Abstract:

This paper stems from the work of a group of teacher educators at the University of Porto (UP), in the context of the project DITE – Diverse Internationalization of Teacher Education, an ongoing funded project by the European Commission, of which UP is a participating institution. The main goal of DITE is to promote the integration of the internationalization dimension in pre-service teacher education. In particular, the project aims at fostering, in pre-service teachers (PSTs), a critical awareness of significant current challenges related to diversities (cultural, linguistic, religious, social, economic, etc.) in various educational contexts. It also intends to highlight the classroom and the processes of internationalization “at home”, helping PSTs to develop tools to better face these new realities. We focus here on one of the DITE project activities: a course (3 ECTS) of 21 hours of contact, targeting PSTs from all teacher education programs at UP.

The goals of this course were:
i) to raise awareness about diversity and internationalization;
ii) to distinguish internationalization through mobility from internationalization “at home”;
iii) to know global perspectives of internationalization and the concepts of intercultural communication and inclusive internationalization;
iv) to plan teaching activities that consider the diversity and internationalization of students; and
v) to develop digital skills that allow students in schools to be involved in international contexts.

The course was implemented over three sessions and divided into six modules: introduction, concept of internationalization, intercultural communication, inclusive internationalization, internationalization of teaching and learning processes, and presentation and discussion of student work. Considering the diversity of teacher education contexts of the 30 PSTs who attended the course, classes were essentially based on participatory dynamics and project work. Following an assessment-for-learning perspective, PSTs’ work was assessed via the elaboration of a digital poster and subsequent oral presentation. The poster should present a proposal of an activity of dynamics that promoted the dimensions of internationalization in school pedagogical practices. PSTs were divided into six groups, taking into account the diversity of background areas. Grading addressed the conception and organization of the proposal and the oral presentation of the poster.

Under a qualitative approach, data were collected through field notes of participating observation, and PSTs’ course productions and answers to an open-ended questionnaire. PSTs’ participation was quite enthusiastic, engaging in various dynamics of reflection and discussion on the topics covered. They were challenged to work with colleagues they did not know and to appreciate the potential and strengths of the diversities experienced within their training in present and future work contexts. The posters reflected a range of proposals, of which interculturality and activities of interdisciplinary or extracurricular nature stood out. After receiving feedback, the posters were presented at the final DITE seminar, with the participation of PSTs involved in this course, supervisors, and cooperating teachers. Together, they discussed different aspects of internationalization, emphasizing how to operationalize internationalization "at home". Some strengths and weaknesses of this whole experience are discussed in the paper.

Keywords:

Teacher education, internationalization, diversity.