Intentional partnerships, lasting change: international student teaching and the development of culturally responsive pedagogy

In a globalized world, preparing future educators to effectively serve diverse student populations is both urgent and complex. Teacher education programs employ a range of strategies to cultivate culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), but research remains inconsistent and scant regarding the processes that have proven effective in developing cross-cultural competencies (Christ & Sharma, 2018; Lewis Chiu et al., 2017). However, international teaching experiences are often described as uniquely transformative, immersing preservice teachers (PSTs) in contexts that challenge their assumptions, deepen cultural understanding and foster lasting commitments to equity-minded practice.

This study examines the enduring influence of student teaching in international partner schools on PSTs’ commitment to CRP. Participants shared vivid examples of how these experiences shaped their ability to celebrate culture, address sensitive issues and support multilingual learners (MLLs). These include a first-grade teacher encouraging a student to share about fasting during Ramadan, a teacher helping her students to process their grief through art after a mass shooting and a novice educator choosing to pursue graduate study to better serve MLLs.

Although commitments to CRP can develop in many ways, participants consistently attributed their own growth to their time in international partner schools. Several participants noted that the impact of these experiences was difficult to fully articulate, underscoring their depth and significance. As Bella, a high school art teacher, reflected, the experience was “life-changing” – a catalyst for personal and professional transformation that continues to shape her daily practice years later.

Teacher educators in the United States often struggle to develop preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) cultural competence and commitment to CRP. Partnering with international schools holds great promise for developing cultural competence, but most previous studies on student teaching abroad gathered qualitative data during or immediately after students' time abroad. In contrast, this sequential mixed-methods case study followed up with 25 alumni two to seven years after they completed half of their full-time student teaching semesters abroad in English-speaking international schools. This study examined the ways in which strategic partnerships with international schools influence participants’ practice, particularly in terms of CRP and cultural competence.

The GST program, in existence for over 40 years at a mid-size public college on the east coast of the US, offers teacher candidates the opportunity to study abroad, which is often difficult for education majors because of the large number of course requirements. PSTs spend half of their full-time student teaching semesters abroad in international schools in which English is the language of instruction. The partner schools are carefully chosen to ensure they provide an exemplary learning environment for their students and the PSTs. The curriculum reflects that of most public schools in the United States, often utilizing the same programs and materials as our local districts. The schools are well resourced and invest heavily in social-emotional learning, developing a strong school community and celebrating the diversity of their students. Additionally, because many of their students are multilingual, they tend to have robust ESL programs. This stands in contrast to many of our local partner schools, which are often under-resourced and are not as able to focus on SEL and celebrating diversity because of other pressures, such as state testing. Additionally, as a large program that must place nearly 400 student teachers each year, we have limited flexibility in choosing placement schools.

Relationships with international partner schools begin in a number of ways. The college has a global graduate program, also in existence for over 40 years, which has developed thousands of educators who work around the world. The alumni of this program often reach out to discuss hosting student teachers. We also get requests from other educators who are familiar with our program from colleagues or working at previous partner schools. Additionally, our faculty and staff maintain a presence in the international school community, attending and presenting at conferences and participating in various organizations.

Once a potential partner school has been identified, a number of factors are considered before moving forward. The school must be accredited by an organization such as Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools or Western Association for Schools and Colleges. Through on-site visits and document review, research is conducted to ensure that the school offers a high-quality experience for its students and reflects the values and mission of our program. International schools can vary widely in terms of learning outcomes, values and resources. Partner schools are chosen based on a clear commitment to high quality instruction, diversity, student growth and teacher development. They also must value hosting PSTs and supporting their development. In recent years, as we work to ensure that this program is as accessible to all students and reflects our students and the P-12 students they will teach, we have developed new partnerships with schools in Africa and Asia. Both of these schools provide the PSTs housing at little or no cost. This is possible because one school owns several apartments, which they lease to their staff, and the other is a boarding school that provides on campus housing for teachers. Several internal scholarships also provide financial support to participants.

We are committed to building relationships with each school that are mutually beneficial, sustained through ongoing effort and regular communication. Faculty visits, outlined below, play a vital role in strengthening these connections. The partnerships often create opportunities for our faculty to provide professional development – delivered both on-site and virtually. In turn, staff from abroad frequently seek our guidance and request recommendations for resources. The faculty visits, along with periodic site visits by program leaders, allow us to speak with administrators and cooperating teachers in person, assess the classroom environments in which our students are placed, seek feedback about our students' preparation and make changes to our practice and assessment when warranted.

PSTs are placed in small groups at sites around the globe, including Puerto Rico, Europe, Africa and Asia. The college works closely with a contact at each school, often a principal or vice principal, who identifies cooperating teachers and supports students while they are abroad. For example, they provide an orientation to the school and may help locate housing or suggest a doctor if a student becomes ill. These partners are foundational to the program’s success, providing professional and personal support while ensuring alignment of expectations, quality mentorship and mutual investment in the development of future educators.

A college faculty member works closely with each group before and during their time abroad. They also visit the partner schools to observe the students in person. Although costly, these visits are crucial to the program's success, both in terms of supporting and mentoring the PSTs and maintaining strong relationships with the schools. Like any successful partnership, building and maintaining relationships with the host schools requires significant and sustained effort.

The PSTs in this program are typical of many education majors in the United States: they are mostly white, middle-class females who have not ventured far from home to attend college (D’Amico, Pawlewicz, Earley, & Mcgeehan, 2017). Also consistent with other U.S. teacher candidates, they are usually cross-culturally inexperienced and globally unaware, such that effectively meeting the differentiated needs in today’s classrooms proves challenging for them (Hauerwas, Skawinski, & Ryan, 2017).

Despite recent federal rhetoric, preparing culturally and globally competent teachers remains an international imperative, with many policymakers emphasizing the importance of intercultural competency and calling for more attention to its development in PSTs (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2019; Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation, 2020). Of course, international student teaching is just one piece of a broader initiative to diversify teacher education for a global society, but it offers promise for expanding students’ views to include a wider range of perspectives (Akpovo, Thapa, & Halladay, 2020; Williams, 2017).

International student teaching participants often describe their time abroad as personally and professionally life-changing (Alfaro, 2008; Doppen, 2010). Cushner (2007) concluded that “overseas student teachers gain a significant amount of self-knowledge [and] develop personal confidence and professional competence, as well as a greater understanding of both global and domestic diversity” (p. 30). Most respondents in another study indicated that international student teaching made them more confident, independent, adventuresome, accomplished and courageous, while challenging them to get out of their comfort zones and persist in uncomfortable situations (Doppen & Jing, 2014).

Several studies specifically referred to participants' increased confidence in working with MLLs (Malewski & Phillion, 2009; Medina, Hathaway, & Pilonieta, 2015; Pierson, 2015). International student teachers also often reported that the experience challenged their assumptions about race, class and gender (Cushner, 2007; Malewski & Phillion, 2009). They overwhelmingly reported that increased cultural sensitivity impacted their teaching, particularly in engaging CRP practices and bringing global awareness into their classrooms (Doppen & Jing, 2014; González-Carriedo, López de Nava, & Salas Martínez, 2018; Williams, 2017).

Teacher educators constantly seek ways to cultivate culturally responsive teachers, but research provides only limited and inconsistent insight into how cross cultural competencies are most successfully cultivated (Christ & Sharma, 2018; Lewis Chiu et al., 2017). International clinical placements may better prepare PSTs to meet the needs of all students, particularly those who are culturally and linguistically diverse, However, much of the literature related to PSTs' international experiences is more than ten years old, draws on data from a limited number of programs and/or focuses on short-term (2–4 week) faculty-led trips. Additionally, most previous studies gathered qualitative data during or immediately after the students' time abroad. In contrast, this mixed methods study followed up with alumni two to seven years after they completed an eight-week clinical placement in an international partner school. It sought to examine how strategic partnerships with international schools, through the GST program, influence participants’ practice, particularly in terms of CRP and cultural competence.

This study utilized a sequential mixed methods case study approach to directly address the research question: how do international school partnerships, as experienced through the GST program, impact preservice teachers’ cultural competence and practice? This design was selected to both quantify the breadth of the program’s impact across participants and provide rich, qualitative insight into how international placements, made possible through sustained partnerships, shaped teachers’ development. Combining quantitative and qualitative data has been shown to be particularly effective for assessing intercultural competence and complex, long-term pedagogical outcomes (Deardorff, 2006).

A survey (see Appendix A) was distributed to all 161 GST graduates from 2015 to 2020, and 25 responses were analyzed for common themes that informed semi-structured interview questions (see Appendix B). This approach enabled broad data collection and deeper exploration with a smaller group of five purposefully selected alumni representing diverse years and placements. Although it is possible that the survey response rate (15%) limited the diversity of perspectives, and those with the most positive experiences may have been more likely to respond, we endeavored to reach and follow up with all alumni and to confirm survey responses with examples offered in the follow-up interviews.

The survey included questions adapted from two existing tools: the Culturally Responsive Teacher Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale (Cruz, Manchanda, Firestone, & Rodl, 2020; Siwatu, 2007) and the Global Engagement Measurement Scale (GEMS; Shadowen, Chieffo, & Guerra, 2015). Considering the fact that many of the program participants may have already exhibited more openness to other cultures and CRP prior to their participation, the questions in both the interviews and the survey asked them to specifically reflect on the degree to which the program impacted these areas.

Ladson-Billings’ (2006) definition of CRP provided the theoretical framework for this study. She identified three essential elements of CRP: academic achievement (meaning a focus on student learning and high expectations), cultural competence and sociopolitical consciousness. For Ladson-Billings (2006), cultural competence “refers to helping students to recognize and honor their own cultural beliefs and practices while acquiring access to the wider culture” (p. 36). Ladson-Billings (2006) argued that teachers are obligated to provide students with an understanding of their own culture and access to the culture that oppresses them. They must also develop both their own and their students' sociopolitical consciousness to understand and then challenge dominant structures (Ladson-Billings, 2006). CRP can shape a teacher’s positionality and the paradigm through which they approach everything related to their teaching (Cruz et al., 2020).

Paris (2012), building upon Ladson-Billings’ work, introduced the concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) and continued to expand on it in subsequent publications (Paris & Alim, 2017). CSP calls for educators to actively sustain students’ cultural and linguistic practices as essential resources, rather than as tools to be leveraged. It “seeks to perpetuate and foster – to sustain – linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling” (Paris, 2012, p. 95). This study considers not only participants' growth in CRP, but also their movement towards CSP, as those themes emerged in the data.

Survey respondents participated in the program across a variety of years, relatively proportional to GST enrollment in the selected time frame. Their racial, ethnic and gender identities generally reflected the population of the larger teacher preparation program. In terms of gender, 24 respondents (96%) identified as female and one (4%) as male. Across the 2015–2020 population, only 8% of GSTs were male. Program participants tended to come mostly from elementary and special education programs, which are approximately 91% female.

The interviewees also represented the larger School of Education population fairly well. Two were secondary English majors and one came from each of the following programs: elementary, art and special education. Four interviewees were white and one identified as Afro-Caribbean. Additionally, four interviewees identified as female and one as male. Table 1 provides a description of each interviewee using their pseudonym.

Quantitative survey responses were analyzed using measures of central tendency to identify broad trends in how participants perceived the program’s impact on CRP and cultural competence. These trends directly informed the design of follow-up interview questions, allowing for deeper exploration of how specific aspects of the international school partnerships – such as cultural immersion, working with diverse students and SEL practices-shaped participants' beliefs and behaviors. Open-ended responses and interview transcripts were analyzed using axial coding to uncover nuanced themes grounded in participant experiences, consistent with qualitative methods that prioritize participant voice (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Before finalizing the study, the first author engaged in member checking via email with several interviewees, sharing conclusions to ensure that they made sense, relied on adequate amounts of evidence and were realistic and accurate (Creswell & Miller, 2000).

By focusing on how alumni of the GST program perceive the influence of their international placement on their personal and professional growth and teaching practice, and specifically asking about CRP and cultural competence, we were able to connect our strategic partnerships with international schools to their reported experiences. The closed-ended survey questions, open-ended survey questions and interviews yielded a great deal of information related to the program's impact, in which several themes arose. Following a summary of the survey data, various themes that emerged from the full body of data are identified and examined.

The closed survey questions asked respondents to assess how participating in GST impacted their abilities in several areas related to CRP on a scale of 1 (very little or no impact) to 10 (greatly impacted). As shown in Table 2, the 12 questions scored an average of 8.70, with 7.92 as the minimum score. Respondents clearly felt that GST strengthened their ability to understand and utilize their students' culture in many ways, including identifying how the school culture was different from their students' home cultures and an increased ability to revise instructional material to include a better representation of cultural groups. The survey questions that earned the highest mean scores (9 or above) were related to getting to know students, creating a positive classroom community and using students' interests and experiences in their instruction.

Respondents also felt strongly that the program helped them meet the needs of diverse learners, with 92% choosing either Agree or Strongly Agree, for a mean score of 8.76. Further, 92% of respondents felt that participating in GST had prepared them to work with MLLs, but not quite as strongly, with an average score of 8.

The survey questions with the lowest scores addressed participants' ability to establish positive home–school relations (7.92) and critically examine the curriculum to determine whether it reinforced negative cultural stereotypes (7.92). However, 88% of respondents rated their ability to identify negative stereotypes as 7 or higher. Further, 64% rated their ability to develop home–school relations 7 or higher. These results are not surprising, as novice teachers often struggle with these skills, which can take several years to master (Herman & Reinke, 2016). Considering teacher candidates' typical lack of confidence in these areas, both questions' mean response of 7.92 is important, suggesting that GST improved their skills in these important areas. The strength of these outcomes can be directly attributed to the quality of the host schools and the nature of the international partnerships. The partner schools not only model inclusive, culturally sustaining practices, but also invest in supporting, mentoring and integrating PSTs in ways that maximize professional growth.

Participants also responded positively to two open-ended survey prompts. The first question asked: How do you think participating in Global Student Teaching impacted you as a teacher and your teaching practice? Two participants described the program as having a “profound impact,” while three others wrote that it had “opened their eyes” to different cultures and teaching practices. All participants except one (24/25) mentioned learning about culture and using it in the classroom and/or getting to know and understand students better. Respondents wrote comments such as, “I was able to get new cultural perspectives and cater lessons to students of different backgrounds and interests.” Another commented on learning to appreciate what students bring to the classroom, something we often struggle with at our institution, where most students are white, middle-class and from highly segregated schools: “I was exposed to such diverse learners from all different backgrounds. This really showed me how each student has their own experience and brings something unique to the classroom. This is something to celebrate as a teacher.”

The second open-ended question asked: Do you feel that you are more committed to CRP because you participated in Global Student Teaching? If so, in what ways did participating in GST impact your commitment and practices in terms of CRP? Of the 25 respondents, 23 (92%) answered affirmatively, with comments ranging from a simple “yes” to more enthusiastic words such as “absolutely” and “I firmly believe.” One participant answered “slightly,” citing efforts to stay on top of their school's diversity initiatives, and one replied “yes and no,” because, despite a willingness to implement what they learned during GST, attempting to “break the barriers in typical public-school settings” is difficult.

Throughout the open-ended survey responses and interviews, several themes emerged regarding the program's impact on teaching and personal growth. This section addresses them individually, although the participants keenly recognized how themes influenced and overlapped with each other.

Many participants addressed learning to teach culturally diverse students and developing a belief that culture is a “gift” and something to be “celebrated”. They frequently discussed how they used their understanding of their students and students' cultures to plan lessons and choose literature connected to their lives. Notably, four of the five interviewees currently teach in culturally diverse or majority non-white schools. This small sample is notably different from our larger population, the majority of whom teach in suburban schools and express a clear interest in doing so. Exit surveys consistently demonstrate that 70–80% of our graduates would prefer to teach in suburban schools (NJDOE, 2022). State data also shows that our graduates are under-represented in the highest-need schools as compared to other educator preparation programs in the state (NJDOE, 2021).

Kathy noted, “learning how to […] build a relationship with families and students based on an appreciation of their background and their culture definitely played into the way I view diversity now, as something that's exciting.” She also stated that “it can be viewed as an obstacle when there are cultural differences by other teachers who maybe haven't had the ability to get exposure to exchanging cultures, so I think it was definitely a benefit to have that experience.”

Bella spoke about her strong commitment to working with diverse students: “One of the things that I didn't want to compromise on was how I respond to students of different backgrounds; that was […] one of the things that was non-negotiable.” She believed that she had not only learned to identify and stick to her core values, but that she had also gained the competencies necessary to put them into practice.

Christine felt her experience abroad prepared her to work with a new student in her class with a history of academic and behavioral concerns. Rather than making assumptions based on paperwork from his previous school, as some of her colleagues had done, she took time to get to know the student and understand his needs. Christine believes you have to “get to know each kid – see where they're coming from.” She credited GST for enhancing her ability to do so.

In addition to working with diverse students in general, participants felt strongly about the impact the program had on their ability to work with linguistically diverse students. This success in preparing PSTs to work with MLLs is inextricably linked to the partner schools' deep expertise and longstanding commitment to multilingual education. These schools' collaboration in mentoring PSTs provides a powerful model for inclusive practice.

Participants often discussed how they used what they had learned abroad in their current classrooms. Sam, who was working in rural Alaska wrote, “Though my students are not MLLs, they do speak ‘village English’ and many of the teaching strategies I learned during Global Student Teaching apply here as well.” Several others noted that the experience had improved their confidence with MLLs; for Kathy, this outcome was “one of the biggest takeaways.” The high-quality ESL professional development she received at the school abroad laid the foundation for “ideas about teaching, not just ESL students but all students, like universal design, strategies that are really meant to help everybody.”

Similarly, Kathy commented on developing empathy for MLLs and others who do not speak the language in a country, emphasizing the need “to be sensitive to all the different emotions that they could be feeling.” Although only one survey respondent mentioned it, many former GSTs have shared with faculty that they were inspired to seek certification in ESL after their placement abroad.

Clearly addressing culture and controversial issues – hallmarks of CRP (Ladson-Billings, 2006) – also surfaced in the data. Some participants noted that many US teachers were afraid to address culture and tended to ignore it rather than model learning about other cultures by directly addressing issues and differences. One respondent credited GST for “not feeling uncomfortable talking about one another's cultures, traditions, religions, family types, etc.,” adding that many US schools “do not encourage teachers to have open dialogues with young students about their identities and culture in general.” In contrast, GST enabled the participant “to create meaningful and kind conversations about differences between people in general.” For example, “in my classroom right now, which is very diverse, a student is celebrating Ramadan and is able to openly talk about how his parents are fasting. He simply wanted to share to me and his friends.” The teacher recognized the need to establish “an environment where he feels comfortable to do so.”

Christine also said, “People feel uncomfortable the second any kind of religion comes up or even gender or things.” When a female student dressed like a boy in another class at her current school, the teacher refused to discuss it, but Christine recognized that the child may want to talk about it. She believed that directly approaching differences reduced the prevalence of bullying because students understood each other better. Her school abroad modeled this approach and gave her confidence in using similar approaches in her own classroom.

Jessica shared during her interview that GST had helped prepare her for some of the hard conversations she faces as a white teacher in a school with nearly all students of color, reflecting, “the more challenging conversations, where students will ask me […], ‘How come white people don't like Black people?’ or ‘Why do […] cops kill Black people?’ [My GST] experience has helped prepare me for those conversations.”

Bella also commented on not shying away from topics, noting that “it's been a very tough year from mass shootings to race issues to LGBTQ issues. I'm like, you learn when you talk about things, right? You create safe spaces where children can be vulnerable…because that's when learning happens as a collective, for you as well.” She also encourages her students to express themselves in their art: “One of my students, her final project had to do with the mass shootings. We're going to talk about that because that's what you are processing.”

Participants frequently discussed how GST enhanced their ability to meet their students' academic needs by deepening their understanding of them, their interests and their cultures. One survey respondent stated that it “helped [them] to be more aware of cultural differences of [their] students and how that could be affecting their learning.” Several participants specifically referred to gaining a broader set of strategies to help a wide variety of learners. A survey respondent wrote, “I went in thinking there was a right and wrong way to teach and I came out of it realizing that so many students learn differently and are successful.”

Several survey respondents and interviewees made comments such as a “focus on cultural competency was woven into the culture of the school” and thus, “these aspects imprinted an awareness …. that would not have otherwise been as acute in a traditional setting alone.” This consciousness resulted in some PSTs becoming, as one survey respondent wrote, “more aware of recognizing and understanding my learners before designing a lesson and instructing my class.”

For some participants, the experience “furthered [their] commitment to the importance of cultural responsiveness” by solidifying their understanding that a child's “culture is the backbone of their educational development.” It also provided them the opportunity “to connect with other educators with similar beliefs; this allowed [them] to share ideas and strategies to improve [their] practice.” Conversely, one participant commented, “GST was the first experience where I realized I needed to be more culturally responsive if I wanted to be a successful teacher.”

Ladson-Billings (2006) defines cultural competence as “helping students to recognize and honor their own cultural beliefs and practices while acquiring access to the wider culture” (p. 36). PSTs must first understand their own culture, which can be challenging for white students from segregated middle-class communities (Gay, 2010). The participants in this study clearly believed their GST placement deepened their cultural understanding. One survey respondent wrote: “I had been able to see how my students saw the world and realize how different it was from my point of view. It helped me realize that I live in such a small part of the world.”

“I gained a first-hand experience about how my worldview was shaped by my experiences being born and raised [here],” one survey respondent wrote. Another reported, “I developed a heightened sense of deconstruction of the ‘normal’ which challenged me to question my assumptions, and think critically about how we define ‘right and wrong’ and ‘best practices’ for living.”

Participants often translated their increased cultural understanding into a heightened commitment to teaching about culture. One wrote, “I feel committed to understanding my students' cultural backgrounds, as well as teaching about different cultures.” Another wrote, “I believe it helped me encourage future generations to see and be open to cultural differences at a younger age.” Sam discussed how he is always trying to help his students consider various perspectives, as well as learn from them: “I am always rearranging the narrative and it's like, how can I help students see things differently? And I love when they show me a different perspective.” Jessica spoke about providing her students with access to the wider culture. She chose her current school, an under-resourced school in a Northeastern city, because of its focus on social justice and the agency and independence it instills in students, something she had admired in the Finnish system.

This study demonstrates that strategic international partnerships can provide a profound and transformative experience for students in terms of CRP, challenging them to grow personally and professionally in ways that are not possible with a domestic placement and moving them towards practicing CSP. Participants felt strongly that their placement abroad deeply impacted their development as culturally responsive educators. They frequently noted an increased confidence in engaging with different cultures, integrating students' backgrounds into lessons and building meaningful connections. Participants learned to step out of their comfort zones, consider various perspectives, focus on developing active citizens and tackle difficult issues in their classrooms, often focusing on directly and unapologetically addressing culture and complex topics in their classrooms. Thus, they grew towards becoming culturally sustaining educators who celebrate their students’ culture and support them in preserving the cultural competence of their communities while simultaneously providing them access to the dominant culture (Paris, 2012).

The U.S. needs citizens who understand other cultures, are willing to learn from them and do not shy away from engaging in respectful discourse on controversial topics. Exposure to a range of cultures and gaining experience in international schools that celebrate culture in meaningful ways provided many participants with the confidence and skills to engage with culture and controversy in their own classrooms in culturally sustaining ways. These outcomes are not accidental, but stem from carefully nurtured relationships with partner schools that prioritize cultural celebration, equity and global citizenship. The impact is also a reflection of these schools’ investment in hosting and mentoring student teachers.

This study provides specific evidence that participants felt better prepared to work with multilingual learners. Like many states, ours faces a critical shortage of ESL teachers, as the MLL population has doubled in the past 12 years and is expected to continue to grow. Concerningly, 34% of the college’s 2021 graduates felt either unprepared or somewhat unprepared to meet the needs of MLLs (NJDOE, 2021). Conversely, 92% of survey respondents believed that their international placement prepared them to work with MLLs. GST cannot solve the wider ESL teacher shortage, but it can better prepare future teachers to support MLLs.

Participants clearly believed that GST impacted their mission, specifically their commitment to CRP, which then impacted their beliefs, identity and behavior (see Korthagen, 2004). Several interviewees commented on their identity as one committed to social justice and CRP. Jessica discussed this topic extensively, concluding that her time abroad “definitely inspired [her] to go into a school and a community that is focused on social justice and improving the opportunity gap for all students.” Bella spoke about developing her identity as a teacher dedicated to closing the opportunity gap and ensuring that all students felt valued.

Participants also believed that the experience pushed them out of their comfort zones and challenged them to self-reflect. As Kathy said, “that is something that travel does, it kind of shakes that feeling of comfort up for you a little bit and kind of destabilizes that, which is good” Kathy also credited the program with changing her whole outlook on life, providing her with a zeal for life and making her more positive.

Others frequently mentioned being out of their comfort zone abroad, but as Christine said, “in a good way.” Jessica stated that GST had given her the opportunity to challenge her “previous beliefs and expand upon them.” One survey participant wrote that the experience “made me a better person,” and others echoed that sentiment using similar words. The various ways in which participants identified personal growth, including greater confidence and independence, provided evidence of a transformative experience, as did these teachers’ careers.

Four of the interviewees taught in high-needs schools and 28% of the survey respondents taught in urban schools; this compares favorably to both state and institutional data, suggesting that the GST program can inspire candidates to work in under-resourced schools. Their increased confidence working with diverse learners may have influenced these decisions.

The GST program significantly impacted participants' global competence and commitment to CRP. The data clearly showed that the program can have a profound impact on participants in various complex ways, influencing them personally and professionally years later. Former GSTs believed that their international placement increased their ability to work with diverse learners, including MLLs; inspired a curiosity and deeper understanding of other cultures and gave them the confidence and skills to tackle difficult issues and directly address and celebrate cultural differences in their classrooms. The evidence presented here may support other institutions wishing to develop similar partnerships with schools outside of the US. Teacher educators continually struggle with developing PSTs' cultural competence. GST is not a simple answer to this complex issue, yet it can provide an important opportunity with life- and career-changing impacts.

Further research could build on this study in several important ways. First, it may focus more intentionally on CSP, as it emerged as a salient theme while examining this data. Expanding the participant pool would strengthen the findings, as this study drew on a relatively small sample. Including classroom observations and analysis of teaching materials, rather than relying solely on self-reports, would provide a richer understanding of the participants' practice. Additionally, future studies may examine US student teacher experiences in local partner schools abroad, instead of exclusive private institutions, and investigate the continued impact of this formative semester on graduates who pursue careers in international education. Follow-up studies may also illuminate how changing domestic priorities around diversity, equity and inclusion impact participants' continued commitment. Finally, we are always striving to identify additional school partners across the world who share our commitment to CRP and teacher development, and we recognize the need to include schools from Central and South America in our site options. These partnerships are critical to sustaining and expanding the program's success and ensuring culturally relevant mentorship opportunities in diverse contexts. In recognition of the fact that new partners always bring change and new strengths, we will continue to evaluate the impact on our students.

This study highlights the enduring impact of international student teaching on developing preservice teachers' cultural competence and commitment to CRP. Alumni reported growth in their ability to work with diverse learners, particularly MLLs, and in their confidence addressing cultural issues in the classroom. These outcomes stemmed from strategic partnerships with carefully chosen host schools that modeled inclusive and culturally sustaining practices. While international student teaching is not a comprehensive solution to the challenges of teacher preparation, the findings demonstrate its potential as a powerful complement to domestic clinical experiences and underscore the importance of building intentional, reciprocal partnerships with schools abroad. Thus, international student teaching offers a pathway for preparing teachers who are better equipped to meet the needs of diverse learners in today's classrooms.

This study was submitted for IRB approval and the University of South Carolina determined: “the referenced research study is not subject to the Protection of Human Subject Regulations in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 46 et. seq.”

The supplementary material for this article can be found online.