Consonance and Dissonance in A Study Abroad Program as A Catalyst for Professional Development of Pre-Service Teachers

Source: Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 25, Issue 3, April 2009, Pages 525-532.

This research investigates the experiences of elementary and early childhood pre-service teachers from the U.S. engaged in a month long study abroad internship program in England. Data were collected from participants written journals. The authors use a hermeneutic approach to interrogate their evolving sense of professional development and their understanding of cultural differences in the internship in England. Informed by a theoretical framework of consonance and dissonance (Cochran-Smith, 1991), the emerging themes were related to the school context, the teacher's role, the learners, the buildings, and the community. Implications are for planning and facilitation of pre-service teachers study abroad experiences are discussed.

Reference
Cochran-Smith, M. (1991). Reinventing student teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 42(2), 104–118.