Using The Prism Model as A Framework for Preparing Educators on Study Abroad

Abstract

The important role of study abroad in the preparation of competent teachers for the 21st-century globalized world cannot be underestimated. Yet, the percentage of teacher education programs that have incorporated study abroad into their curriculum is still negligible. While there are approximately 5.3 million emergent bilinguals in U.S. K-12 public schools, and they constitute the fastest growing sector of K-12, the demographics of teachers have changed very little, with most of them being White, middle-class, monolingual, and monolithic females. Additionally, teacher education curricula do not incorporate the appropriate training for the accommodations that must be made in order to educate culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students effectively. As a result, teachers continue to have difficulties meeting the demands of today’s pluralistic society. Based on this premise, this exploratory study surveyed education majors participating in a summer study abroad program in Spain to determine their expectations and perceptions about the program with a focus on the sociocultural and linguistic dimensions of the prism model. Findings revealed that the students’ expectations were in consonance with the framework, indicating their dispositions toward acquiring the required knowledge and skills for the implementation of biography-driven instruction (BDI). The data also revealed the appropriateness of the study abroad program for preparing educators for BDI.