They attributed the profound impact of the experience to a project feature where the PSTs were ‘buddied’ with a Malaysian teacher. Their buddy acted as a ‘cultural mediator’ in helping the PSTs assimilate to their new environment (p. 277). Through interacting and working with the buddy, they gained a greater understanding of what they were seeing and experiencing. They also developed close friendships, even though the experience was short. Their experiences as a ‘linguistic other’, not being proficient in the dominant language, also allowed them to experience the world differently. Hepple et al. (2017) mentioned that ‘the experience of being immersed in a non-English speaking community allowed participants to step outside their unquestioned assumptions about universally shared language features and instead understand linguistic norms are different across languages and cultures’ (p. 280) while recognising their privilege as ‘native English speaker’ in a world that gives immense capital to native English speakers. Teaching abroad can positively affect PSTs’ sociological knowledge by putting them in a position where they are immersed in cultures and other ways of thinking, doing and being. However, we also have to acknowledge that such experiences are primarily open to students who are historically privileged and therefore provide opportunities for participants to consider and reflect on this privilege. The literature

3.5 Social Knowledge

27

suggests implementing buddy schemes or teaching teams is one way to do this, so is guided reflection, with a specific focus on sociological knowledge.

3.5 Social Knowledge As can be seen from the discussions around the previous four knowledge domains, complexity and diversity are now defining the work and environments of teachers. Goodwin (2010) suggested that this requires teachers who are skilful at interacting and communicating with different individuals and groups and recognise the different dynamics are at play with each one of them. They need to develop an ability to communicate their ideas, negotiate, and engage in conflict resolution and compromise. However, this is challenging when we consider how traditionally the act of teaching has been conducted. Teaching has long been criticised as the ‘egg box’ profession (Freeman, 1998), with individual teachers working in their individual classrooms with little understanding of what each teacher is doing. Teachers rarely coplan, co-teach, co-investigate or co-reflect to enhance their practices. In Hong Kong, peer observations and other practices designed to build teacher competence are seen as top-down initiatives which can often feel judgemental and evaluative in nature. Yet, school-based professional collaborations and development have been found to be an effective way in improving teaching capabilities (Moorhouse, Lee & Herd, 2021) and beginning teachers are known to benefit from school-based mentoring (Hobson et al. 2009) and other constructive initiation practices, such as shadowing experienced teachers (Hobson et al. 2009) and co-teaching for a period of time (Villa et al., 2008). If beginning teachers enter schools without established initiation practices, they can struggle to adapt. If new teachers struggle to adapt and feel they are not adequality affect their self-efficacy, teaching confidence (Clark & Newberry, 2019) and job satisfaction (Mackenzie Davey & Arnold, 2000), as well as their belief that they have the knowledge and skills to carry out the duties of a teacher (Rowan et al., 2017). For beginning teachers, communicating and collaborating with peers and colleagues is key to their transition to the profession (Bauml, 2014). However, new teachers can sometimes feel reluctant to seek support or share their challenges with experienced colleagues, for fear of judgement or risk to their job security (Hobson et al. 2009). During ITE, it is essential then that emphasis is placed on developing PSTs’ social knowledge. We can do this by modelling practices we feel are effective, such as collaborating with our peers for the benefit of our students and inviting students’ voices into our decision-making processes. We can move away from practices and assignments that reward individual success and, therefore, prompt individualism. Evidence-based practices such as lesson study and dialogic reflective practice can be integrated into our courses and programmes. This will help enhance students’ teamwork skills and provide for collective development and responsibility. Communitybased projects and service learning can also develop PSTs’ social knowledge by broadening their experiences and understandings of the community they belong to

28

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

and serve (Harffit & Chow, 2020). We have found that even short observational experiences, such as visiting schools that cater for students who are visually impaired or cater for students in care, can raise learner awareness of the diversity evident in one education system. However, we argue that these experiences do need to be mediated carefully by a teacher educator. Similarly, teaching abroad can provide a context for the development of social knowledge. For example, Ateskan (2016) found that Turkish PSTs who participated in a teaching-abroad experience in the USA considered that the experience improved their interpersonal skills. These skills were developed through their teaching experience but also through informal interactions during their sojourn, such as engaging in leisure activities and homestay. Teaching abroad requires PSTs to adapt to a new and unfamiliar environment, away from the safe and familiar ITE institution or home context. It is likely that the work culture will be different from their preconceptions and previous experiences and therefore requires adaptation. The Malaysian PSTs who participated in a teaching-abroad experience in the Maldives in Kaliban’s (2013) study were found to develop social knowledge through their collaboration with the host teachers. Similar benefits of team teaching have been found in other teachingabroad experiences (Power et al., 2017). In our Ningbo project, we also found similar learning and development. In this extract, Jane talks about the different classes she observed and the impact this had on her development: Working with another University education student, Mary, I had the chance to brainstorm different ideas, bring in different authentic materials (e.g., storybooks, songs … etc.), collaboratively write out a lesson plan and make things work. Although I had my teaching practicum at a local primary school before this project, I did the planning and teaching alone. Having a partner to work with takes off some of the stress and lets us be exposed to each other’s teaching styles, especially in such a new environment. We were also able to observe other pairs’ classes, see their interaction with the students and adopt different materials and activities to suit their class’ learning. (Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 40)

These benefits seem to have been carried through to the profession. The newly qualified teachers who participated in our project during their ITE suggested that the experiences provided them with the knowledge needed to engage in professional collaborations. They felt more comfortable seeking advice from colleagues and engaging in reciprocal dialogues around teaching and learning. The quotation below shows how one teacher made a connection between the professional exchange he had in Ningbo and his willingness to seek advice in his current role: I thought the chance to do some authentic ‘professional’ exchange for us ‘teachers-inpractice’ was valuable. There are more effective and efficient ways to achieve similar goals when we communicate with each other. It was a very good atmosphere in which to raise questions or doubts with the expectation that we would help each other out. Putting it back to the HK context, sometimes all it takes is to ask your colleagues for an idea, which only takes a few minutes. The help we get from each other makes our work as a teacher easier. (Cited in Moorhouse, 2021, p. 8)

Similarly, the benefits associated with observing others and being observed by them was also something internalised from the experience. The willingness to seek advice from colleagues and the positive perspective on lesson observations are qualities that

References

29

will help teachers adjust to the profession (Hobson et al. 2009). While the nature of teaching abroad can itself help PSTs develop social knowledge, to maximise the benefits, it is important that we consider the optimum conditions needed for learning. Pre-sojourn discussion and dialogue around diversity and differences in working cultures are important. As PSTs are working in close proximity with each other and the host teachers and students, we also need to consider developing strategies to manage conflict and addressing world views around core practices such as classroom management. Matthew and Talbot (2021) found the Australian PSTs who participated in a teaching-abroad project in Bali initially struggled to understand and accept teachers’ practices based on cultural and religious beliefs. The authors argue that such situations require careful handling by teacher educators and local colleagues. Their role goes beyond technical support related to lesson planning and delivery to ‘helping them navigate their emotional and socio-cultural experiences in the field’ (p. 11).

3.6 Conclusion This chapter has provided an overview of the potential affordances and benefits of teach-abroad in the learning and development of PSTs. The literature suggests that the experiences are indeed beneficial in helping PSTs develop the knowledge needed for quality teaching in a global context. Studies show that these benefits are felt by PSTs when they return from the sojourn but also after they begin their teaching careers. This has led many to advocate the inclusion of such experiences in ITE. Cushner (2007) stated: More than ever, there is the need for preservice teachers to have significant cross-cultural experiences that enable them to teach with, work with, and continue to learn from people different from themselves. Overseas student teaching can be the catalyst that starts teachers on a path of learning from others; their students, their colleagues, their community, and their world.

Yet, it is not just joining the experiences themselves that leads to learning and development. It is the quality of an experience that is essential. In the next chapter, the design of teaching-abroad projects and experiences will be discussed with the aim of understanding what might constitute a ‘quality’ teaching-abroad experience.

References Abu El-Haj, T. R. (2007). ‘I was born here, but my home, it’s not here’: Educating for democratic citizenship in an era of transnational migration and global conflict. Harvard Educational Review, 77, 285–316. Ate¸skan, A. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ cultural and teaching experiences abroad. Journal of Education for Teaching, 42(2), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2016.1144634.

30

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

Banks, J. (2008). Diversity, group identity, and citizenship education in a global age. Educational Researcher, 37, 129–139. Bartels, N. (2005). Applied linguistics and language teacher education. Springer. Bauml, M. (2014). Collaborative lesson planning as professional development for beginning primary teachers. The New Educator., 10(3), 182–200. Buchanan, J., & Widodo, A. (2016). Your place or mine? Global imbalances in internationalisation and mobilisation in educational professional experience. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(2), 355–364. Buchanan, J., Major, J., Harbon, J., & Kearney, S. (2017). Preparing teachers through international experience: A collaborative critical analysis of four Australian Programs. In C. Reid & J. Major (Eds.), Global Teaching: Southern Perspectives on Working with Diversity (pp. 176–188). Palgrave Macmillan. Cahn, L. V. (2014). Great expectations: The TESOL practicum as a professional learning experience. TESOL Journal, 5(2), 199–224. Cantalini-Williams, M., Cooper, L., Grierson, A., Maynes, N. A., Rich, S., Tessaro, M. L., et al. (2014). Innovative practicum models in teacher education: The benefits, challenges and implementation implications of peer mentorship, service learning and international practicum experiences. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. Chien, C. Y., & Young, T. K. (2007). Are ‘textbooks’ a barrier for teacher autonomy? A case study from a Hong Kong primary school. Education and Society, 25(2), 87–102. Cho, H., & Peter, L. (2017). Taking the TESOL practicum abroad: Opportunities for critical awareness and community-building among preservice teachers. In W. Paterson (Ed.), Handbook of research on efficacy and implementation of study abroad programs for P–12 teachers (pp. 149–171). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Clark, S., & Newberry, M. (2019). Are we building preservice teacher self-efficacy? A large-scale study examining teacher education experiences. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 47(1), 32–47. Cushner, K. (2007). The role of experience in the making of internationally-minded teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 27–39. Cushner, K., & Mahon, J. (2002). Overseas student teaching: Affecting personal, professional, and global competencies in an age of globalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 6(1), 44–58. Davey, K. M., & Arnold, J. (2000). A multi-method study of accounts of personal change by graduates starting work: Self-ratings, categories and women’s discourses. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 73(4), 461–486. Farrell, T. S. (2008). Here’s the book, go teach the class. ELT Practicum Support. RELC Journal, 39(2), 226–241. Fernandez, C. (2002). Learning from Japanese approaches to professional development: The case of lesson study. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(5), 393–405. Freeman, D. (1998). Doing teacher research from inquiry to understanding. Heinle & Heinle. Goodwin, A. L. (2010). Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: Rethinking knowledge domains for teaching. Teaching Education, 21(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/104762109034 66901. Guerriero, S. (2014). Teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and the teaching profession. Teaching and Teacher Education, 2(1), 7. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J. M. L. (2020). Employing community-based experiential learning in teacher education. Singapore: Springer Hepple, E., Alford, J., Henderson, D., Tangen, D., Hurwood, M., Alwi, A., et al. (2017). Developing intercultural learning in Australian pre-service teachers through participating in a short term mobility program in Malaysia. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 273–281. Hobson, A. J., Ashby, P., Malderez, A., & Tomlinson, P. D. (2009). Mentoring beginning teachers: What we know and what we don’t. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25(1), 207–216. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.09.001.

References

31

Kabilan, M. K. (2013). A phenomenological study of an international teaching practicum: Preservice teachers’ experiences of professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 198–209. Larsen, M. A., & Searle, M. J. (2017). International service learning and critical global citizenship: A cross-case study of a Canadian teacher education alternative practicum. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 196–205. Lortie, D. C. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago Press. Matthew A. M., & Talbot, T. D. (2021). Exploring epistemologies: Deepening pre-service teachers’ ways of knowing through international professional experience. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 163–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1695100. Moorhouse, B. L. (2018). Standardized homework practices and teacher autonomy: Experiences of primary english language teachers in Hong Kong. Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 27, 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-018-0391-4. Moorhouse, B. L. (2020). Teaching abroad during initial teacher education: The effects as perceived by recently qualified teachers on their preparedness for teaching. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. [Ahead-of-Print] https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1755222. Moorhouse, B. L. (2021). Beginning teaching during COVID-19: Newly qualified Hong Kong teachers’ preparedness for teaching online. Educational Studies. [Ahead-of-Print] https://doi. org/10.1080/03055698.2021.1964939. Moorhouse, B. L., & Harfitt, G. J. (2021). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas during a teaching abroad experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1694634 Moorhouse, B. L., & Kohnke, L. (2021). Responses of the English-language-teaching community to the COVID-19 Pandemic. RELC Journal., 52(3), 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368822 11053052. Moorhouse, B. L., Lee, J., & Herd, S. (2021). Providing remote school based professional support to teachers during school closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning: Research and Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2020.1825777. Mwebi, B. M., & Brigham, S. M. (2009). Preparing North American preservice teachers for global perspectives: An international teaching practicum experience in Africa. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 55(3). Parr, G., & Chan, J. (2015). Identity work in a dialogic international teaching practicum. Teaching Education, 26(1), 38–54. Parr, G. (2012). Leading an international teaching practicum: Negotiating tensions in a site of border pedagogy. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 97–109. Pilonieta, P., Medina, A. L., & Hathaway, J. I. (2017). The impact of a study abroad experience on preservice teachers’ dispositions and plans for teaching English language learners. The Teacher Educator, 52(1), 22–38. Power, A., Truong, S., Gray, T., Downey, G., Hall, T., & Jones, B. (2017). When outbound mobility programs and service learning align in pre-service teacher education. Asia Pacific Education Review, 18(3), 401–412. Richards, J. C. (2010). Competence and performance in language teaching. RELC Journal, 41(2), 101–122. Richardson, V. (1996). The role of attitudes and beliefs in learning to teach. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (2nd ed., pp. 102–119). Macmillan. Roberts, A. (2007). Global dimensions of schooling: Implications for internationalizing teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34, 9–26. Rowan, L., Kline, J., & Mayer. D. (2017). Early career teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach “diverse learners”: Insights from an Australian research project. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(10), 71–92. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2017v42n10.5. Salter, P., Hill, A., Navin, F., & Knight, C. (2013). Wider professional experiences: The value of preservice teachers learning in wider contexts. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (online), 38(12), 80–96.

32

3 Pre-service Teachers’ Professional Learning …

Santoro, N. (2014). ‘If I’m going to teach about the world, I need to know the world’: Developing Australian pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence through international trips. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 429–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2013.832938. Shulman, L. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1–23. Sleeter, C. (2008). An invitation to support diverse students through teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 59(3), 212–219. Talbot, D., & Thomas, M. A. (2019). Experience in another place: Teacher learning from an overseas placement. Teaching Education, 1–18. Tambyah, M. (2019). Intercultural understanding through a ‘similar but different’ international teaching practicum. Teaching Education, 30(1), 105–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210. 2018.1453795. Thomas, M. A. M., & Talbot, D. (2019). Exploring epistemologies: Deepening pre-service teachers’ ways of knowing through international professional experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1695100 Tomaš, Z., Farrelly, R., & Haslam, M. (2008). Designing and implementing the TESOL teaching practicum abroad: Focus on interaction. TESOL Quarterly, 42(4), 660–664. Trent, J. (2018). ‘Fitting in’ or ‘being different’? Integration, separation, and identity construction during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Teacher Development, 22(4), 571–586. Trilokekar, R. D., & Kukar, P. (2011). Disorienting experiences during study abroad: Reflections of pre-service teacher candidates. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(7), 1141–1150. Uusimaki, L., & Swirski, T. (2016). Cross-cultural ‘distance’, ’friction’ and ‘flow’: Exploring the experiences of pre-service teachers on international practicum. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(3), 425–436. Villa, R. A., Thousand, J. S., & Nevin, A. (2008). A guide to co-teaching: Practical tips for facilitating student learning (Vol. 2). Corwin Press. Wing (Brad) Chan, Y., & Gao, X. (2014). Pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of newly arrived children from Mainland China. Journal of Education for Teaching, 40(2), 140–154. https://doi. org/10.1080/02607476.2013.869966. Yu, S. (2015). Becoming a teacher in a gambling city: A case study of two pre-service teachers’ motivation for teaching in Macau. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41(4), 447–450. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2015.1080431.

Chapter 4

Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

Abstract In this chapter, literature exploring different types of teaching-abroad practices and projects are reviewed. The types of teaching-abroad experiences reported in the literature are tremendously diverse. They vary in duration, the home and host contexts and the kinds of support and supervision provided. The chapter presents the types of teaching-abroad projects reported in the literature by their characteristics and what can be considered good practice. Keywords Teaching-abroad projects · Teacher educator development · Initial teacher education · Practicum supervision Teaching abroad has been a feature of initial teacher education (ITE) in various contexts for a number of years. While it is challenging to pinpoint exactly when ITE programmes began offering such experiences, literature reporting on such experiences began to appear in the 1990s and early 2000s (e.g. Byram, 1994; Clement & Outlaw, 2002; Stachowski & Mahan, 1998; Willard-Holt, 2001). Evidence that such experiences began earlier can be found in some of the literature. For example, Stachowski and Sparks (2007) reported on an overseas student teaching project at Indiana University-Bloomington, that began in the 1970s. Similarly, McKay and Montgomery (1995) reported that the ‘notion of providing opportunities for students to gain experiences abroad did not greatly influence preservice teacher education until the 1980s.’ (p.6). Importantly, the authors above were primarily referring to teacher education in the USA. The interest in teaching abroad in American ITE faculties was a response to educational reforms that emphasised the need for teachers with multicultural and global perspectives (Heydl & McCarthy, 2003). Since then, teaching-abroad projects have been implemented in various ITE instructions and faculties around the world. Even from the onset, it seems that the design and implementation of teaching abroad were diverse, with little discussion about the practices that might maximise the benefits of such experiences to stakeholders’ personal and professional learning and growth. The experiences reported in the literature vary in duration from two or three weeks (Tomaš et al., 2008; Trent, 2011; Willard-Holt, 2001) to six weeks (Ate¸skan, 2016; Cho & Peter, 2017; Kabilan, 2013), to a full semester abroad (Stachowski & Sparks, 2007). Some involve preservice teachers teaching alone © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_4

33

34

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

Table 4.1 An overview of some illustrative teaching-abroad projects reported in the literature Authors

Duration

Home countries (region)

Host countries (region(s))

Participants

Moorhouse and Harfitt (2021)

2 weeks

Hong Kong

China

10 PSTs per project (year 3 or above)

Thomas and Talbot (2019)

4 weeks

Australia

Indonesia

15 PSTs (8 secondary and 7 primary)

Stachowski and Sparks (2007)

8 weeks

USA

Australia, China, Costa Rica, England, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Russia and others

PSTs

Willard-Holt (2001)

6-days

USA

Mexico

27 PSTs

Abraham and von Brömssen (2018) 2-weeks

Malaysia

Indonesia and Brunei

13 PSTs

Ateskan (2016)

6-weeks

Sweden

South Africa

14 PSTs 2012–2014

Black and Bernardes (2014)

3-weeks

Canada

Kenya

46 PSTs

Cho and Peter (2017)

6-weeks

USA

Korea

9 PSTs

Kabilan (2013)

6-weeks

Malaysia

Maldives

6 PSTs

Trent (2011)

2-weeks

Hong Kong

Australia

8 PSTs

(Santoro, 2014), while others involve teaching in pairs or teams (Ate¸skan, 2016; Trent, 2011). Some report on Native-English speaking PSTs going to English-as-aforeign language (EFL) contexts (Cho & Peter, 2017; Santoro, 2014); others involve non-native English speakers going to contexts in which English is the first language (Ate¸skan, 2016; Trent, 2011); and still others see non-native English speakers going to other EFL contexts (Kabilan, 2013). The kind of supervision and support they receive also differs. Host schools can provide primary support, with host teachers acting as mentors (Santoro, 2014), as can partner ITE institutions in the host countries (Ate¸skan, 2016; Trent, 2011) or tutors from their own ITE institutions (Cho & Peter, 2017; Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021). The host schools can be primary schools, secondary schools, tertiary institutions, special schools, and either government schools or international schools. Some are students only pre-service teaching experience, while others are in addition to local domestic teaching practicums (see Table 4.1 for an overview of some illustrative teaching-abroad projects). Below, the characteristics of various projects are discussed with the aim of understanding the qualities of a good teaching-abroad project.

4.1 Duration and Intensity

35

4.1 Duration and Intensity The literature suggests that teaching-abroad projects can vary in duration from about two weeks to eight weeks or even longer. For the shorter experiences, these tend to form part of another experience, such as study abroad or immersion, or are an additional experience to a domestic teaching practicum. For example, Trent (2011) reported on a teaching-abroad experience involving PSTs from Hong Kong who were studying for a Postgraduate Diploma of Education (PGDE) in English language Education. As part of their programme, the students participated in an immersion programme in Australia. The immersion programme was designed to improve the students’ English proficiency. During the immersion, they conducted a two-week placement in an Australian secondary school. The participants were expected to undertake between 25–30 h of team and individual teaching within their host school. Willard-Holt (2001) reported on one of the shortest teaching-abroad experiences in the literature. In the project, 27 PSTs from the USA spent only six days teaching in Mexico. Although the experience was short, the author suggested the experience was beneficial to the PSTs in terms of their professional and personal development. A common duration of teaching-abroad projects is about four to six weeks (e.g. Ateskan 2016; Cho & Peter, 2017; Kabilan, 2013). Kabilan (2013) studied a 6-week project involving 6 Malaysian PSTs teaching in the Maldives. The PSTs taught two classes per week (a total of 160 min of teaching weekly) in their allocated schools. They also engaged in other teaching duties. In addition, longer experiences can also be found in the literature. Hauerwas et al. (2017) reported on a 10-week teaching abroad experience involving American PSTs teaching in Italy. Importantly though, the experience was part of a 14-week study abroad programme with the PSTs only expected to teach for one hour each week and assist their cooperating teacher for an additional three hours weekly. Interestingly, the literature rarely states either the reasons for the project duration or the intensity of the experience. As can be seen above, longer experiences do not necessarily indicate more time teaching. The project I was involved in landed at the shorter end of such experiences at two weeks. We choose the length primarily for practical reasons. There was a two-week period in early January when schools in mainland China were operating as normal, but universities in Hong Kong had no classes due to the Christmas holiday. This meant participants would not miss any university classes or obligations. However, though the experience was short, it was also intense. The PSTs, in teams, taught about 12–18 40-min classes each week. We did find that the PSTs felt the experience was too short, and they would have gained more from a longer experience (Moorhouse, 2020). While even short experiences have been found to be beneficial to sojourners’ professional and personal growth (Willard-Holt, 2001), longer experiences are likely to provide greater space and time for PSTs to adjust to the new context and to make the unfamiliar familiar. Tambyah (2019) found the PSTs in her study also wanted a longer experience as they began to bond with their learners only in the second week of the two-week experience. Since the costs associated with such experiences are high (Buchanan & Widodo, 2016), it

36

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

would be worth contrasting the professional learning and development of sojourners during shorter and longer experiences with varying degrees of teaching intensity.

4.2 Home and Host Contexts As has been previously stated, teaching-abroad experiences have primarily involved PSTs from the Global North teaching in the Global South. As part of an emphasis on creating globally-minded teachers, and on the internationalisation of higher education and the learning that diverse experiences provide for participants, ITE institutions in the Global North have increased their offerings of teaching-abroad experiences. Most of the literature reports on projects where PSTs originate from the USA, Canada and Australia. In Canada, over half of Faculties of Education offer students the opportunity to engage in teaching abroad (Larsen, 2016). In Australia, many universities have developed comprehensive teaching-abroad programmes. For example, Monash University’s International Professional Experience (IPE) programme has been established for over ten years. The programme involves a 15-day placement in a variety of host locations and contexts. The host locations are early childhood settings, primary and secondary schools in 11 countries—China, Cook Islands, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Malaysia, Nepal, South Africa, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates—hosting approximately 180 PSTs annually (Fitzgerald et al., 2017). The IPE programme has been well researched and reported on in the academic literature (e.g. Fitzgerald et al., 2017; Parr, 2012; Parr & Chan, 2015; Williams & Grierson, 2016). The opportunities available to PSTs from some US universities are also wide. Stachowski and Sparks (2007) introduced a project run by Indiana University, Bloomington, since the mid-1970s called ‘The Overseas Student Teaching Project’, where PSTs spend eight weeks teaching in primary and secondary schools in Australia, China, Costa Rica, England, India, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand, Russia, Scotland, Spain and Wales. As of 2007, 2000 PSTs had participated in the project. In recent years, Hong Kong PSTs have also begun to receive opportunities to teach abroad. The Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong developed several teaching-abroad projects. These form part of its recent educational reforms, which saw experiential learning becoming a core part of the curriculum. They offer teachingabroad experiences in Cambodia, India, Vietnam, Thailand and mainland China (see Harfitt & Chow, 2018). Students are free to select from a suite of credit and noncredit bearing experiential learning projects that meet their interests, experiences and needs. Although not all projects are fully supported by scholarships, and the costs to participants can therefore be a barrier to participation. Other Hong Kong universities offer similar opportunities. PSTs from the Global South or developing countries have fewer opportunities to participate in teaching-abroad projects (Buchannan & Widodo, 2016). There are some examples from the literature. Kaliban (2013) reported on a project which saw six PSTs from Malaysia teach in the Maldives. Ateskan (2016) reported on a longterm teaching-abroad project that has seen 289 Turkish PSTs between 2001 and 2010

4.4 Teaching Activities

37

teach in the USA. Buchanan and Widodo (2016) discuss a teaching-abroad partnership that sees PSTs from Indonesia and Australia engage in teaching in each other’s countries. However, the authors acknowledge the imbalance of opportunities between the PSTs in each context. They argue that without government or university funding, international experiences for ‘southern’ students will be limited. Indeed, successful projects, such as the one reported on by Ateskan (2016), are financially supported by governments and NGOs, therefore removing a substantial barrier to teachingabroad experiences. Most teaching-abroad projects are developed and implemented by individual institutions, meaning PSTs access is greatly dependent on the provisions available to them by their institution. It is important to be conscious of the imbalance and consider how PSTs can gain access to teaching-abroad experiences regardless of contextual and financial limitations. National schemes could be one suggestion; however, this could increase the disconnect between the PSTs home and abroad teaching experiences.

4.3 Teaching-Abroad Sojourn Activities During the sojourn, the literature suggests that PSTs engage in a variety of teaching, cultural and social activities.

4.4 Teaching Activities Regarding teaching, the diversity of experiences is large. The PSTs can be placed in one school for the duration of the experience or spend time in multiple schools. The PSTs may go as a group to the same school or be allocated to different schools. The school contexts can also be diverse, ranging from pre-primary to tertiary, and include special schools. They can be private schools, schools founded by charities or government schools. In the project reported on by Cho and Peter’s (2017), the American PSTs from the University of Kansas taught in a private girls’ boarding school in South Korea. By focusing on one school, it can provide a sustained and consistent professional learning environment (Talbot & Thomas, 2019). However, it could also reduce the opportunities to gain broader experiences, from what, for many, might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Usimaki and Swirski (2016) researched a project involving Australian PSTs conducting a teaching-abroad project in Vanuatu. During the project, the sojourners taught in three different schools: a government-run village school, a privately run island school and an international school. They found each school experience affected the PSTs differently. Interestingly, the experience at the international school seemed to have less effect as it was perceived as similar to the schools in Australia. Lu and Soares (2014) reported on American PSTs teaching in Taiwan who were required to rotate between six schools, one high school and five primary schools, during the sojourn. Although they found the experience worthwhile,

38

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

the need to rotate between so many schools in a short period of time was a challenge. A participant in the study stated that, ‘Switching schools and students was difficult for us to become adjusted to teaching’ while another mentioned that ‘the time was too short. We didn’t get to build relationships with the students’ (p. 68). Santoro (2014) reported on a study in which Australian PSTs went to India to teach English in orphanages and schools for the disabled. These teaching environments seemed to be too distant from the PSTs’ lived experiences, and combined with other factors, were found to affect the PSTs’ learning negatively. The forms of teaching that PSTs are engaged in are also varied. Commonly, the PSTs work with a host teacher who acts as a mentor, and sometimes translator, during the sojourn. This may be one-on-one or as a team. They may design and develop lessons together or teach a prescribed curriculum. Some PSTs are able to teach classes solo or with peers, while in other projects, they may act as teaching assistants (Pence & Macgillivray, 2008). The diversity of environment and resources is also evident in the literature. PSTs can end up in schools with larger or smaller class sizes, different technological resources, and very different pedagogical and general teaching approaches. This can provide both challenges and affordances for the sojourners, which can lead to personal and professional learning and growth. Common in the literature is PSTs teaching English as a foreign/second language during the sojourn, regardless of their specialism (Smolcic & Katunich, 2017). While this may help the PSTs develop confidence in their English proficiency (Ateskan, 2016), it may also be an issue if the PSTs do not receive adequate preparation. Teaching the English language requires specific competence, and suggesting that non-language majors can teach English might reinforce the mantra that ‘anyone who can speak English can teach English’ or place students in situations for which they feel ill-prepared. Interestingly, specific details of the kinds of lessons and teaching activities PSTs engage in during the sojourns are rarely mentioned in the literature. Some articles do talk about developing teaching materials related to their home context for sharing, but specific details of lessons and activities are not reported. The literature tells us that it is important to select host schools carefully and cultivate close relationships with them to increase the opportunities for learning (Thomas & Talbot, 2019). It is essential that the experience provided by the school aligns with the objectives and aims of the teaching-abroad project. In our project, the PSTs worked in one government-run primary school for the full two weeks. This allowed the PSTs to build relationships with host teachers and students and gain a deeper understanding of that specific context. Participants did suggest a more varied experience could be beneficial, such as the opportunity to visit other schools in Ningbo or teach in a secondary school. As the PSTs would be teaching English language in the school, the project was only open to senior year English language majors. This was to ensure they had some pedagogical content knowledge. Additional activities were also organised to help enhance the language environment, including before-school big book reading aloud sessions, and extracurricular activities, such as cooking, drama, and crafts. In order to demonstrate different teaching approaches, the students and teachers had the freedom to develop

4.5 Culture and Social Activities

39

lessons without the constraints of the textbook. This led students to develop a short teaching unit of five or six lessons culminating in a final product or task. Our experience, and the literature, would suggest that conducting the project in one school with additional experiences to visit and observe other schools might be one way to provide a sustained and consistent professional learning environment, while providing opportunities to gain awareness of the diversity of schools within the host context.

4.5 Culture and Social Activities It is common during sojourns for PSTs to engage in cultural and social activities during the sojourn. This can involve taking classes in the host country’s language, visiting various sites of historical and cultural interest, and engaging in sports and recreational activities. In some projects, the PSTs stay with a host family as part of homestay (e.g. Ateskan, 2016; Tambyah, 2019). This gives the participants the chance to experience the ‘real life’ of the host community and engage in activities together. Ateskan (2016) detailed the different activities the PSTs in the project he reported on engaged with their homestay families (see Table 4.2). Other studies report similar kinds of experiences. Pence and MacGillivray (2008) detail part of the itinerary of the America PSTs in their study during their sojourn in Rome, Italy: Besides working Mondays through Thursdays at the school, the students took long weekend trips to experience and explore Italy’s rich culture. Other areas the group visited included the Italian Riviera towns of Cinque Terre, Florence, and Venice. These trips were planned and reservations for accommodations were made before leaving the US. Day trips from Rome included Pompeii, Ostia Antica, and Naples. The group also spent many of their afternoons and evenings exploring historic Rome, eating out, shopping, and nightclubbing (which, to our relief, they all did responsibly). While travel was an important aspect of the trip, it must be emphasized that students spent time even on the weekends planning lessons and units. (p. 18)

Besides homestay, other projects involved PSTs staying together in an accommodation, such as a hotel or dormitories. By staying in the same physical space, they can Table 4.2 Activities that pre-service teachers and home-stay families did together (Source Ateskan 2016) At home Outside of home

Watched TV, played with the children, cooked Turkish food, showed slides about Turkey and their family Sports activities

Bowling, golf, soccer, billiards, ice hockey, horseback riding

Visits

Lake, farm, church, butterfly garden, Des Moines city tour

Social events

Had campfires near the lake, drove a tractor, attended a wedding, an apple fest, a concert and a native American event

40

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

work, live, and socialise together, functioning as a ‘dialogic professional learning community’ (Parr, 2012; Parr & Chan, 2015). The PSTs can collaboratively plan lessons, continuously reflect and focus on the lived experience without the distractions common in their home context. In our project, the PSTs and I lived together in the same hotel, a short bus ride from the host school, for the full two weeks. This allowed us to engage in regular discussions about our experiences in and out of the school and help each other make sense of what we were experiencing. Often during a domestic practicum, teacher educators only visit a PST two or three times to observe and provide feedback on a one-off, isolated lesson. However, during teaching abroad, participants can fully immerse with their accompanying teacher educator(s) into the experience. It is this immersion that leads to greater learning and growth. We also participated in different events organised by our host school. We visited cultural and historical sites around Ningbo and participated in field trips to cultural centres with the school students. These gave us a chance to relax but also bond over shared experiences. As a teacher educator, I valued these activities, as they allowed me to get to know my students far more than I do in my courses.

4.6 Supporting PSTs During Teaching-Abroad When designing and implementing teaching abroad, it is important to consider the kinds of support and supervision the PSTs need to maximise the benefits of the experience (Kaur et al., 2021). As has been stated in Chap. 3, participating in teaching abroad does not lead to learning itself, and some experiences can be distressing and challenging for PSTs while re-enforcing existing misconceptions around race and poverty (Santoro, 2014). Furthermore, the participants can have a number of concerns related to teaching in a foreign country (Tambyah, 2019). It is therefore essential that the experiences are well scaffolded. This support should come before, during and after the sojourn and involve various kinds of activities and stakeholders (see Table 4.3 for some possible ideas).

4.7 Pre-Sojourn Before the PSTs embark on the sojourn, it is important they are adequately prepared for it. Of course, there is no way they can be prepared for every eventuality, nor will they necessarily internalise the pre-sojourn support and scaffolding without experiencing the context first-hand. However, with priming, the culture shock and possible points of tension sometimes experienced by PSTs can be reduced, and the benefits of the experience to the PSTs and host community maximised (Uusimaki & Swirski, 2016). An essential activity is an orientation and briefing about the actual project. The briefing should detail what is expected, if and how it will be assessed, and what students will be doing during the sojourn (Tambyah, 2019). Time and space

4.7 Pre-Sojourn

41

Table 4.3 Possible support activities Support activities Pre-sojourn

• Sharings and chats with previous sojourners • Orientations and briefings about the teaching-abroad project, including logistics and team building • Subject teaching training (If required) • Briefings about the country / city/ school contexts including culture, etiquette, language, environment, curriculum, teaching approaches, learners • Language preparation course (if required) • Analysis of materials and artefacts from the host school (e.g., textbooks, curriculums, teaching materials, tests) • Initial contact with host teachers and/or families via e-mail, instant messaging, social media or videoconferencing • Co-planning sessions to develop lessons and materials for the sojourn

While-sojourn • • • • • • • • • Post-sojourn

On-site orientation by the host school or partner university Observations of host teachers’ lessons prior to teaching Team teaching with mentor teachers or peers Use of lesson study methodology Support and observations from teacher educators from the PSTs’ home institution or partner institutions in the host country (in-person and virtual) Regular opportunities for PSTs to safely engage in dialogic and individual guided reflection (oral and written) Collection of artefacts demonstrating different aspects of the experience (e.g., lesson plans, lesson recordings, observation notes, cultural artefacts) Designated contact person in the host school Translator(s) (if required)

• De-briefing meetings and chats to link the experience to learning through reflection • Sharing of experiences with the wider home community • Options to maintain contact with host schoolteachers

for rapport-building between the sojourners are important as they will be living and working closely together. Depending on the host country, a language preparation course could be arranged. This could focus on ‘survival’ language. Studies also suggest that PSTs should be provided with information on the host country, city and school(s). Although students may have some understandings, these may be simplistic or biased (Santoro, 2014). Time to explore and critique their preconceptions while furthering their knowledge about the culture, etiquette, language, environment, curriculum, teaching approaches and learners, helps prepare PSTs for the experience and help them adjust when they take part in the project. This preparation could include sharings and chats with previous sojourners or partner institutions, or schools. Furthermore, PSTs can be put in contact with their host teachers and/or families via e-mail, instant messaging, social media or videoconferencing. This allows them to start building relationships before they embark, ask questions they may have about the country or school, and engage in co-planning with their host teacher before they arrive at the school.

42

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

Pre-project (at least 1 reflective writing) • Your motivation for joining the course and project, your hopes and aspirations for learning, your challenges and concerns. • Your beliefs about learning of English language at primary school and creating an effective learning environment in relation to the teaching of English in China • Your growing understanding of the needs of the host school’s learners and teachers Fig. 4.1 Pre-sojourn reflection prompts

To prepare the PSTs for teaching, in addition to making connections with the host teachers, sessions can be organised where participants analyse materials and artefacts from the host school (e.g., textbooks, curriculums, teaching materials, tests). In our project, we were fortunate to be able to share video recordings of lessons conducted by the host teachers. This helped students develop an understanding of the teaching approaches and the learners’ needs and abilities (Moorhouse, 2021). Co-planning sessions can be organised for teaching teams to develop lessons and resources. These can be shared with the accompanying teacher educator and host teachers for feedback and revision. Not all these activities need to be conducted. If the PSTs will be teaching different subjects from their ITE programme, such as the English language, it might be necessary to provide them with a training course. For example, Buchanan (2018) reported that the PSTs in his programme need to pass a course called ‘Teaching English to International Students’ before they are able to join the project. PSTs guided reflections can begin before they leave for the sojourn. By spending time dialoguing and writing about their perceptions and expectations, they will become more conscious of them, raising their awareness’s once the sojourn begins. For example, in our project, we developed some specific prompts to help guide these reflections. The PSTs were expected to share their pre-sojourn reflection with us. This also helped us address their concerns and worries before they departed (see Fig. 4.1 for the list of prompts). The prompts aligned with the project objectives. They then included them in their project portfolio. The students were expected to keep evidence of their experiences and learning in their project portfolio. In addition to their written reflections, they could collect materials and/or artefacts prepared for the project (e.g., lesson plans, curriculum documents, task sheets) and related project documentation (e.g., video recordings, pictures). The pre-sojourn activities chosen are dependent on our assessment of the needs of the students in ensuring their readiness for the sojourn.

4.8 While-Sojourn Once PSTs arrive in the host country and school, it is important that they feel supported. It is common for participants to receive an on-site orientation from host schools and/or partner institutions. Some projects involve additional training and

4.8 While-Sojourn

43

preparation before PSTs start teaching in schools (e.g., Ateskan 2016). A contact person and translator(s) can also help students feel supported. A valuable activity is conducting observations of host teachers’ practices. This can help PSTs gain the knowledge needed to prepare their lessons and observe various aspects of the classroom and learners. PSTs can be primed for this with guidance provided on how to observe lessons effectively. Once the PSTs start teaching, there are some practices that help support them. Team teaching is a common example. In our project, the PSTs worked in a team of three (two PSTs and a host teacher). The team co-planned, taught and reflected together. This allowed them to draw on their collective knowledge and move their teaching forward (Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021). This can be further enhanced by adopting a lesson study approach where the team teaches the same lesson more than once to different classes, reflecting and refining their plans between each lesson. Involving teacher educators from the home institution is seen as an incredibly valuable way to support students (Kaur et al., 2021; Talbot & Thomas, 2019). Teacher educators bring their knowledge of the home context, teacher education programme and previous teaching-abroad experiences to provide guidance. This guidance can be pedagogical through observing, and even implementing, demonstrating lessons and conducting workshops in the host school. However, it can also be psychological, helping students make meaning from what they are experiencing. The teacher educators’ role and professional learning will be discussed further in Chap. 5. Ideally, the teacher educators will be onsite. However, this can be a huge time commitment. I spent two weeks each year away from my family. Alternatively, they can join virtually. If technology permits, lessons can be observed by live stream, or be recorded and shared via secure cloud storage. If a partner institution in the host country is supporting the project, they can provide this kind of support (Trent, 2011). Some projects mention the inclusion of supervisory visits (Kabilan, 2013) with students assessed similar to domestic teaching practicums (Buchanan, 2018). While these have value, emphasis should be on providing guidance and support rather than on a formal, summative assessment of practice. Some studies have shown that lessons taught by PSTs while teaching abroad can be assessed using domestic teaching criteria (Cruickshank & Westbrook, 2013). In our project, I observed lessons nearly all day, every day, with no formal assessment of teaching quality, and this helped reduce the stress commonly experienced by PSTs during formal supervisory visits. Finally, opportunities for dialogic and individual reflection need to be integrated into the project. As mentioned in Chaps. 2 and 3, teaching abroad does not lead to learning; it is the reflection on the experience that leads to learning. We need, therefore, to provide regular opportunities for PSTs to engage safely in dialogic and individual guided reflection (oral and written) while also being conscious that certain incidents may require special effort and time to reflect on. For instance, Thomas and Talbot (2019) discuss the importance of reflection after critical incidents, moments that challenge the PSTs’ beliefs or current understandings. Teacher educators need to be mindful of such incidents and provide opportunities for dialogic reflection accordingly. In our project, we developed some prompts to guide students’ written reflections during the sojourn (see Fig. 4.2). These reflections can be in parallel to

44

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

During the project (at least 2 reflective writings) • Your reflections on your experience at the host school, including planning, implementing, refining and reflecting on the lessons you teach • One or more critical incidents reflecting ethical issues or communication issues you encountered and what you learned about yourself, the school, the project and more widely, education in a globalised society.

Fig. 4.2 While-sojourn reflection prompts

the compiling of a teaching portfolio demonstrating their experiences and learning during the sojourn. The portfolio can include artefacts, such as lesson plans, lesson recordings, observations and reflective notes, and cultural artefacts.

4.9 Post-Sojourn Once PSTs return to their home context, it is important that they are given time and support to reflect on the whole experience and consider what they have learned and in what ways the experience has changed them both personally and professionally. Sessions can be conducted where specific aspects of the project are discussed with questions and prompts used to guide dialogic reflections. In our project, we provide post-sojourn prompts to guide written reflection (see Fig. 4.3). PSTs can also be invited to share their experiences with their cohorts, using their portfolios or artefacts to introduce the experience and learning. A common task in the experiential learning project at my institution was for students to develop multimedia presentations to share digitally on the faculty’s experiential learning website. After the experience, the PSTs may want to maintain contact with their host schoolteachers or take action to help address an issue they identified. They can be encouraged to consider ways to maintain contact and explore the issues. This could be through arranging the collection and delivery of resources. Buchanan (2018) reported how Australian PSTs who had taught in Samoa helped to raise money for tsunami-affected schools and also worked as volunteers. Post project (at least 1 reflective writing) • Your most significant learning • How you have changed as a person, as a prospective education professional • How your experience with the school has influenced your understanding of teaching and learning

Fig. 4.3 Post-sojourn reflection prompts

References

45

4.10 Conclusion In this chapter, the literature pertaining to the types of teaching-abroad practices and projects were reviewed. It can be seen that the types of teaching-abroad experiences reported in the literature are tremendously diverse. They vary in duration, the home and host contexts and the kinds of support and supervision provided. The chapter shows that ITE institutions need to make a number of decisions about the design and implementation of teaching-abroad experiences. Principles to help teacher educators make these decisions are presented in Chap. 6. The chapter has presented some examples of good practices that can aid ITE institutions in answering the above questions. However, it is also important to remember that teaching abroad is exceptionally context-specific, and strong relationships between institutions and hosts are essential for the effective implementation of teaching abroad.

References Abraham, G. Y., & von Brömssen, K. (2018). Internationalisation in teacher education: Student teachers’ reflections on experiences from a field study in South Africa. Education Inquiry, 9(4), 347–362. Ate¸skan, A. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ cultural and teaching experiences abroad. Journal of Education for Teaching, 42(2), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2016.1144634. Black, G., & Bernardes, R. (2014). Developing global educators and intercultural competence through an international teaching practicum in Kenya. Comparative and International Education, 43(2). Buchanan, J., & Widodo, A. (2016). Your place or mine? Global imbalances in internationalisation and mobilisation in educational professional experience. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(2), 355–364. Buchanan, J. (2018). Wish you were here: Academic supervision of international professional experience. The Australian Universities’ Review, 60(2), 15–24. Byram, M. (1994). Teaching-and-learning language-and-culture (Vol. 100). Multilingual Matters. Cho, H., & Peter, L. (2017). Taking the TESOL practicum abroad: Opportunities for critical awareness and community–building among preservice teachers. In W. Paterson (Ed.), Handbook of research on efficacy and implementation of study abroad programs for P-12 teachers (pp. 149–171). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Clement, M. C., & Outlaw, M. E. (2002). Student teaching abroad: Learning about teaching, culture, and self. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 38(4), 180–183. Cruickshank, K., & Westbrook, R. (2013). Local and global—conflicting perspectives? The place of overseas practicum in preservice teacher education. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), 55–68. Fitzgerald, A., Parr, G., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (2017). Narratives of learning through international professional experience. Springer Singapore. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J. M. L. (2018). Transforming traditional models of initial teacher education through a mandatory experiential learning programme. Teaching and Teacher Education, 73, 120–129.

46

4 Teaching-Abroad Practices and Projects

Hauerwas, L. B., Skawinski, S. F., & Ryan, L. B. (2017). The longitudinal impact of teaching abroad: An analysis of intercultural development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 202–213. Heydl, J. D., & McCarthy, J. (2003). International education and teacher preparation the US Paper presented at the national conference on ‘Global Challenges and US Higher Education: National Needs and Policy Implications’. Duke University, Durham, NC. Kabilan, M. K. (2013). A phenomenological study of an international teaching practicum: Preservice teachers’ experiences of professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 198–209. Kaur, A., Kabilan, M. K., Ismail, H. N. (2021). The role of support system: A phenomenological study of pre-service teachers’ international teaching practicum. Qualitative Report, 26(7). Larsen, M. A. (2016). Globalisation and internationalisation of teacher education: A comparative case study of Canada and Greater China. Teaching Education, 27(4), 396–409. Lu, H. L., & Soares, L. (2014). US elementary preservice teachers’ experiences while teaching students in Taiwan. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 14(1), 59–74. McKay, J. W., & Montgomery, J. (1995). Changes in Perceptions: A Comparative Study of the Experiential Learning of International Student Teachers. Moorhouse, B. L. (2020). Teaching abroad during initial teacher education: The effects as perceived by recently qualified teachers on their preparedness for teaching. Asia Pacific Journal of Education [Ahead-of-Print]. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1755222. Moorhouse, B. L. (2021). Teaching abroad during TESOL initial teacher education. In O. Barnaawi, & S. Anwaruddin (Eds.) TESOL Teacher education in a transnational world. Routledge. Moorhouse, B. L., & Harfitt, G. J. (2021). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas during a teaching abroad experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1694634. Parr, G. (2012). Leading an international teaching practicum: Negotiating tensions in a site of border pedagogy. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 97–109. Parr, G., & Chan, J. (2015). Identity work in a dialogic international teaching practicum. Teaching Education, 26(1), 38–54. Pence, H. M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008). The impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 14–25. Santoro, N. (2014). ‘If I’m going to teach about the world, I need to know the world’: Developing Australian pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence through international trips. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 429–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2013.832938. Smolcic, E., & Katunich, J. (2017). Teachers crossing borders: A review of the research into cultural immersion field experiences for teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 62, 47–59. Stachowski, L. L., & Mahan, J. M. (1998). Cross-cultural field placements: Student teachers learning from schools and communities. Theory into Practice, 37(2), 155–162. Stachowski, L. L., & Sparks, T. (2007). Thirty years and 2,000 student teachers later: An over- seas student teaching project that is popular, successful, and replicable. Teacher Education Quarterly, 34(1), 115–132. Talbot, D., & Thomas, M. A. (2019). Experience in another place: teacher learning from an overseas placement. Teaching Education, 1–18. Tambyah, M. (2019). Intercultural understanding through a ‘similar but different’ international teaching practicum. Teaching Education, 30(1), 105–122. Tomaš, Z., Farrelly, R., & Haslam, M. (2008). Designing and implementing the TESOL teaching practicum abroad: Focus on interaction. TESOL Quarterly, 42(4), 660–664. Trent, J. (2011). Learning, teaching, and constructing identities: ESL pre-service teacher experiences during a short-term international experience programme. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(2), 177–194. Uusimaki, L., & Swirski, T. (2016). Cross-cultural ‘distance’, ‘friction’ and ‘flow’: Exploring the experiences of pre-service teachers on international practicum. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(3), 425–436.

References

47

Willard-Holt, C. (2001). The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 505–517. Williams, J., & Grierson, A. (2016). Facilitating professional development during international practicum: Understanding our work as teacher educators through critical incidents. Studying Teacher Education, 12(1), 55–69.

Chapter 5

Creating a Community of Learning During Teaching-Abroad Experiences

Abstract In this chapter, the impact of participating in teaching-abroad experiences on the host communities and accompanying teacher educators from the home institutions are discussed. Most of the published research on teaching abroad has considered the pre-service teachers’ experiences and learning while neglecting the host communities, such as students and teachers, and the role and experiences of teacher educators in such projects. Conditions required for creating sustainable projects that aim to benefit all stakeholders are suggested. Keywords Teaching-abroad · Teacher educators · International experiences · Initial teacher education · Community of learning To implement a teaching-abroad project successfully, there are several stakeholders who need to be involved. These include teacher educators from the initial teacher education (ITE) home institution, and schoolteachers, principals and students in the host context. Then, depending on the project, other stakeholders may include sponsorship bodies, partner institutions in the host country and agents. The literature on pre-service teachers’ experiences of, and perspectives on, teaching abroad has been well-reported and discussed in Chap. 3 of this book; however, research on other stakeholders’ experiences and learning is limited. This creates a ‘hole’ in our holistic understanding of teaching abroad during ITE. In the last few years, a few scholars have recognised this hole and have started to explore the perspectives of students and host teachers (e.g. Jin et al., 2020a, b, c; Aamaas et al. 2020; Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021), and accompanying teacher educators (Moorhouse, 2018; Williams, 2019). Notably, the research has been dominated by Australian academics reporting on projects originating from Australia. These studies have found teaching abroad to be a mutually beneficial and valuable experience for all participants, including PSTs, host teachers, school students (Jin et al., 2020b) and teacher educators (Moorhouse, 2018; Williams, 2019). Below, the literature pertaining to host teachers, students and teacher educators will be discussed.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_5

49

50

5 Creating a Community of Learning During …

5.1 Host Teachers Integral to a teaching-abroad project are the host teachers. In a number of studies, host teachers take up the primary role of mentoring the PSTs, acting as an important contact person and guide to their understanding of the local culture, curriculum, and teaching practices. The few studies that have been conducted on host teachers have largely found hosting PSTs to be beneficial to them. For example, Aamaas et al. (2020) explored the outcomes for host teachers of a teaching-abroad project involving Norwegian PSTs teaching in India. The study explored the perspectives of 21 teachers from eight schools that had been receiving Norwegian PSTs over a twenty-year period. The host teachers viewed their outcomes in terms of exposure to new and different pedagogical methods, and as a personal enrichment through encountering a foreign culture. Pedagogically, the host teachers observed practices common in Norway yet unfamiliar in India. A host teacher described a lesson where the visiting PSTs used a large number of realia and resources (e.g. songs, dances, skipping ropes, balls, wigs) to enrich a lesson about world-famous artists. Yet, the host teachers were concerned about the learning outcomes of the ‘Norwegian methods’ adopted by the PSTs. They saw them as motivational but not closely linked to the knowledge needed for exams. Similar perspectives have been found of Australian PSTs’ practices by host teachers in China (Jin et al., 2020a). These concerns limit the likely long-term impact of the experience on the host teachers’ pedagogy. They may see benefits in the approaches adopted by the visiting PSTs but may also find them incompatible with their own educational beliefs or context. Aamass et al. (2020) commented that ‘the Indian teachers regarded the play-based learning advocated by the Norwegian teachers as refreshing, but not a serious educational option in their own, competitive context’. However, seeing their own students taught in different ways may help to widen their teaching repertoire and help them handle change more effectively. It is important that PSTs and accompanying teacher educators are conscious of the differences in their beliefs and contexts to help find common ground between them (Jin et al., 2020a, b). Culturally, host teachers have been found to see clearer opportunities for learning. Through interacting with PSTs from different cultures, they can learn about cultural practices, such as festivals, food, etiquette and everyday life. Language is mentioned in several studies. As the reported literature usually involved PSTs teaching in English, host teachers have seen it as a chance to improve their English (Jin et al., 2020a). Research on host teachers’ perspectives has not always had positive outcomes. Major and Santoro (2016) explored the perspective of Solomon Island teachers who host Australian PSTs. The host teachers felt their practices were inferior to their visitors, therefore affecting their teaching self-efficacy. This view was reinforced by the practices of the PST and accompanying teacher educators. It is important that PSTs and teacher educators do not come into the host school with a view of superiority, and that local expertise is valued and acknowledged. In our project, we also explored and observed the host teachers’ learning. We conceptualised this as ‘a pedagogical exchange of ideas’ (Goodwin, 2010), with

5.1 Host Teachers

51

both groups of teachers having something to learn from one another. We developed, through negotiation with the host school leaders, two sets of complementary objectives (see Table 5.1). This allowed us to consider the needs and learning of both groups throughout the project. At the end of the project, we collected the thoughts and opinions of host teachers’ regarding their professional learning through a qualitative survey (Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021). Similar to the studies mentioned above, the host teachers felt the project positively affected them in various ways. The experience seemed to provide space for the host teachers to reflect on their conceptions of teaching. Their responses appear to demonstrate a shift in their ideas of what quality teaching means: We should help students learn English in a meaningful way. For example, not always ask students to copy words in order to memorise them. We can also ask students to draw, design the Picture Dictionary Book and other ways to help them practice new words. (Jack, host teacher, cited in Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 237)

As this teacher reflected, he could see other ways of teaching from the experience of working with the Hong Kong PSTs. The host teachers saw the observations and collaboration with the PSTs in teaching teams as especially beneficial. They felt that, by observing and giving feedback, they learned more about their own teaching, while they also learned from being observed and receiving feedback from the PSTs, as this comment from one teacher shows: We Ningbo teachers observed their teachers teaching and made some comments after each class. Mandy and Katie did much better day after day. They also observed our teaching and made comments on our teaching. So truly, we were learning from each other (Doris, host teacher, cited in Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 241).

To re-enforce the learning of the host teachers, I provided lesson demonstrations and workshops to the PSTs and host teachers during the sojourn. This gave me the opportunity to share my practices and provide a rationale for them. Jessie, a host teacher, shared her perspectives on one of the lesson demonstrations: Ben taught P. 3 writing; he guided them to express themselves step by step and let them arrive at the answers themselves. This is especially valuable to my learning! Maybe we have never attempted something like this in writing or relevant teaching experience in the past, together with the problems with our teaching materials, there may be a lot of difficulties. Let me put it into practice gradually. (Jessie, Host teacher, cited in Moorhouse & Harfitt, 2021, p. 239)

The team teaching and professional development provided the host teachers with time to reflect and consider ways of implementing new ideas into their teaching and curriculum. The pedagogical exchange seemed to be of value to the host teachers and PSTs alike. We were able to gain a better idea of the host context, including its perceived constraints. However, it is important to note that any learning may have been short term, and as with other studies, the teachers mentioned many contextual factors that affect their practices. Furthermore, consulting host teachers on what professional development they would like and find of value is essential (Williams & Grierson, 2016).

52

5 Creating a Community of Learning During …

Table 5.1 Co-developed objectives of the project Faculty objectives

Host school objectives

1. Pre-service teachers develop knowledge and skills of curriculum and professional development including, needs analysis, collaborative planning and teaching, objective setting and lesson reflection and evaluation

1. Host teachers develop knowledge and skills in key areas such as curriculum and materials design, task-based learning and teaching, teaching input on reading skills and using authentic texts in English lessons through collaborative planning and teaching

2. Pre-service teachers develop a greater understanding of their roles as education professionals and the need as professionals to share their knowledge and skills in the wider educational community

2. Host teachers gain exposure to activities that motivate the school students’ interest in learning English

3. Pre-service teachers gain a better understanding of English teaching in China and the needs of the students in different contexts

3. Host teachers learn ways to create a more holistic and engaging school-wide English environment

Clearly, the perspectives of host teachers are under-reported in the literature and need to be further explored. We do know that host teachers do seem to see value in taking part in teaching-abroad projects. It is important for teacher educators and ITE providers to consider the role and benefits to the host teachers and consider ways to maximise the benefits. Developing project objectives that consider their needs is one way to do, as is, in consultation with the host school, the provision of professional development to the host teachers. This can help cultivate a community of learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas.

5.2 Host Students Similarly to research on PSTs’ domestic practicum experiences, where ‘almost none of the studies [of practicums] showed the perspective of pupils’ who were taught by PSTs’ (Lawson et al., 2015, p. 401), the perspectives of students taught by PSTs during teaching abroad have rarely been studied. However, there is one recent exception. Jin et al. (2020c) explored the perspective of students in year 7 (12–13 yearolds) and year 11 (16–17 year-olds) from three schools across two different cities in China who had been taught English-language by Australian PSTs during a threeweek project. Through collecting students’ reflective writings about the experience via a survey, they found that students enjoyed the experience of being taught by Australian PSTs. In addition, the year 11 students showed a ‘nuanced appreciation’ of the cultural and pedagogical contrasts between the PSTs and their regular teachers (p. 1). The authors noted that the students seemed to develop a more positive view towards English learning, with one commenting, ‘They [the PSTs] showed us that learning English could be so interesting. I changed my opinion towards English learning because of them.’ They felt less worried about making mistakes in class and

5.3 Teacher Educators

53

increased confidence to take risks. Furthermore, the findings suggest the relationship between students and teachers was different in the PSTs classes, with students finding a greater level of equity compared to their normal teachers. Similarly, though, to the perspective of host teachers, the students did have the concern that the approaches adopted by the PSTs may not help prepare them for high stakes assessments and examinations. High-stakes examinations are a common characteristic of the Chinese education system. With only one study available that specifically explored the perceptions of host students, it is hard to draw conclusions on the value of such experiences to school students. Other scholars have mentioned the receptiveness and joy host students have when engaging with visiting PSTs (e.g. Buchanan, 2018). However, we must consider the potential ‘novelty’ aspect; with projects being short, it is likely that the host students will be primed for doing something interesting and fun and know that the experience will be short-lived. It is important, therefore, that we do not ‘over sell’ the value of teaching abroad to host students. Teaching abroad does create opportunities for students to learn about different places and peoples. Many studies report that a common activity is sharing about the PSTs’ home country and context (e.g. Kaliban 2013). For my part, I have noticed that the host students in our projects respond well to the PSTs and seem to value the whole experience. There seems to be a connection made between them within a short period of time. Jin et al. (2020c) mentioned the importance of actively listening to host students and considering their needs when implementing and researching teaching-abroad experiences.

5.3 Teacher Educators In Chap. 4, the value of teacher educators accompanying PSTs and supporting them during their teaching-abroad sojourn was discussed. However, the literature also reports on the experiences and professional learning of the teacher educators themselves. As Williams (2019) mentioned, understanding the teacher educator’s experience is important, as the success of the projects ‘depends largely on the quality of the planning, preparation, and leadership of these as educational experiences.’ (p. 497). The literature details the complex, multifaceted and intensity of the teacher educator’s role while leading teaching-abroad projects. On paper, accompanying teacher educators are responsible for observing and providing feedback to the PSTs’ lessons and teaching, providing support, and liaising with the host schools on behalf of the university and PSTs (Buchanan, 2018). However, in reality, the role is more complex and goes beyond the demands of supervising domestic practicums. As the participants are working and living together every day, away from their home, the teacher educator takes on a greater ‘duty of care’ over the PSTs. They help them navigate the unfamiliar environment, offering pastoral care and supporting them if they become overwhelmed. In addition, they may join social activities and outings with the PSTs. Clearly, living and working with the PSTs can make the experience

54

5 Creating a Community of Learning During …

more intimate than a domestic practicum, with the teacher educators being able to get to know the students as individuals and build closer relationships which continue after the experience has ended (Williams, 2019). It is a rare opportunity to get to know the students’ personally and develop deep relationships, which is often seen as the ‘core of what it means to be a teacher educator’ (Williams, 2019, p. 507). However, knowing how close to get and whether to join students during social occasions can create some uncertainty (Buchanan, 2018). Furthermore, the teacher educators may be in an environment that is unfamiliar to them as well (Moorhouse, 2018). This can create a level of vulnerability that can be stressful. However, leading a teaching-aboard experience can be personally and professionally transformative. Accompanying teacher educators need to explore their own self, including their privilege, beliefs, competence, and values, just as their students do (Williams & Grierson, 2016). These experiences have great potential for teacher educators’ professional learning and development (Fitzgerald et al., 2017). Williams (2019), through interviewing ten Australian teacher educators who had led teaching-abroad projects, outlined the professional learning they gained. First, they found the experience helped them gain a ‘greater understanding of others in international contexts’, which in turn helped them to gain a greater awareness of their own ‘position and disposition’ in an unfamiliar context (p. 502). This understanding helped them see the importance of negotiation and reaching a compromise when required to work within the local conditions and supporting the PSTs learning. They saw the need to be perceived as co-learners and collaborators, rather than outsiders imposing their own world view on the school and community. This can help them consider diversity in their own classrooms back home, which in turn, can help them better prepare PSTs for working in diverse contexts. Second, the teacher educators found the experiences gave them a better understanding of their professional identities. They found that through the experiences, they gained greater knowledge and confidence in their abilities, or they consolidated and enhanced the qualities they felt they already possessed. For example, participants commented that their ability to offer pastoral care to students was enhanced, or they changed their teaching approach or style because of the experiences. It is important that teacher educators have an open mind and willingness to see the world from others’ perspectives—recognising what they do and do not know. Importantly, as most of the teacher educators are from the Global North and accompany PSTs to the Global South, they need to avoid seeing their pedagogical approaches as ‘superior’ to the host context (Buchanan, 2018). This can be hard, as certain cultural practices and beliefs may challenge their PSTs’ and their own core values and beliefs. Buchanan (2018) discussed the challenges teacher educators face when navigating cultural practices, such as corporal punishment, which may be seen as acceptable in the host context, but not in the home context. A teacher educator in his study described how a PST participating in a project in Samoa was ‘traumatised’ by witnessing a teacher ‘pulling ears, poking, pinching of children, to the point where the PST asked to be deployed to another classroom’ (p. 19). It can be immensely challenging for teacher educators to make decisions on how to deal with such incidents and how they support PSTs in navigating emotional and sociocultural experiences. Thomas and

5.3 Teacher Educators

55

Talbot (2019) argue that if such incidents are not handled carefully, and conversations are not facilitated by the teacher educators, they could lead to further ‘entrenched attitudes of imperialism, tokenism, and othering that are unsupportive of genuine cultural inclusivity’ (p. 11). I have found leading a teaching-abroad project to be highly valuable to my own personal and professional learning and my involvement critical to the success of the project. As a novice teacher educator (I led the first project in my second year of being a teacher educator), I was apprehensive about taking on such a project. However, these experiences showed me the important role we have in such projects. As my students were still PSTs themselves, my presence gave them greater confidence to try out a variety of pedagogical approaches in the classroom. At the beginning of the project, the host teachers in the school were wary of the ideas my students suggested and reluctant for them to try them in the classroom. I was on-hand to provide support, observe their lessons, guide them during their reflections and encourage them to try new methods with a real awareness of their teaching context. Through the cyclical process the lesson study approach provided, I was able to observe improvements in their teaching that I had not seen in their domestic teaching practicum (Moorhouse, 2018). The experience helped me gain greater confidence in my teaching approaches while building closer relationships with my students. It also helped me enhance my supervising practices. I had only received limited training on how to effectively support, observe and provide feedback to PSTs during their practicum; however, the intensity of the project allowed me to work on my skills. I continued to explore my practices with one of the PSTs who joined the project and later worked in the host school upon graduation (see Moorhouse & Oh, 2019). Although the project involved a large time commitment, including two weeks away from my university, family and friends, I found my active involvement maximised the benefits of the project for my students and the host school while leading to my own personal and professional learning. The literature does suggest that accompanying teacher educators need to be better supported for the incredibly challenging role. Before embarking on a teaching-abroad experience, it is important they feel confident and ready. There is a growing amount of knowledge and wisdom regarding teaching abroad, and ideally, teacher educators can have access to this knowledge through sharing of experiences, resources, advice and reflective opportunities (Williams, 2019). It is also important that they develop cultural knowledge before they embark—having discussions with local colleagues, previous participants, or others knowledgeable about the context is important. Buchanan (2018) suggested that teacher educators are deployed in pairs when possible, so they can support each other as they navigate the new and unfamiliar environment. I was fortunate that an experienced colleague visited us for a few days during the first two years of our project and also attended the pre-sojourn and postsojourn sessions. His involvement helped me immensely. He was able to observe lessons with me and negotiate with the school. I was able to talk through things with him which gave me greater confidence.

56

5 Creating a Community of Learning During …

Clearly, more research needs to be done to understand the experiences and learning of accompanying teacher educators. Further research, using various qualitative methodologies such as self-study (e.g. Williams & Grierson, 2016), will provide a richer understanding that can enhance future projects.

5.4 Conclusion In this chapter, the experiences and professional learning of stakeholder’s integral to the success of teaching abroad have been explored. It can be seen that teaching abroad offers opportunities to create a community of learning through the ‘pedagogical exchange of ideas’ where everyone has the opportunity to learn from one another. Yet, like the learning and development of PSTs discussed in Chap. 3, this learning is not guaranteed and requires certain conditions. Common to all the literature is the need for stakeholders to be open-minded and willing to examine and even challenge their own preconceptions and beliefs. Inadvertently, PSTs and teacher educators coming from the Global North may consider their pedagogies superior, and this can be reinforced by host teachers who consider themselves inferior (Major & Santoro, 2016). It is more useful to create a context for supporting collaborative professional learning, where all stakeholders acknowledge that they have expertise and also something to learn from one another. All stakeholders need to come to an agreement about their roles and expectations of one another and help each other to overcome barriers. Co-constructing project objectives together could be one way to do this. In addition, engaging in dialogic reflection with different stakeholders and involving different stakeholders throughout the project are essential to creating such a community. Obviously, more research needs to be done into the experiences and learning of the various stakeholders involved in teaching-abroad experiences to make sure their voices are heard.

References Aamaas, Å., Nodeland, T. S., & Duesund, K. (2020). Outcomes from international teaching placements–what’s in it for the receiving side? A case of Norwegian preservice teachers in Indian schools. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 48(5), 463–476. Buchanan, J. (2018). Wish you were here: Academic supervision of international professional experience. The Australian Universities’ Review, 60(2), 15–24. Fitzgerald, A., Parr, G., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (2017). Narratives of learning through international professional experience. Springer Singapore. Goodwin, A. L. (2010). Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: rethinking knowledge domains for teaching. Teaching Education, 21(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/104762109034 66901. Jin, A., Foley, A., & Cooley, D. (2020a). Participant Chinese teacher and student perceptions of an international teaching practicum with Australian pre-service teachers. Intercultural Education, 31(6), 607–622.

References

57

Jin, A., Parr, G., & Cooley, D. (2020b). An Australian international teaching practicum in China: Exploring multiple perspectives. The Australian Educational Researcher, 47(2), 263–281. Jin, A., Parr, G., & Hui, L. (2020c). ‘The sun is far away, but there must be the sun’: Chinese students’ experiences of an international teaching practicum in China. Educational Research, 62(4), 474–491. Kabilan, M. K. (2013). A phenomenological study of an international teaching practicum: Preservice teachers’ experiences of professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 198–209. Lawson, T., Çakmak, M., Gündüz, M., & Busher, H. (2015). Research on teaching practicum—A systematic review. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(3), 392–407. Major, J., & Santoro, N. (2016). Supervising an international teaching practicum: Building partnerships in postcolonial contexts. Oxford Review of Education, 42(4), 460–474. Moorhouse, B. L. (2018). Taking an active role in our pre-service teachers’ overseas teaching experiences: A report on an experiential learning project in China. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(2), 241–242. Moorhouse, B. L., & Oh, M. H. M. (2019). Students as partners beyond formal education: A mentoring partnership in the first year of teaching. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(2), 156–162. Moorhouse, B. L., & Harfitt, G. J. (2021). Pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional learning through the pedagogical exchange of ideas during a teaching abroad experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(2), 230–244 https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1694634. Thomas, M. A. M., & Talbot, D. (2019). Exploring epistemologies: Deepening pre-service teachers’ ways of knowing through international professional experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1695100 Williams, J. (2019). The professional learning of teacher educators leading international professional experience. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(4), 497–510. Williams, J., & Grierson, A. (2016). Facilitating professional development during international practicum: Understanding our work as teacher educators through critical incidents. Studying Teacher Education, 12(1), 55–69.

Chapter 6

Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

Abstract This chapter acts as a conclusion to the book. It provides important considerations and principles for developing, implementing, and evaluating successful teaching-abroad experiences and projects in initial teacher education, as well as suggestions of future possibilities. Keywords Teaching-abroad · Teacher research · Virtual teaching-abroad · Principled project design In this brief monograph, the literature regarding teaching-abroad during initial teacher education (ITE) has been explored with insights from my own experiences leading a teaching-abroad project in Ningbo, China. Initiated as a response to globalisation and the need to adapt ITE so as to ensure graduates are better prepared for the increasing demands of teaching in the twenty-first century, teaching-abroad experiences can have an important part to play in the preparation of PSTs. The various studies conducted on teaching-abroad have shown how the immersive unfamiliar, and sometimes unsettling environment common to teaching-abroad, can provide a context for transformative personal and professional learning for the PSTs. Specifically, the experience can add to the PSTs’ knowledge in the five knowledge domains for quality teaching in a global context proposed by Goodwin (2010) (see Chap. 3): (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Personal knowledge—our own autobiographies and philosophies of teaching; Contextual knowledge—our understanding of children, schools, and society; Pedagogical knowledge—our knowledge and skills pertaining to content, theories, methods of teaching, and curriculum development; Sociological knowledge—our beliefs regarding diversity, cultural relevance and social justice; and Social knowledge—our ability to collaborate, engage in democratic group processes, and resolve conflicts (Goodwin, 2010, p. 22)

The knowledge gained can help PSTs, upon graduation, to teach in different and diverse contexts in which they may find themselves, either in their home context or abroad. The review has also shown that the host communities, including host teachers and students, can benefit from participating in teaching-abroad experiences (see Chap. 5). © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 B. L. Moorhouse, Teaching Abroad During Initial Teacher Education, SpringerBriefs in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05961-2_6

59

60

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

Although there has been notably less research on the impact on the host communities, the research that has been done has had positive results. Furthermore, leading teaching-abroad experiences has been shown to be transformative for accompanying teacher educators. The review has shown the huge variety of teaching-abroad practices and projects (see Chap. 4). However, for such experiences to have a positive impact on PSTs, host communities and teacher educators alike, it is clear that it is not the experience itself that leads to learning, but the design, implementation and opportunity to reflect deeply and continuously on the experience, that is essential. Drawing on this understanding, this chapter presents the principles for designing, implementing, and evaluating teaching-abroad experiences. This is followed by a discussion of teaching abroad in the realities of the post-pandemic world and suggestions for future possibilities.

6.1 Principles for Teaching-Abroad Experiences Once a decision has been made to develop and offer a teaching-abroad experience to pre-service teachers, there are a number of decisions that need to be made, which can be guided by the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

What will the objectives of the project be? Who will be eligible to join the project? How will participation be funded? When is a suitable time of the year for the project? How long and how intense should the experience be? In what host countries and schools will the project be conducted? How do we build connections with the host countries and schools? Where should the PSTs stay during the sojourn? How many schools should they teach in during the sojourn? What teaching, cultural, and social activities should the PSTs engage in during the sojourn? What support should be provided to the PSTs before, during and after the sojourn? What roles will different stakeholders play? How do we ensure no harm is done and that all stakeholders benefit from the project? How will professional learning and participation be assessed? How will the project objectives be evaluated? How will the sustainability of the project be maintained?

Some of these questions may be easier to answer than others, but most require careful thought and the consideration of multiple factors. Some questions may even lead to moral and ethical dilemmas, particularly those around access and eligibility regarding the projects, and concerns regarding the exploitation of host communities.

6.3 Principle 2: Limit Barriers to Project Participation

61

1: Co-construct project objectives 2: Limit barriers to project participation 3: Set clear eligibility criteria for PST participation 4: Select host countries and schools carefully 5: Decide the timing, duration, and intensity carefully 6: Choose accommodation to maximise immersion 7: Prepare PSTs thoroughly for the sojourn 8: Provide a variety of experiences 9: Cultivate a collaborative learning environment 10: Provide opportunities for ongoing dialogic reflection 11: Develop ways to evaluate the project effectiveness 12: Involve teacher educators from the home ITE institution 13: Consider ways to maintain the project’s sustainability Fig. 6.1 Universal principles for teaching-abroad projects

Therefore, it is important that teacher educators spend time developing a set of principles that underpin their decision-making. These could include universal principles which are applicable to all teaching-abroad projects and local principles for projects with specific needs. Below, some universal principles are suggested (summarised in Fig. 6.1).

6.2 Principle 1: Co-construct Project Objectives Any project should have clearly defined objectives stating the expected personal and professional outcomes it hopes to achieve. As teaching-abroad projects need to consider the needs and learning of multiple stakeholders, these objectives can be co-constructed or involve the development of complementary academic-focused objectives for various stakeholders with a focus on co-learning from the experience (Moorhouse, 2021). Teacher educators can communicate with or even visit the host school(s) before the project implementation to assess their needs and use this knowledge to propose objectives (see Chap. 4 for our project objectives).

6.3 Principle 2: Limit Barriers to Project Participation The literature has shown that access to teaching-abroad experiences is primarily available to the privileged few who reside in the Global North and have the financial means to fund their experience abroad (Buchanan & Widodo, 2016). Of course, ‘realistically … not all preservice teachers can benefit from the international teaching practicum and experience due to constraints and limitations such as capability, time and demanding course requirements’ (Kabilan, 2013, p. 200). Nonetheless, finding

62

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

ways to reduce barriers where possible, particularly financial barriers (such as collaborating with a sponsor/donor), must be a goal. For our project, we were lucky to have an external donor to fund the flight and accommodation costs, allowing us to open the project to all eligible students regardless of their financial situation. However, this may not be an option for other ITE programmes. Reciprocal agreements between universities in different contexts or national scholarships could be possible ways to open up teaching-abroad experiences to more PSTs. Offering teaching abroad within a suite of local and international experiential experiences can provide options to students with different needs (Harfitt & Chow, 2020).

6.4 Principle 3: Set Clear Eligibility Criteria for PST Participation Thought must go into the eligibility requirements of teaching-abroad projects to ensure that participants and hosts can gain maximum benefit from such experiences. These can relate to PSTs’ subject knowledge and/or previous experience teaching in their home context. For example, our project focused on the teaching of the English language. Therefore, we only made the experience available to English-language majors with relevant teaching-practicum experiences in Hong Kong. Alternatively, specific subject discipline courses could be offered before students embark on a teaching-abroad project to equip PSTs with the pedagogical content knowledge needed for the project (Buchanan, 2018).

6.5 Principle 4: Select Host Countries and Schools Carefully The literature shows that positive personal and professional learning is dependent on the quality of the experience (Santoro, 2014; Williams, 2019). Therefore, careful consideration needs to be given to the country and schools selected for teachingabroad projects. If schools are too different from the PSTs own experiences, this may make it hard to apply the knowledge they have learned in ITE into the context (Santoro, 2014). Likewise, if they are too similar, the environment might be too familiar, therefore limiting the opportunities for transformative learning (Usimaki & Swirski, 2016). Furthermore, the host school should be interested in participating, as this will mean they will be more open-minded and willing to support and engage in the project. It is important that host schools and partners are informed of the project objectives and activities and given opportunities to express their thoughts about them.

6.7 Principle 6: Choose Accommodation to Maximise Immersion

63

6.6 Principle 5: Decide the Timing, Duration and Intensity Carefully Teaching-abroad projects vary in duration and intensity. For some projects, these considerations may be fixed. For example, the university, faculty, programme may have a specific time slot in the academic calendar for experiential learning and alternative experience activities (Harfitt & Chow, 2020). Or the experience may be part of another outbound mobility experience (Trent, 2011) with the period pre-determined. For others, there may be flexibility. The literature suggests that even short sojourns can be transformative (Willard-Holt, 2021), though it seems a sustained period of two to three weeks provides enough time for the PSTs to become more comfortable in the new setting and also build rapport with students and teachers. It is important that the timing and duration are discussed with the host school. The literature does suggest that projects have failed because local contextual factors, such as national exams, are not considered (Buchanan, 2018). For intensity, this is a more challenging consideration. We found teaching two to three lessons a day was a good number as it gave PSTs enough experience and time for co-planning and reflection. PSTs need time to build rapport with host teachers and students, and this requires a sustained period of teaching the same learners. The previous experiences of PSTs, support provided, and school needs are all factors to consider when considering intensity. There are financial factors regarding the duration of the experience that must also be considered.

6.7 Principle 6: Choose Accommodation to Maximise Immersion The literature suggests that PSTs live with host families—homestay (Ate¸skan, 2016), or a stay in accommodation such as hotels, hostels and dormitories near to the host school(s). Homestay allows PSTs to experience the culture and lives of the host community. While shared accommodation can help create an environment for PSTs to engage with one another and their accompanying teacher educator outside of teaching time. This can provide space and time for co-planning and dialogic reflection. It can also cultivate a closer relationship between the teacher educator and sojourners (William, 2019). I valued the opportunity to live and work with my PSTs and believed the shared space of staying together in a hotel enhanced my relationships with my students. Other scholars have reported similar gains (Thomas & Talbot, 2019; Williams, 2019).

64

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

6.8 Principle 7: Prepare PSTs Thoroughly for the Sojourn Careful consideration needs to be made on how to prepare PSTs for the sojourn. The preparation and support needed will be dependent on the unique context of each project and the needs of different PSTs. Chapter 4 provides details of the kinds of activities that can be used to support PSTs before they embark. The literature suggests that students often want the preparation to focus on the development of their pedagogical knowledge; however, we also need to consider their cultural and contextual knowledge. We may also need to consider ways to prepare host teachers, so misunderstandings regarding roles and responsibilities can be addressed before the project begins (Major & Santoro, 2016). Teacher educators should be involved in the design of these activities in collaboration with colleagues from the host context.

6.9 Principle 8: Provide a Variety of Experiences The literature suggests that, to optimise PSTs’ professional learning, it is better for them to spend a sustained period of time in one school (Thomas & Talbot, 2019). However, opportunities to visit and observe other schools, and engage in other social and cultural activities, can enrich the experience and help students gain a more holistic understanding of the host country, city, education system and learners. Day trips can be planned for PSTs for weekends, and relationships fostered with other schools in the host community. Possible activities are introduced in Chap. 4.

6.10 Principle 9: Cultivate a Collaborative Learning Environment It is important that everyone involved feels they have something to learn from the project and maintains an open mind to its possibilities. This can create a collaborative environment for the ‘pedagogical exchange of ideas’ (Goodwin, 2010). We can develop practices and activities that emphasise this principle. These can include team teaching, co-planning, observations, and engaging in dialogic reflective discussions between various stakeholders. Connecting the PSTs with host mentors and teachers before the sojourn can help build relationships that can be conducive to collaborative learning. Different stakeholders should be encouraged to observe and discuss lessons and feel they all have something to add to the learning community generated during teaching abroad. Space should also be made for raising concerns, respectfully challenging assumptions, and conflict resolution.

6.13 Principle 12: Involve Teacher Educators from the Home ITE Institution

65

6.11 Principle 10: Provide Opportunities for Ongoing Dialogic Reflection It is essential that time and space are made available for dialogic and guided reflection throughout the teaching-abroad experience. All stakeholders need to be given appropriate tools and skills needed to reflect and for reflexivity on their experiences (Major & Santoro, 2016). Questions and prompts can be provided to support their reflection (see Chap. 4 for examples). For PSTs, this reflection should begin before they embark on the sojourn, during the sojourn and upon their return to their home context. Peers, host teachers and accompanying teacher educators have an important role in helping guide reflections and help PSTs challenge their pre-conceptions as they gain new experiences, which hopefully leads to new learning. Effective reflection on experiences is not easy and can be traumatic. It is important that teacher educators are aware of this and also receive training and support in implementing dialogic reflection.

6.12 Principle 11: Develop Ways to Evaluate the Project Effectiveness Learning from experience is hard to assess and evaluate. The majority of projects are short; therefore, a change in beliefs, attitudes or abilities is hard to identify. Although there is a large amount of literature attesting to the professional learning gains of PSTs from teaching abroad, most studies rely on analysing self-reported data, such as post-sojourn interviews, qualitative surveys and/or reflective writings. Even studies that have explored longer-term learning have relied on self-reported data (e.g. Moorhouse, 2020a, b). However, we can draw on multiple data sources and stakeholders’ perspectives to help us evaluate the project effectiveness. This may also mean collecting data at different points and after the PSTs have graduated and started teaching.

6.13 Principle 12: Involve Teacher Educators from the Home ITE Institution A common theme in the literature is the need to involve teacher educators from the home ITE institution in every aspect of teaching-abroad projects. It is the teacher educator who brings knowledge about the home programmes, expectations, participating students, and previous teaching-abroad projects. They can act as a bridge connecting the PSTs and host community while representing the home institution. They can also ensure the project maintains academic rigour. The role of the teacher educator is not an easy one and is fraught with complex decisions, often in response

66

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

to evolving and challenging situations. An effort needs to be made to ensure that the accompanying teacher educator is also well-prepared for the experience and knows how to find support if needed during the sojourn.

6.14 Principle 13: Consider Ways to Maintain the Project’s Sustainability The final principle is concerned with the sustainability of teaching-abroad projects. Teaching-abroad projects require a substantial amount of initial investment in time, workforce and money. It is therefore important that ways to maintain the project’s suitability are considered, so various cohorts of students can benefit from it. This can be done through explicit efforts to keep in contact with host institutions, schools and teachers between projects, building coherency and connection between different visiting cohorts (so they can build on the previous projects), and adapting the project based on feedback from various stakeholders. The thirteen principles detailed above are not a complete list, and no doubt, other considerations are needed when designing a teaching-abroad experience. However, hopefully, they can act as a starting point for discussions around the development of teaching-abroad experiences and help teacher educators develop principled experiences for their students.

6.15 Future Teaching-Abroad Possibilities When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of outbound mobility experiences in almost all contexts around the world, it became evident that easy international travel may not return in the same way in the near future. However, it seems that giving up on meaningful and transformative outbound mobility projects, such as teaching abroad, would be a shame and could reduce the opportunity for PSTs to develop knowledge that is invaluable to teaching in the twenty-first century. As we move from the pandemic to an endemic reality, it is hoped that outbound mobility experiences can begin again. However, it is essential that these are done in a safe way and that no harm is done to the host communities. The inequalities in the vaccination roll-out could mean students from the Global North are able to travel sooner than those in the Global South. The potential of spreading new strains through travel needs to be considered before such experiences are started again.

6.15 Future Teaching-Abroad Possibilities

67

6.15.1 Virtual Teaching-Abroad One possibility is to capitalise on the affordances of digital technologies and highspeed internet to develop virtual teaching-abroad projects. Although there is no literature pertaining to the adaptation of teaching abroad projects for online modalities, online modes do offer some potential, they have been used widely during the pandemic as a way to continue student learning remotely (Moorhouse & Kohnke, 2021; Moorhouse, 2020a, b) and to conduct remote teaching practicums. Though research conducted during the pandemic, suggest that such experiences are inferior to the real thing (Aguilar-Cruz & Medina, 2021). Even before the pandemic, synchronous digital technologies, such as, video-conferencing software which allow for real-time virtual interaction, have been used to connect teachers and learners across physical distances and conduct virtual exchanges. These kinds of projects have potential to connect teachers in different contexts, and engage in intercultural virtual exchange. Studies of in-service teachers’ professional development though participating in virtual exchange have found promising results (O’Dowd & Dooly, 2021). For example, Stanley (2017) presented a case study where in-service teachers from Montevideo, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the Philippines were able to use videoconferencing software to teach young language learners in Uruguay. The project was initiated to help enhance the English language teaching and learning in Uruguay, where the government aimed to increase students’ English proficiency and teachers’ competence in teaching the English language. The project was found to be successful. Clearly, these kinds of experiences do not offer the same immersive in situ experience of teaching abroad. However, they may help overcome some of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic or other barriers to in-person experiences. They may also widen access to intercultural experiences due to the lower costs of virtual experiences when compared to in-person teaching abroad. Opportunities for meetings, observations and dialogic reflection between teachers in both contexts could help substitute for the immersive experience. Indeed, Stanley (2017) suggested that team teaching between the virtual teacher and host teacher was essential to the project’s success.

6.15.2 Students-As-Partners and Teaching Abroad I would like to look beyond the pandemic to a world where we are free to travel as we did before and consider the kinds of ways teaching abroad could be enhanced for the future. In this world, there are newfound opportunities pertaining to teaching abroad. The first would be greater involvement of the PSTs in developing, implementing and potentially leading teaching-abroad experiences. Future teaching-abroad projects could draw on the principles of ‘student-as-partners’ where students and teacher educators work together to enhance learning opportunities. Student-as-partners has been defined as,

68

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities A collaborative, reciprocal process through which all participants have the opportunity to contribute equally, although not necessarily in the same ways, to curricular or pedagogical conceptualisation, decision-making, implementation, investigation, or analysis. (CookSather et al., 2014, pp. 6–7)

Previous sojourners could be involved as partners in future projects, sharing their experiences, addressing concerns and leading projects along with teacher educators, taking on new roles and responsibilities within the projects and creating greater impact through the partnership. This would help cultivate the sustainability of projects as knowledge from different cohorts could be shared and built on in successive years. Projects could also be better aligned with the perceived needs of PSTs as they would have a greater voice over the project design and implementation.

6.15.3 Reciprocal Teaching-Abroad Experiences The review has shown that, still, a minority of PSTs from more affluent countries and universities tend to benefit from teaching abroad. However, the benefits to PSTs from various backgrounds are evident. It is important, then, that universities and ITE faculties develop reciprocal agreements that increase access to teaching-abroad opportunities to PSTs that lack them. Buchanan and Widodo (2016) suggest that ‘Northern host universities have a moral obligation’ to offer opportunities to students in the Global South (p. 362). They argue that as international mobility has the potential and intercultural benefits, ‘extension of this good to all learners in a worthy aspiration’ (p. 363). These suggestions aim to help make teaching abroad more inclusive and therefore address some of the criticism of outbound mobility experiences. It is hoped, through different means, that more PSTs can benefit from well-designed teaching-abroad experiences that benefit both their personal and professional learning and the host communities as well.

6.16 Future Research Possibilities The increase in teaching abroad during ITE being offered globally has led to an increase in the amount of scholarship on teaching abroad. The majority of research has been conducted via small scale qualitative case studies of individual projects or within individual ITE programmes/faculties. These studies have often been conducted by the teacher educators involved in leading or coordinating teaching abroad initiatives themselves. My previous studies and this book are no exceptions. While these studies have provided us with rich contextual information in which to understand the lived experiences of the participants, it does mean that most understanding has come from scholars invested in the success of teaching abroad. This kind of research has an important part to play in our understanding, and there is certainly scope for more

6.16 Future Research Possibilities

69

studies to explore the lived experience of participants through qualitative methods. This monograph has shown that teaching-abroad experiences are deeply contextual, and without understanding the conditions of each project, it would be hard to understand any impact such experiences have on participants. I therefore encourage further qualitative research, including the rich personal narratives of stakeholders we do not usually hear from, such as teacher educators (Williams, 2019) and host teachers and students (Jin et al., 2020). As Williams (2019) states, these perspectives ‘will deepen our knowledge and understanding of what it means to learn from this experience, and how this knowledge can enhance current and future [teaching-abroad projects] for pre-service teachers, teacher educators and host schools and communities’ (p. 509). Teacher educators can engage in self-study as a method to develop and enhance their practices during leading teaching abroad, but also as a way to examine the impact of the experience on their practices and beliefs on their return home. It would be valuable to include scholars not directly involved in the project to act as collaborators and critical friends, so as to help us see teaching-abroad from different perspectives. PSTs can also engage in research. Students can be taught skills in research methodology and be guided to develop small projects, including action research, to explore the project they are participating in. Teacher research can provide another lens to understand what PSTs are experiencing while participating in teaching-abroad (see Gilliland (2018) for examples of ways teacher research can be adopted into teaching-abroad projects). The majority of studies have collected data during or immediately after the sojourn, yet change of beliefs and practices takes time, and any learning may not be realised until long after the experience. Longitudinal studies exploring the effects of teaching abroad on participants as they move from ITE to newly qualified teachers and beyond would help us understand the long-term benefits of teaching abroad. Some studies have been done and have shown promising results but are limited in scale and methodology (e.g. Moorhouse, 2020a, b). Although these have been very small scale and explorative. Furthermore, specific characteristics or conditions of teaching-abroad projects and the impact of these on the success of projects have so far been under-reported in the literature. For example, connections between the duration of an experience and professional learning are not fully understood. Although we can draw on the wider outbound mobility literature, exploring these elements within the teaching-abroad context would aid teacher educators in developing projects that maximise the benefits to participants. Research into virtual or remote teaching-abroad experiences can also help us understand if they are a realistic alternative to in-person projects. Finally, the majority of studies on teaching abroad have relied on self-reported data. These are obviously valuable; however, other methods, including observations and video recordings of practice before, during and after a sojourn, could aid our understanding with stimulated recall methodology, a potential way to examine connections between teachers’ actions and changes in beliefs pertaining to the teaching-abroad experiences. Stimulated recall is a methodology applied both in research and in professional development, as it acts as a stimulus to explore a participant’s thinking process during an incident or event (Lyle, 2003). Participants are

70

6 Principles for Teaching-Abroad and Future Possibilities

shown a short clip of their teaching or other activities, and the researcher and participant engage in a dialogic conversation about it. Often, teachers’ actions can seem natural and unconscious; however, when stimulated, it can help them better understand their own practices and verbalise their decision-making processes or ‘memory verbalization’ (Gass & Mackey, 2016, p. 17). Teaching abroad requires a large investment in time and money. To ensure the investment is worthwhile, it is essential that scholars continue to explore teaching abroad so as to help deepen our understanding of the connection between the experience, specific characteristics or conditions of projects, and the personal and professional learning of participants.

6.17 Conclusion In this monograph, I have reviewed and presented our current knowledge regarding teaching abroad during initial teacher education. The review has highlighted the potential benefits of teaching abroad for PSTs, host communities and teacher educators. A key requisite for these benefits is the design and implementation of these experiences. In this chapter, drawing on our current knowledge and my lived experiences of leading a teaching-abroad project, universal principles are proposed that can help guide the development of quality projects. Suggestions for future projects and research have also been proposed. I hope, after the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, that teaching-abroad opportunities can be initiated again so future PSTs can benefit from the transformative potential to personal and professional learning they offer. It is imperative that ITE consider ways to do this while maintaining the safety and well-being of all participants.

References Aguilar-Cruz, P. J., & Medina, D. L. (2021). Pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of their online teaching practice during pandemic times. Propósitos y Representaciones, 9(SPE1), 925. Ate¸skan, A. (2016). Pre-service teachers’ cultural and teaching experiences abroad. Journal of Education for Teaching, 42(2), 135–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2016.1144634 Buchanan, J. (2018). Wish you were here: Academic supervision of international professional experience. The Australian Universities’ Review, 60(2), 15–24. Buchanan, J., & Widodo, A. (2016). Your place or mine? Global imbalances in internationalisation and mobilisation in educational professional experience. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17(2), 355–364. Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C., & Felten, P. (2014). Engaging students as partners in learning and teaching: a guide for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2016). Stimulated recall methodology in Applied Linguistics and L2 research (Second Language Acquisition research series) (2nd ed.). Routledge. Gilliland, B. (2018). Teacher research during an international practicum. ELT Journal, 72(3), 260– 273.

References

71

Goodwin, A. L. (2010). Globalization and the preparation of quality teachers: Rethinking knowledge domains for teaching, Teaching Education, 21(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/104762109034 66901. Harfitt, G. J., & Chow, J. M. L. (2020). Employing community-based experiential learning in teacher education. Springer Publications. Jin, A., Foley, A., & Cooley, D. (2020). Participant Chinese teacher and student perceptions of an international teaching practicum with Australian pre-service teachers. Intercultural Education, 31(6), 607–622. Kabilan, M. K. (2013). A phenomenological study of an international teaching practicum: Preservice teachers’ experiences of professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 36, 198–209. Lyle, J. (2003). Stimulated recall: A report on its use in naturalistic research. British Educational Research Journal, 29(6), 861–878. Major, J., & Santoro, N. (2016). Supervising an international teaching practicum: Building partnerships in postcolonial contexts. Oxford Review of Education, 42(4), 460–474. Moorhouse, B. L. (2020a). Adaptations to a face-to-face initial teacher education course ‘forced’ online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Education for Teaching., 46(4), 609–611. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1755205 Moorhouse, B. L. (2020b). Teaching Abroad during Initial Teacher Education: The effects as perceived by recently qualified teachers on their preparedness for teaching. Asia Pacific Journal of Education. [Ahead-of-print] https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020b.1755222. Moorhouse, B.L. (2021). Teaching Abroad during TESOL Initial Teacher Education. In O. Barnaawi & S. Anwaruddin (Eds) TESOL Teacher Education in a Transnational World. Routledge Moorhouse, B. L., & Kohnke, L. (2021). Responses of the English-language-teaching community to the COVID-19 pandemic. RELC Journal., 52(3), 359–378. https://doi.org/10.1177/003368822 11053052 O’Dowd, R., & Dooly, M. (2021). Exploring teachers’ professional development through participation in virtual exchange. ReCALL, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0958344021000215. Santoro, N. (2014). ‘If I’m going to teach about the world, I need to know the world’: Developing Australian pre-service teachers’ intercultural competence through international trips. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 429–444. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2013.832938. Stanley, G. (2017). Remote teaching: A case study in teaching English to primary school children in Uruguay via videoconferencing. In Digital language learning and teaching (pp. 188–197). Routledge. Thomas, M. A. M., & Talbot, D. (2019). Exploring epistemologies: Deepening pre-service teachers’ ways of knowing through international professional experience. Asia Pacific Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2019.1695100 Trent, J. (2011). Learning, teaching, and constructing identities: ESL pre-service teacher experiences during a short-term international experience programme. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(2), 177–194. Uusimaki, L., & Swirski, T. (2016). Cross-cultural ‘distance’, ‘friction’ and ‘flow’: Exploring the experiences of pre-service teachers on international practicum. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(3), 425–436. Willard-Holt, C. (2001). The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 505–517. Williams, J. (2019). The professional learning of teacher educators leading international professional experience. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(4), 497–510.