Preparing Globally Competent Teachers to Address P-12 Students’ Needs: One University’s Story

In this article, two teacher educators share the evolution of an Overseas Student Teaching (OST) program embedded in the University of Kentucky’s Educator Preparation Program (EPP). The goal of this initiative is to help candidates who participate in this program develop skills associated with global competence so they can better address the needs of P-12 students from a wide range of diverse backgrounds when they enter the profession. We begin with a rationale explaining the importance of global competence for teachers as seen through a policy and theoretical lens. We also identify possible obstacles involved in initiatives such as ours and offer suggestions about how to overcome them. Then, we describe the curriculum OST participants follow including key assignments and tools used to guide and assess their progress.  We conclude with expansion plans designed to help more teacher candidates in our EPP become globally competent teachers whether or not they participate in the overseas initiative