Learning globally, teaching locally: incorporating international exchange and intercultural learning into pre‐service teacher training

As the US student population becomes increasingly diverse, teacher education programs need to enable prospective teachers to meet the varied needs and expectations of students and families, while simultaneously creating viable classroom communities. Learning opportunities, such as travel and teaching abroad and the perceptions of ‘otherness’ this creates, lead to new perspectives regarding human differences. Such experiences, if wisely structured, can rectify misconceptions and reverse stereotypes. This paper explores the impact of teaching‐related travel on novice teachers’ cultural understanding and professional identity. The paper discusses how prospective teachers challenge their perceptions of their professional self through international field experiences. The goal is to begin a discussion that explores the internationalization of teacher training to the end of creating globally aware and culturally sensitive educators and students.