Innovating in the Margins of Teacher Education: Developing a Bridging Program for Internationally Educated Teachers

Abstract

In this article, we discuss our recent and current efforts to offer an innovative form of ongoing teacher education designed explicitly for Internationally Educated Teachers (IETs), which might be considered a type of in-service teacher education. We share some of the observations of IETs who have completed the Faculty of Education’s Bridging Program at the University of Alberta as well as our own experiences. Aspects of the program’s curriculum are described such as its framework including the organization of a bridging seminar and field experiences/practicum. To provide context, we review relevant policies and the limited but valuable research from other Canadian bridging programs for IETs. We conclude with a discussion of the most significant changes we have made to practices at the University of Alberta and address the issue of sustainability.        Keywords: Internationally Educated Teachers (IETs); immigrant teachers; foreign-trained teachers; recertification; bridging programs for international teachers; teacher education; professional education; in-service teacher education for international teachers.