Cross-Cultural Understanding of Philosophies of Pre-Service Teachers

Presenter Information

Katelyn McMahon, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Anastasiya Horeva, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Katie Robb, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Location

CSU 204

Start Date

27-4-2009 8:00 AM

End Date

27-4-2009 10:00 AM

Student's Major

Elementary and Literacy Education Department

Student's College

Education

Mentor's Name

Elizabeth Sandell

Mentor's Department

Elementary and Literacy Education Department

Mentor's College

Arts and Humanities

Description

This project conducted cross-cultural research concerning the philosophy of education held by teachers in two cultures. This project was part of a partnership between Minnesota State, Mankato and North-Eastem State University in Magadan, Russian Federation. Specifically, a card sorting methodology (known as Qsort methodology and described by Stephenson, 1953) was used to study and identify which of four types of contemporary educational thought are predominant among teachers in two cultures. The data collected were used to identify the beliefs and values (i.e., teaching philosophies) that are most commonly held in each region. The findings will be used to create recommendations for developments and improvements in crosscultural university partnerships and in pre-service teacher education programs.