Chapter 1: Tōku Aotearoa HāErenga: Strengthening Social Justice in Teacher Education Through International Field Experiences

In this chapter, I present a study on the experiences of rural, middle-class, predominately White preservice and practicing teachers in an international setting. Preservice and practicing teachers were provided an opportunity to learn about the Maori culture in Aotearoa (New Zealand) before and during the study abroad time period, as well as to spend 2 weeks visiting culture and language immersion schools, communities, and urban centers in the north island of Aotearoa’s Maori people. The struggles, reflections, and formative experiences of these preservice and practicing teachers were shared with the researcher as they learned more about an indigenous community. Students were asked to keep a journal with prompts before, during, and after the field experience, as well as a summative critical thinking paper. Interviews and my journals were also included into the data collection process. The exposure to a differing culture, language, and ways of being pushed these students to think in deeper, critical, and socially just ways in relation to their future/ current careers. The focus of this chapter emphasizes that international field experiences for preservice and service teachers is one way to encourage and strengthen social justice education in teacher education programs.