Learning to teach in new cultural contexts

Recent years have seen an increasing number of pre-service teachers participating in international study programs that aim to increase their intercultural competence and ability to teach in diverse cultural contexts. Increasingly, education is seen as a global activity, with teachers and teacher educators being expected to work with a diverse student population within their own countries, as well as having opportunities to work in overseas locations. In this paper, results from a pilot study of five pre-service teachers from an Australian university undertaking a three week overseas practicum in the Cook Islands are presented. The study sheds light on the professional learning opportunities afforded pre-service teachers in this particular location by exploring the role of the local culture on their professional learning and the impact of this experience on their developing identity as beginning teachers.