Abstract
Journaling is an acceptable pedagogical and assessment tool used to help leverage a university student teacher’s emotional and spiritual growth in a 10 week cross-cultural student teaching experience. The process requires students to document their life and learning experiences.
Questions are designed for student response. Student teachers are encouraged to draw personal connections between their lives and new experiences. This article will show how journaling helped four student teachers process what Kelly and Meyers (1995) identify as the four components of cross-cultural adaptability: (1) emotional resilience, (2) flexibility/openness, (3) perceptual acuity and (4) personal autonomy. Excerpts from the personal journals of students are included for each of these four components. The journals are used to assess student preparation for cross-cultural living, weekly physical, emotional and spiritual health, the learning environment, and the learning process.
Recommended Citation
MacKay, B. B. (2006). The Power of Journaling: A Dynamic Tool for Evaluating Student Teacher Adjustment in Cross-Cultural Contexts. International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal, 1(2).