AMERICAN TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE DURING A SHORT-TERM VISIT TO CHINA
YULIANG LIU *
Department of Educational Leadership, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The study was designed to investigate how a two-week study abroad program to China affected American teacher education students in a midwestern public university in U.S. in 2019. The study used the exploratory mixed methods design to collect data. Seven undergraduate education students participated in the two-week field study in Lanzhou and Beijing. Student performance was assessed based on (a) participation in field visits and observation, daily journals, reflection papers, and electronic portfolios as well as (b) the diversity standard of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards in the U.S. Results indicated all participants enjoyed the program and experienced professional benefits in a variety of aspects, in spite of a few challenges. The study found that the study abroad program to northwest China in 2019 made significant impacts on students’ understanding of culture and diversity, the similarities and differences between the Chinese and the American educational systems, and teachers’ lifetime learning. International implications related to any future study abroad program resulted from the study findings.
Keywords: China, experiential learning, special and general education, study abroad, teacher education.