Teachers’ Definitions, Perceptions, and Understandings of International Mindedness
Date
2016
Authors
McGowan, Chandra Michael
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Abstract
As international mindedness continues to grow in importance, the understanding of what international mindedness is and how it is applied in the classrooms of schools today is not equally defined or shared. This study explored how International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers in an international school in a Nordic country define and perceive international mindedness in order to identify the implications of those perceptions for classroom practice. This study employed qualitative case study to address how the IB teachers defined, understood, perceptive, and believed international mindedness as well as the role international mindedness played in these teachers’ planning and practice. The researcher investigated how teachers’ definitions and understandings impact their classroom practice through interviewing, document analysis, and classroom observations. The key findings from thematic analysis indicated the teachers define international mindedness as an active concept with distinct educational outcomes: 1) a deeper understanding of others, and 2) a widening of perspective. Additionally this study found that the participants believed that education and experiences of, and exposure to, people and places impact one’s development of international mindedness and the role that international mindedness played in these participants’ planning and practice served as a guide or motivation to utilize students’ perceptions, voices, and experiences in the classroom. This study shared practical strategies and implications involving internationally minded teaching in the international school classroom and supported the notion that international mindedness is a term that can add value to teachers’ practice when they took part in the individual exploration and declaration of its meaning.
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Keywords
Education, Global Citizenship, International Baccalaureate, International Mindedness, Teachers' Perceptions