Conference Agenda

In recent decades, internationalization has become considerably more important for universities in general and for teacher education in particular. In Europe, bilingual and multilingual regions, the integration of labor markets and the increasing mobility of citizens require the inclusion of an international perspective at different levels in education systems. For students, the Erasmus program has served as a hub for international exchanges among higher education students across Europe since 1987. From 1995 to 2020, the Comenius program supported student, student teacher and teacher exchange. Since 2021, Erasmus+ has merged both program lines, providing future teachers the opportunity to study at international universities. The EU’s (2018) study on the effects of exchange programs highlighted that, at the student level, positive changes occur in terms of their personal development, social engagement, professional perspectives and intercultural openness. However, no explicit remarks are made on student teachers. The overviews by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD 2020), also do not separately list the student teacher cohort. Thus, our understanding of this cohort is limited.

Beyond these physical mobility programs, concepts of "internationalization@home" hold potential to make international experiences accessible to those students whose financial and/or time constraints, or other life circumstances, hinder them from pursuing study-related stays abroad – without intending to replace them. This describes a perspective on internationalization that goes back to the Swedish scientist Bengt Nilsson and considers, among other things, the implementation of an international university campus with corresponding language-related offers, the internationalization of curricula and of courses (e.g., digitally enabled joint courses) (cf. ibid., 1999). Nilsson hoped that this form of internationalization would promote transnational, or cultural, sensitivity and competence. Internationalization at Home can foster broader discourse about target dimensions and associated prerequisites for the internationalization of higher education institutions, moving beyond the administrative level (Nilsson, 1999). However, research on the potential of such ideas for the professionalization of teachers is still rare.

Accordingly, the symposium will cover a wide range of topics relating to internationalisation and mobility in teacher training. Firstly, the level of education policy and the practices of recognising qualifications and certificates for the international mobility of teachers will be presented. Against the background of three teacher education systems in Canada, Iceland and Germany, challenges and conditions for success are presented. This is followed by considerations on partnerships between universities for the exchange of students: What conditions must be met to enable an exchange between students?

The organisation of exchanges between international and culturally diverse partners in higher education in South Africa and Germany will be examined as an example. The organisation of an international exchange is associated with the expectation that students will not only benefit personally, but also acquire specific skills that are essential for their future careers. The last two contributions will therefore focus on student perspectives. Contribution three presents the initial results of a longitudinal study on exchange programmes in Bachelor's degree courses, looking at motives and hurdles for studying abroad and on how students can be addressed effectively.

The last contribution describes a trilateral approach on internationalisation of teacher education based on an exchange and research program. This program offers bi- and trilateral exchanges for students in Germany, North Carolina an Ghana, which will be highlighted in specific case studies and discussed against a common developed research framework.

In conclusion, the symposium aims to present and critically discuss key aspects of internationalisation in teacher training.

The internationalisation of teacher education has been increasingly investigated within the context of internationalisation of higher education and in connection with the preparation of teachers for global awareness and global citizenship education, including the challenges of the strong framing of teacher education by the requirements of national school systems (e.g. Koh et al. 2022). Another relevant strand in the research into the teaching profession is dedicated to international teacher migration and the diversification of the teacher workforce, encompassing the recruitment of migrant teachers (Caravatti et al., 2024; Terhart & Rosen, 2022). These developments are also closely associated with the expectation of enhancing teachers’ competencies in addressing the needs of culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse pupils (Marom et al., 2021). However, the discourses on the internationalization of teacher education and international teacher migration seem hardly interconnected in research so far, even though there are common issues and challenges related to differences in the structures and content of teacher education, recognition of academic achievements earned abroad, languages of instruction, and the development of teacher professionalism and identity (Rakhkochkine & Flötotto, 2020; Rakhkochkine, 2024, in prep). The presentation addresses the question of how the internationalization of teacher education influences the policies and practices of recertification of internationally trained teachers (ITTs). The authors answer this question from a comparative perspective. They explore the policies and practices concerning ITTs in Canada, Germany, and Iceland, and examine their connections to the national and international discourses on internationalisation of teacher education. The presentation is based on the analysis of research and policy documents related to the recertification of internationally trained teachers and internationalisation of teacher education in the respective countries and on the (secondary) analysis of qualitative interviews from author’s research projects. Through this examination, the authors contribute to the development of a more comprehensive theoretical framework for measuring the effects of internationalization programs including long-standing effects on the notion of the teaching profession.

Caravatti, M.-L., McLeod Lederer, S., Lupico, A., & Van Meter, N. (2014). Getting teacher migration and mobility right. Education International. https://www.eiie.org/en/item/25652:getting-teacher-migration-and-mobility-right Koh, A. Karen Pashby, K. Tarc, P. & Yemini, M. (2022). Editorial: Internationalisation in teacher education: discourses, policies, practices. Teachers and Teaching, DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2022.2119381 Marom, L., Locher-Lo, C., Martin-Ko, A., Shank Lauwo, M., Sun, Z., & Yaro, K. (2021). Conclusion: Teaching and teacher education in an era of superdiversity: Challenges and opportunities. In G. Li, J. Anderson, J. Hare, & M. McTavish (eds.), Superdiversity and teacher education: Supporting teachers in working with culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse students, families, and communities (1st ed., pp. 299–316). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003038887 Rakhkochkine, A. & Flötotto, M. (2020). International Conference „Internationalisierung der Lehrerbildung und internationale Lehrermigration/ Internationalisation of Teacher Education and International Teacher Migration“. https://www.interedu.phil.fau.eu/2020/05/08/international-teacher-education-and-migration/ Rakhkochkine, A. (2024). Internationalisation of Teacher Education and International Teacher Migration from the Perspective of Comparative Education. In. Rakhkochkine, A., & Flötotto, M. (eds.). (in prep.). Internationalisierung der Lehrerbildung und internationale Lehrermigration. FAU University Press. Terhart, H., & Rosen, L. (2022). Editorial: The diversification of the teaching profession in Europe and beyond. Ambivalences of recognition in the context of (forced) migration. European Educational Research Journal, 1–12.

Against the backdrop of worldwide social, political and economic transformations internationalization represents a substantial requirement in higher education according to Maassen et al. (2023). This is particularly important in teacher education where such processes can provide global competencies and agency which can broaden the notions of being a global citizen in an age of uncertainty. To integrate an international perspective in the structures of (initial) teacher education in a meaningful, inclusive and sustainable way, resilient collaborative partnerships are required. In this presentation we highlight lessons learnt from a collaborative process between two institutions within the context of global north and global south. Such partnerships are important and successful if they are based on corresponding cultures, understandings and goals (Meyer et al 2007, Coombe 2015). However, there is a paucity of research dealing with the advancement and achieving of this kind of partnership process. We address the question of how a collaborative interaction, embedded in the context of an international inter-institutional partnership was developed. We employed collaborative auto-ethnography (Campbell 2016) as research method and methodology to document and understand our personal experiences and used complexity theory (Clarke & Collins 2007) to interpret the data. Key findings indicate that partnership development operates as a complex system that needs time and complex interactions to produce meaningful and successful partnerships.

Campbell, E. (2016): Exploring autoethnography as a method and methodology in legal education research. Asian Journal of Legal Education, 3(1), 95-105. Clarke, A./ Collins, S. (2007): Complexity science and student teacher supervision. Teaching and Teacher Euducation, 23 (2), 16-172. Clarke, A./ Collins, S. (2007): Complexity science and student teacher supervision. Teaching and Teacher Euducation, 23 (2), 16-172. Coombe, L. (2015): Models of interuniversity collaboration in higher education - How do their features act as barrieres and enablers to sustainability? Tertiary Education and Management, 21 (4): 328-348, DOI: 10.1080/13583883.2015.1104379. Maassen, P./ Jungblut, J./ Stensaker, B./ Griffith R./ Rosso, A. (2023): Navigation competition and collaboration - The way forward for universities [online] https://koerber-stiftung.de/site/assets/files/28887/navigating_competition_and_collaboration_complete_study_maassen_et_al__2023_web.pdf [11.10.23] Meyer, J. W./ Ramirez, F. O./ Frank, D. J. & Schofer, E. (2007): Higher Education as an Institution, In: Gumport, P. J. (Ed.): Sociology of Higher Education. Contributions and their Contexts. Baltimore, 187-222.

Tricontinental Teacher Training (TTT) is an exchange and research program at the faculty of education, Universität Hamburg, funded for five years by the DAAD. Structure: TTT offers bi-& trilateral exchanges for students from three partnering universities in Germany, North Carolina (USA), and Ghana, and entails intensive coursework. The exchange program is framed with preparatory seminars at the participating universities and an integrated buddy program in which all participating students are involved. In Germany a continuing seminar and a reflection seminar follow after the first part of exchange. The other partners developed different post sojourn concepts. After the prep seminar (winter semester 1) 10 students travel for mentored and supervised internships to Ghana and 10 to North Carolina, combined with reflection seminars at the University of Education, Winneba respectively at the University of North Carolina. During the German continuation seminar (summer semester) a study camp with all involved students takes place at the UHH, again consisting of internships and reflection seminars. Excursions at all three locations with different topics like commemoration complement the exchanges. For the German students the program ends in the following winter semester 2 with a research workshop. Content: The students navigate new cultural spaces and education systems and thus deal with uncertainty and alienation. To prepare for and reflect on these experiences and their awareness two main content dimensions were developed: • uncertainty as a dimension of pedagogical action based on the sociology of knowledge approach and • post- and neo colonialism and transcultural sensitivity These approaches are introduced in the preparatory seminar. Oriented on the research method of autoethnography personal experiences during the exchange reflection takes place based on these main content dimensions too. Research: The main research perspective focusses the impact of a trilateral internationalization project for the participants. We collect qualitative data in pre-, continuation- and post-interviews as well as reflective journals. By using reconstructive methods and analysis, we ask about their learning outcome, the personal means for the participants and their suggestions of the impact for their future careers as educators.

Andreas Bonnet, Uwe Hericks (2019). Professionalität und Professionalisierung als biographische Bearbeitung der Spannungen zwischen Norm und Habitus. In: Kramer, Rolf-Thorsten & Pallesen, Hilke (Hrsg.). Lehrerhabitus. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt, 101-126. Chwialkowska, Agnieszka (2020). Maximizing Cross-Cultural Learning From Exchange Study Abroad Programs: Transformative Learning Theory. In: Journal of Studies in International Education, 102831532090616. DOI: 10.1177/1028315320906163. Evers, Henrike (2016). Bildung durch interkulturelle Begegnung. Eine empirische Studie zum Kontakt von Austauschstudierenden mit deutschen Familien. Bremen: Springer VS. Wilken, Anja & Bonnet, Andreas (2022). Transformative Learning and Professionalization through Uncertainty? A Case Study of Pre-Service Language Teachers During a STIE. In: G. Barkhuizen (Ed.). Language Teachers Studing Abroad: Identities, Emotions and Diruptions. Multilingual Matters (PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING: 17). Yilmaz, Sezen Merve & Iwers, Telse (2021). Entwicklung eines reflexionsorientierten Umgangs mit heterogenitätsbedingter Ungewissheit. Zeitschrift: Gruppe. Interaktion. Organisation. Zeitschrift für Angewandte Organisationspsychologie (GIO). 52 (4). S. 659-669. DOI: 10.1007/s11612-021-00597-3