How to develop intercultural competence in teachers? Evidences from the preservice teacher's practices

Abstract

In an increasingly globalized society, teachers and researchers are concerned about the development of teachers' Intercultural Competence (IC). Various conceptual models allow the assessment of its development, but little is known about how the process occurs. In this study we identified the learning processes that lead to the development of the different dimensions of IC, analyzing a formative experience framed in a teaching innovation project in the practices of the last year of the Primary Education Degree that promoted the development of IC in an intentional way. Thirty-two students participated in a multicultural school in Barcelona. Based on an evolutionary and qualitative approach to IC, the results allow us to specify the definitions of four dimensions in which it was possible to identify gradual processes of learning and development of IC: receptivity to inclusive and intercultural education; openness to diversity; reflexivity; and adaptability/flexibility. These processes move from internal results -on the personal level- with attitudes that need to be strengthened, to external results -on the level of interpersonal relationships- as skills to be developed in order to successfully manage the multicultural diversity present in the classroom.