Fostering Teachers' Global Competencies: Bridging Utopian Expectations for Internationalization through Exchange

Fostering international mindedness in teachers through their preparation and continuing education leads to innovations in teacher education related to exchange programs (Cushner, 2012) and curricular adoptions and adaptations (Tudball, 2012). This in turn supports the development of both teacher educators and teachers as change agents. Yet, without investments of resources to prioritize such work in teacher preparation and professional development programs, the impetus to support teachers' development of how teacher educators can develop a more international mindset is lacking. This paper seeks to understand how the opportunity for exchange resulted in a slew of activities by participants to enhance their own teaching and research in an effort to build a more internationalized education program.