The Role of Intercultural Education in a Bachelor of Education Program at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa

Abstract

People of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds are now more than ever interacting with one another in work and social situations, mainly remotely during the midst of the pandemic. Intercultural education can prepare student teachers with the tools they need to interact effectively in a variety of intercultural situations with their colleagues, their principles and their students. In Bachelor of Education programs, providing student teachers with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be able to interact with individuals of different backgrounds and bring out the best in their students is essential. The aim of this narrative study was to understand the role of intercultural education in a Bachelor of Education program and to understand how and if intercultural education principles were implemented. Five student teachers were interviewed to determine how they perceived the role of intercultural education in the Bachelor of Education Program and what their understanding of this concept was. The themes that emerged from the findings were intercultural education was perceived as: (1) Awareness of the diversity of the students’ backgrounds and (2) Engaging in practical activities and (3) Principles of intercultural education were embedded in some course modules but were not practical, (4) Challenges and (5) Suggestions. Overall, it was found that principles of intercultural education were implemented in the Bachelor of Education program to an extent, but the student teachers felt there was room for more focused activities specifically related to intercultural education.