International experience is a critical part of any efforts at internationalizing the teacher education curriculum (Cushner & Mahon, 2002). Professional teacher preparation standards (NCATE, INTASC) have made clear that teachers, particularly those teaching foreign language and social studies, need to have international experiences. These experiences need to be extended to higher education faculty as well given that their experiences have the potential to influence both the pedagogy and curriculum of teacher education experiences. Indeed, it is folly to ask teacher education faculty to promote an international teacher education without having experienced and studied international education any more than we would ask teachers to teach second language learners without any substantial background or experience with these learners and expect them to do quality work. The internationalization of teacher education has not only involved USA faculty and students traveling to study/work abroad. It implies hosting international faculty and students who come to the USA as well as engaging with the international tenured and tenured track faculty who work at many teacher education programs for scholarly as well as pedagogical purposes.
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Permission to post this article was given by Caddo Gap Press. While the article may be read by visitors to Western CEDAR, it may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, or sold by anyone without specific permission from Caddo Gap Press.