Seventeenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Pakistan has rich history and a vast range of people from different castes, speaking various languages, and celebrating diverse cultural backgrounds. Since independence in 1947, Pakistan has faced significant challenges, including a polarized society marked by ethnic tensions and conflicts. Intercultural competence is the ability to function effectively across cultures, to think and act appropriately, and to communicate and work with people from various cultural backgrounds. Consequently, schoolteachers should be knowledgeable about various ethnic groups, to teach in a multiethnic classroom, and to prepare all pupils for life in a multicultural society. Previous investigations by the other researchers suggested that pre-service teachers in Pakistan have little life experience beyond their own home cultures. They may have a clear sense of their own values and practices and a desire to preserve their traditions. However, they see other persons as “others” without much definition or understanding. This leads to schoolteachers instructing pupils from a monocultural worldview and ignoring the diversity among their pupils. Despite official multicultural policies, issues such as intergroup mistrust, suspicion, perpetuation of stereotypes, identity-based conflicts continue to persist within higher education institutions. University faculty may want to revise and rebuild the curriculum and policies to intentionally incorporate teaching and learning strategies to foster intercultural competence among pre-service teachers. Through the identification, synthesis, and analysis of recent scholarly work, the project created a collection of teaching and learning strategies to foster intercultural competence in teacher preparation programs. Project outcomes hold potential to guide educational policies, curricula, and teacher training initiatives.

Presenters

Malaika Azam
Student, Education, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Sciences Quetta , Baluchistan (en), Pakistan

Elizabeth Sandell
Student, PhD, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota, United States