The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page. (St.  Augustine)

The Study Abroad Program we explore in this research is designed for pre-service teachers at Texas A&M University and offers an opportunity each year for undergraduate students to travel, research, and reflect on cultural and pedagogical practices in various countries. In today’s global society, the importance of understanding stereotypes is imperative for a generation of teachers who will teach in a community of students whose demographic dynamics will be extremely different from their own experiences.  McKercher (2008) states, “Stereotypes in tourism are both remarkably common and enduring” (p. 345), and in these study abroad opportunities, the professors in these educational experiences assist students in recognizing their preconceived stereotypes which are eventually transformed through travel.

Research suggests that a global perspective is essential in today’s world and that in American classrooms which are growing increasingly diverse, it is particularly important that teachers understand and accept cultures (Bruce, Podemski, & Anderson, 1991; Faulconer, 2003; Pence and Macgillivray, 2008; Willard-Holt, 2001). Faulconer (2003) insists that teacher perceptions can negatively impact classrooms and a, “change in these perceptions should be the goal of every teacher education institution.  Designing curricula, immersion experiences, and methods that effectively require pre-service teachers to confront their own biases and truly see into another culture is paramount to preparing teachers who will honestly and effectively create equitable learning environments for all children” (p.3).

Colleen Willard-Holt (2001) suggests a list of goals for educating preservice teachers based on her extensive research on global education.  “The qualities that preservice teachers meeting the goals would hopefully possess include cross-cultural knowledge (including knowledge about cultures other than their own), motivation to teach from a global perspective, the ability to perceive and value cultural diversity, confidence and skill in communicating, a sense of ease in other cultural groups, the ability to view peoples of other cultures without the distortions of stereotype, and the perspective of seeing themselves as part of a professional community with peers around the world” (p.505-506).

It is imperative to prepare preservice teachers for their international programs before they arrive at their destinations, and Gary Barkhuizen and Anne Feryok (2006) stress that the preparation goes “well beyond the usual advice about clothing, medications, and travel documents” (p. 131).  Pence and Macgillivray (2008) suggest that “stepping outside of one’s comfort zone and reflecting on one’s reactions can help preservice teachers become more flexible and reflective practitioners” (p. 16).  As students begin to break down their stereotypes they must learn to interact in harmony with other people in settings outside of their own American culture (Hammer, Wiese, & Boettcher, 2011).

American educators report that when their students return from studying in another culture, they usually have more appreciation for different cultures, are more mature, self-aware, and independent prior to traveling.  Hadis (2005) writes, “The research literature that evaluates the impact of study abroad on United States college students coincides with these impressionistic perceptions and find that participants in study abroad programs acquire global-mindedness, intellectually, and develop personally” (p.3).  He goes on to suggest that students who study abroad are often more cognizant of broadening their horizons concerning international issues.

In preparing students for their international travel, the mentoring faculty requires them to read several pieces of literature and research topics about the country they will be visiting.

Since students always bring a part of themselves into the reading of each text, it is important for the faculty to help students examine their preconceptions and stereotypes without forcing them into a position of rejecting their own preconceived views or the new broader ideas that the research literature can support.  Janes (2011) working with American students studying in Great Britain for a year implies, “I am encouraging them to see how their viewpoints lead to a distinctive set of views”, but at the same time “begin to appreciate that words can mean very different things to different people at different times” (p. 66).  His goal of helping students to think and reflect beyond a single answer and American cultural definition is the model for which these authors mentor students in their literature reflections.

Following a six week course of researching the literature of the country to be visited, students are required to submit a reflection paper on how the experience changed their stereotypes and impacted them for their future classrooms.  We saw several strand of demystifying stereotypes through the reflections; one was the total shattering of pre-conceived stereotypes.

Lauren writes about her trip to Ireland, “My eyes were opened to a whole new culture both different and similar to my own. Hearing about the day-to-day lives of everyone we met who would talk to us was so interesting. I definitely have an altered perspective on different cultures since I took cultural plunge for10 days in Ireland. You can never judge a book by its cover, which is something I have always known. But at the same time, just because you have heard A, B, and C about a certain group or culture does not mean that they actually do or act the way you were told; my stereotypes were shattered.”

Dave writes about his shattering of stereotypes, “I enjoyed learning about the history of Ireland in general. There were so many different facets of this but I felt that the religious factor fascinated me the most. In America I feel that Christianity in general is a joint effort and other religions get pushed to the back. In Ireland, Protestants and Catholics is the battle. This was interesting because the religions are not all that different. There are very few small differences and there shouldn’t be a spiritual war over this. What I found was interesting is that the real problem is between English rule over Ireland. Although, the religions are technically differentthe problem derived from the religion of England and the people wanting to get away from English rule. This caused the civil war to be so much more brutal. It was amazing hearing that different support groups would not attack military bases but schools, churches, children, or whoever to make an impact. Although, some cities had huge walls to separate the Catholics from Protestants, I felt that Londonderry was the most interesting. It was amazing how enemy forces had never penetrated them. It was also interesting the history they have played in many different wars. Overall, it was very interesting because it made me feel more passionate about my own history and culture and helped me break down the stereotypes of different religions. They were very passionate and have had to fight all their lives. It makes me feel that I can’t take Ireland’s past and history for granted. “

Ben wrote, “As an American growing up in a conservative household, I bleed capitalism. However, with these beliefs came a prejudiced outlook on socialism and other non-capitalistic viewpoints.  It was merely a biased opinion on the different forms of government, rather than the people who were subject to them. The old cliché “never judge a book by its cover” is a strong parallel to my experience in Russia. I expected Americans to be hated upon, to be cold- shouldered at every interaction with the Russians. I had no idea that my experience was to be extremely different from what I had anticipated.  One of the greatest educations that every student needs is that of other cultures and people. A classroom of students can sit, talk, read, and learn about Russia. That class will learn only so much about the people and the way they live. If that same group of students were to subsequently travel to Russia, then all those bits of information would actually mean something. They could see the sights, interact with the people, and learn what it is like to live in Russia for ten days. Their biases and stereotypes would change dramatically, as mine did”.

Another strand of demystifying stereotypes was how the American students changed their perceptions of different groups of people within the culture of the country they visited on their various study abroad programs.

Kylie wrote, “While in Russia I also learned that the people today do not like to consider themselves as communists. Before visiting the country I was actually unsure if they were still a communist country. When you hear Russia referred to in the American media there is still a negative communist connotation associated with them. They currently have a democratic system in place and they are working towards becoming a better country. One thing that we discussed was the corruptness of the government. Our Russian tour guide mentioned that you could find articles about how politicians where stealing money, but you wouldn’t find an article talking about their private lives. The private life was a well-protected and sacred thing and I began to wonder just how corrupt the politicians were compared to the very kind and accepting everyday Russian people.”

Sarah wrote about her experience in Austria. “Mauthausen. Something you can never forget. There is nothing that can prepare you for what you will experience as you walk through this concentration camp. As I walked through each building, the roll call area, the execution

chamber, I cannot help but think of who has walked there before me. I see faces that have given up hope, eyes full of terror, hearts full of anger of people that did nothing to deserve this tragic fate. I imagine how many of those people were ready to claim death and try to think of those who were fighting until the end. Nothing can prepare you for the rush of emotions as you walk

through the gas chamber, see the crematorium or picture the atrocities that happened on the dissection table. Learning about the Holocaust in school, watching the watered down movies about the horror, and reading the firsthand accounts of Holocaust victims still never prepares you for the harsh reality of experiencing something like this firsthand.  I have a total appreciation for the Jewish people and the struggles they experienced.”

Still a third strand of demystifying stereotypes was how American students realized that the American culture isn’t as perfect as many of them had been raised to believe, and that we learn from other cultures.

Rachel wrote, “I learned that Russian people are very simple, but also tough. I learned that our culture in America is rude and ugly sometimes as well. I remember one day while standing on the sidewalk our group was standing in the middle of the sidewalk, and some lady pushed through our group to try to get through. Some of the students complained about her, yet they were the ones in the middle of the sidewalk. The Russian culture seemed very proud of themselves and their background. They were a culture that seemed to survive a lot and yet still hold their heads up high.  It was truly the Americans who were rude, not the Russians”.

Heath wrote, “I felt worthless because I couldn’t even order a burger from McDonald’s without getting strange looks from not only the cashier, but the Russian people around us as well. I felt like I was being looked down upon because I couldn’t grasp what they were trying to tell me; like I was a foreign student not knowing what the teacher was trying to tell me or help me understand. I realized that many countries, including Russia, have children in schools learn English as well as their native language so that they can amount to something in life or serve as

an advantage when looking for a job and positions of that sort. We Americans expect for others to know our language and because of what I had learned in the multicultural class, I was able to take in that reality. Yes, English is the language of business, but how many children that are required to learn it actually practice it every day and are perfectly fluent in it? Sergei, our tour guide from Moscow, was the perfect example language acquisition; he knew five languages which he learned himself by reading. People like Sergei came to the rescue in Moscow and St. Petersburg when we needed help in the coat room, store, or market. Their attitudes about language acquisition, I believe was definitely part of their culture. To think that I could be speaking three other languages fluently blows my mind and the fact that there are people in the world that do that made me want to better myself and maybe even take on that challenge pertaining to this aspect of my life.”

Amy wrote,  “The main thing that I learned from the study abroad was how important it is to get out and interact with diverse types of people. I figured out the more that I interacted with the people from the different cultures, the more I learned about myself. I liked not knowing where I was and having to figure how to get to where I needed to be. I loved having the opportunity to speak to the various tour guides and townspeople to learn more about them and

their cultures. Of those conversations, my favorite was a night in Budapest when a small group of us went to a coffee shop and we ended up having a great conversation with our waiter who was a native Hungarian. We had been having a difficult time finding our way around and when we would ask people on the streets for directions, they could not understand what we were saying. He taught us some basic Hungarian that ended up really helping us out in the following days. Most importantly I enjoyed visiting those countries and having the opportunity to observe their normal daily life routines. Being stuck in the cookie cutter society that I have always been a part of, I easily thought that what I do and how I live is the same for everyone; but from this experience I quickly saw that I am only a little spec in a huge world of diversity and change.”

This case study of preservice teachers intercultural developments through study abroad and their awareness of their American stereotypes, highlights how teacher education can transform the global awareness of young people through travel.  These yearly trips are powerful vehicles for prepare Texas teachers to work with diverse students through while learning subtract from their pre-conceived stereotypes they possessed, prior to travel.

 

REFERENCES

Barkhuizen, G., & Feryok, A. (2006).  Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of a short-term international experience programme.  Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34 (1), 115-134.

Bruce, M.G., Podernski, R.S., & Anderson, C.M. (1991). Developing a global Perspective: Strategies for teacher education programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 42 (1), 21-27.

Faulconer, T. (2003).  These kids are so bright!  Preservice teachers’ insights and discoveries during a three-week student teaching practicum in Mexico.  Paper presented at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (ERIC document reproduction service no. ED482507), April 23.

Hadis, B. F. (2005).  Gauging the impact of study abroad:  how to overcome the limitations of a single-cell design.  Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education.  30, 1, 3-19.

Hammer, J., Wiese, P, & Boettcher, C. (2011).  Exploring implications, observations, and conclusions of a cross-cultural partnership between preservice English as a second language (ESL) teachers and an Italian middle school.  Panel Presentation and Paper, Hawaii International Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Janes, D. (2011).  Beyond ignorance:  using the cultural stereotypes of Americans studying in the UK as a resource for learning and teaching about British culture.  Innovations in Education and Teaching International. 48, 1, 61-68.

McKercher, B.  (2008).  The roots of stereotypes about tourists.  Society 45:345-347. Pence, H.

M., & Macgillivray, I. K. (2008).  The impact of an international field experience on preservice teachers.  Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 14-25.

Willard-Holt, C. (2001). The impact of a short-term international experience for preservice teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 505-517. -517.