Teacher Attitudes; Student Teaching

Student teachers from Indiana University's Cultural Immersion Projects, who had been placed in K-12 schools on the Navajo reservation and in seven foreign countries, critically reflected on their home cultures, identifying key elements that defined who they were and shifts in their perceptions about home based on their experiences in culturally different schools. Before their immersion experiences, they underwent extensive preparation to introduce them to local cultural values, beliefs, lifestyles, and educational practices. During their placements, they engaged in all teacher-related school functions, fostered friendships with members of host groups, performed at least one service learning project, and submitted reflective reports. Respondents addressed such areas as government policies, schooling, institutions, human relationships, customs, social structures, and cultural values when describing how their views were altered through living and working in culturally different settings. They reported enhance