Intercultural Competence: Attitudes and Comprehension of Social Studies Teacher Candidates

Abstract

In the 21st century, citizens live in an increasingly interconnected world that imposes intercultural communication. Contemporary and democratic society necessitates the peaceful coexistence of different cultures. In most societies, people with different perspectives, and origins come together on the street, at school, or at work. Each individual should have the chance to live peacefully, cooperate and develop a sense of responsibility for the well-being of society. Social studies are essential in teaching future citizens knowledge, skills, and values related to cultural differences. This research aims to reveal the attitudes and comprehension of social studies teacher candidates (TCs) toward different cultures. Present paper aim to contribute the literature by documenting the attitudes and comprehension of TCs regarding the people of different cultures especially from the countries that have face conflicting issues. The research, carried out with a basic qualitative research design, covers the data collected during the activities carried out to improve the attitudes and comprehension of TCs toward intercultural communication. 32 TCs, 25 women and seven men, took part in the study. Data collection tools used in the research are individual interviews, focus group interviews, and documents. The contents of 8 individual interviews and three focus group interviews, as well as performance assignments and evaluation articles prepared by the participants, were analyzed using by content analysis technique. The results indicate specific patterns in TCs attitudes and comprehension toward different cultures. The demonstrates that TCs define culture with its formalistic features, do not realize that culture may be related to worldview, are insufficient in researching cultural concepts, and generalize superficially about culture.