Do Pre-Service Teachers Inherently Develop Intercultural Awareness on Placements?

Abstract

This chapter will discuss the experiences of a group of pre-service Primary education teachers on the placement and development of their intercultural competence. Firstly, the concept of intercultural competence will be discussed and its importance in the field of education will be debated. Furthermore, a study will be presented in which students first take an intercultural sensitivity test and then write narratives regarding intercultural experiences while on placements. The analysis of the test and the narratives show that these pre-service teachers over-estimate their intercultural competence and are often unable to see past the description of the event from their own perspective. These results show that there is a real need to develop these competences and suggests a need to incorporate specific intercultural training before placements for this purpose.