Teachers' experiences of collaborating internationally: from the "wow" effect to making a difference to students and schools.

Description

International collaboration is perceived as a necessary practice for teachers in order to develop and/or extend their global and cultural perspectives on the teaching and learning process. It is argued that within the international space, teachers are able to explore specific problems/topics and gain a new perspective from their fellows who work in different countries and educational traditions. During the past two decades, the call for international experiences for teachers in many European countries has been met with an increasing number of initiatives that link teachers from different countries. These are offered and funded by national and local governments, non-governmental organisations and via European Union projects on mobility. Beyond the importance of international collaboration in changing teachers’ views on different aspects of teaching and learning processes, little is known regarding the extent to which and in what ways the projects or initiatives that bring teachers together in partnerships or communities across national boundaries contribute to teachers’ professional development and to their local environment. The study presented in this paper, which has been framed within the concept of communities of practice, aims to firstly explore teachers’ experiences of collaborating internationally and the potential impact these experiences have on teachers’ themselves, their students and schools; and to secondly gain a deeper understanding of the possible mechanisms at play in the interaction between teachers’ engagement in international activities and their students and schools.

Period	16 Aug 2019
Event title	Teacher Education in a changing global context
Event type	Conference
Location	Bath, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	International