The other day, a newcomer to academia visited my office seeking advice on navigating the challenges of teaching for the first time in Ireland, having come from a vastly different context and language. As a response, I’ve chosen to share here both my personal experiences and insights from an ongoing project on international teaching, which Dr. Antonio Calderón and I are collaboratively developing.
Internationalization has emerged as a focal point within academia, fostering cross-cultural connections and knowledge exchange that enrich institutions (Culp et al., 2021; MacPhail & Luguetti, 2021). While in a research-level internationalization is part of our day-to-day and we are used to working with people from all over the globe, concerning teaching in an international context, bigger challenges arise. Becoming a teacher educator in an international context means that you have to challenge your own knowledge, practices, and identities to connect with your new environment (Williams et al., 2014).
In our project, we aim to explore the challenges faced by two Spanish teacher educators in Ireland and share the pedagogical strategies we’ve employed to adapt ourselves and teaching to this new context. A collaborative self-study was selected as a methodological approach given its capacity to focus on improving self-practices as teacher educators (Pinnegar & Hamilton, 2009).
Antonio, an experienced educator, has been teaching in Ireland for seven years as an Associate Professor. Hailing from southern Spain, he previously taught for 14 years at the Catholic University of Murcia. Despite undertaking research stays across Portugal, the United States, New Zealand, and Italy, his academic journey abroad commenced at the University of Limerick. On the other hand, I, as an early-career teacher educator, began my journey in Ireland in September 2023 as an Assistant Professor. With six years of teaching experience across various Spanish universities, including the Catholic University of Murcia, the University of Murcia, and the International University of La Rioja. I also embarked on my first academic endeavor abroad at the University of Limerick.
Since arriving in Ireland, I’ve maintained a reflective teaching diary, following the framework of ‘what’, ‘so what’, and ‘then what’, akin to Antonio’s approach. These diaries are shared with a critical friend who provides valuable feedback. Additionally, Antonio and I meet regularly to exchange insights and maintain a shared folder of teaching literature to inform our practices.
In our preliminary reflections, we’ve identified two primary challenges: ‘new insecurities’ and ‘navigating identity’. The former encompasses feelings such as feeling more vulnerable in an unknown context, being afraid of speaking in another language in more informal settings, more sense of misunderstanding with both students and colleges, loss of patience easily than in your context (language) or seeking for personal or group recognition to become more confident in this new context. The bright side is that these insecurities can be mitigated through fostering relationships, cultural awareness, and creating a supportive learning environment. Personally, I’ve found value in providing anonymous spaces to let my students share their thoughts to co-work with them for the best of our teaching-learning experience. Also, in this space, I incorporated cultural inquiries like recommending some TV series, books, or “Irish things”, to understand the reality of my new context. I am learning about GAA and Rugby, I promise.
Navigating identity entails reconciling previous teaching experiences with the demands of a new context. In this case, transparency with students and oneself, coupled with meticulous planning and innovative pedagogical approaches, proves instrumental in overcoming this challenge. Particularly, I’ve articulated my teaching philosophy to students, fostering trust and clarity in our educational journey. Adjusting to a new environment underscores the importance of understanding one’s teaching beliefs and adapting strategies accordingly. When everything is different and it takes you longer to achieve the classroom/work environment you want, you need to be very clear about what kind of teacher you want to be, because that is the only thing that will motivate you to search the literature and asking colleagues for new strategies to be able to become that teacher in a new context.
This post is dedicated to all these academics facing similar challenges, aiming to shed light on their experiences and offer potential strategies for overcoming obstacles. But it is also dedicated to those brilliant colleagues and students at PESS who have supported me throughout this transformative process.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir!
Dr. Carmen Barquero-Ruiz is currently working as Assistant Professor in Physical Education and Sport Sciences Department, University of Limerick.
Contact: Carmen.BarqueroRuiz@ul.ie. Follow on twitter: @Cbarquero93. Research Profiles: Researchgate, ORCID, Linked-In
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