| Title | Chapter 2: Variations in intercultural sensitivity of pre-service teachers after immersion in a work-integrated excursion |
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| DOI | https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2024.BK486.02 |
| Landing page | https://books.aosis.co.za/index.php/ob/catalog/book/486 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Adri du Toit, Neal Petersen & Iman C Chahine. Licensee: AOSIS (Pty) Ltd. The moral right of the editors and authors has been asserted. |
| Publisher | AOSIS |
| Long abstract | This quantitative exploratory case study examined the intercultural sensitivity (IS) of 1248 South African pre-service teachers enrolled in 2023 in the Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme across North-West University’s (NWU) three campuses after their immersion in a work-integrated learning (WIL) excursion. The study investigated the effects of WIL excursions on the IS of participating pre-service teachers, employing a case study design to gather rich and contextual data from a single case – the first-year South African pre-service teachers. The primary objective of the study was to explore and understand the variations in IS among these pre-service teachers following their WIL experience. Principled by the intercultural development continuum theoretical framework, the study reflects on NWU pre-service teachers’responses vis-à-vis their current attitudes and behaviours towards cultural diversity and gauges their IS as measured by the interculturality sensitivity scale during the WIL excursion. Three methods of data analysis were employed to examine variations in the IS of pre-service teachers before and after the excursions: reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and one-way analysis of variance. The results of the study suggested that while the excursions did not lead to significant changes in overall IS scores, certain factors such as gender, age, campus location and home language did influence pre-service teachers’ responses to specific statements related to IS dimensions. These results highlight the complex interplay of various factors in shaping pre-service teachers’ perceptions and interactions in intercultural contexts. |
| Print length | 27 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
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Iman C Chahine holds a PhD in Mathematics Education and a postmaster’s degree in Quantitative Research Methods. Chahine’s research centres on ethnomathematics and indigenous mathematics knowledge systems in diverse geographic regions. She also specialises in composite index development and validation as well as measuring country-specific policy-driven constructs. As a two-time Fulbright US Scholar (2019–2020 and 2021–2022), Chahine collaborated with scholars from North-West University (NWU) and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in South Africa on a research partnership titled Project ethnomathematics: Pedagogy, place and power for sustainable South Africa. She has been commissioned by several international organisations such as USAID (Morocco, 2020–2021), UNESCO (Qatar, 2014–2015), World Bank (Kuwait, 2017; Morocco, 2022), UNICEF (Rwanda, 2020–2021; China, 2022; Nigeria, 2023), UNDP (Saudi Arabia 2020–2022) and International Organisation for Migration (Iraq, 2020) to critically appraise the quality of education systems worldwide. Chahine is a professor at the University of Massachusetts (UMass), Lowell, USA, an appointed extraordinary professor at NWU, Potchefstroom, South Africa and a C-rated researcher at the National Research Foundation (NRF) in South Africa. She serves as the co-editor of the Journal of Mathematics and Culture, treasurer for the International Study Group on Ethnomathematics and the director of awards at the Eastern Educational Research Association.