The Image of the Child Constructed and Transformed by Preservice Teachers in International Contexts

Abstract

International experiences offer new settings for revisiting, revising, and reconstructing currently held images of the child. Specifically, international practicum experiences can provide preservice teachers with opportunities to reflect on their views about children by positioning themselves as “the other.” The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of international experiences on preservice teachers’ currently held images of the child through their photographs, journal entries, and seminar discussions. Specific research questions included how preservice teacher’s images of the child were challenged or affirmed in international settings and how the preservice teachers saw their own teaching practices informed by this experience. Our results describe the changing images the preservice teachers developed of children and themselves as teachers.