Impact of intercultural online collaboration project for pre-service teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine if providing an intercultural online collaboration experience is beneficial to enhance pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for technology integration, intercultural sensitivity, and communication and collaboration skills. The authors compared the experiences of two groups (intercultural group vs. same-culture group) by using mixed-design ANOVA and content analysis. A total of 115 pre-service teachers from two universities in the USA and one university in South Korea participated. The results indicated that students in both groups significantly improved their self-efficacy for technology integration and technology skills after participation. Although no significant difference between groups was found in quantitative data, qualitative analysis showed that students in the intercultural group demonstrated a more in-depth understanding of effective ways to communicate with people from different cultures online. We conclude that intercultural online collaboration enhanced pre-service teachers’ confidence in working with overseas partners and provided them with authentic collaboration opportunities.