Between Myths and Facts: The Contribution of Exchange Experiences to the Professional Development of Teachers

Abstract

This contribution provides an overview of different facets that can be developed or promoted in exchange stays andthat are specific for teachers. By systematizing the available findings with a conceptual approach, it assigns themajority of the findings to three different facets of teaching-specific ‘intercultural competencies’: It indicates apotential to develop professional knowledge, teaching-specific beliefs as well as motivational orientations that allowstudents to engage actively in challenging intercultural situations. The overview uncovers a range of methodologicalconstraints in the prevailing literature and reveals an urgent need to add more solid evidence specifically in thecontext of teacher education.