Tricontinental Teacher Training (TTT): Experiences of uncertainty and alienation and its reflection

Tricontinental Teacher Training (TTT) is an exchange and research program at the faculty of education, Universität Hamburg, funded for five years from 2020 to 2024 by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). In cooperation with the participating partners, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, and University of Education Winneba, Ghana, it fosters the professional development of pre-service teachers through experiences in uncertain and potentially disorienting linguistic and cultural spaces during four-week-study-camps in Ghana, North Carolina and Germany. These experiences are the basis for students’ reflection and learning. The project is framed by comprehensive research on the impact of the participants’ development concerning reflection of implicit norms, transcultural sensitivity and educational professionalism. This article provides an overview of the theoretical basis of the exchange program before describing the development and implementation of the program itself. Subsequently, the entire research project is described before one of the numerous studies being carried out in the project is presented in detail as an example. This investigation focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of German and Ghanaian students regarding their internship experiences in the respective partner country.