From vulnerable to valuable: a strengths based approach to international student teaching placements

Abstract Australia is experiencing a significant teacher workforce shortage, particularly in the field of early childhood. International students, who reflect the diversity of Australian early childhood classrooms, have the potential to provide rich, cultural strengths to the early childhood workforce. However, international preservice teachers (IPSTs) experience unique challenges during their initial teacher education training. This paper reports on an action research project that engaged with twenty-nine IPSTs to co-construct a series of workshops, underpinned by culturally responsive pedagogies to support them to complete their first teaching placement. The research aimed to develop the IPST’s knowledge of the Australian teaching context and make explicit the cultural strengths IPSTs bring to teaching. The findings of this study evidenced the coupling of university and school-based workshops as significant in supporting IPSTs to not only familiarise themselves with the Australian teaching context, but also maintain a positive cultural identity and view this as an asset within their developing pedagogy. This research is important in developing approaches to enable IPSTs to shift from being vulnerable to valuable cultural assets to the Australian teaching workforce.