Chapter 10: Internationalizing Teacher Education Through Study Abroad: Crossing Borders, Building Bridges, and Raising Consciousness Toward Social Justice

In this chapter the author revisits her research and scholarship to expand on themes from an article written 5 years ago after participation in Purdue University’s Honduras Study Abroad program. Drawing from study abroad experiences and subsequent classroom practice, the author uses three Anzaldúan concepts of crossing borders, building bridges, and raising consciousness to theorize how these conceptual relationships coconstructed in the classroom transform and engage student and teacher development of cross-cultural competencies for internationalizing teacher education for social justice. Two vignettes provide evidence of how the author’s study abroad experience continues to internationalize teacher education for social justice. The author argues that internationalizing teacher education through study abroad programs offers educators a resonating experience for transformative engagement and ongoing application that is empowering. An inclusive vision of crossing borders, building bridges, and raising consciousness toward social justice emerges as a critical dimension to internationalizing teacher education through study abroad experiences.