A teacher in the contemporary multicultural world

Abstract

In the contemporary world, the cultural and social changes are becoming more and more dynamic. Extensive migrations as well as social and political transformations considerably influence the educational processes (including teacher training) not only in Poland but all over the world. Education systems are forced to search for innovative solutions which can meet new expectations. Among numerous problems, there comes the old, yet vital one: how to train teachers, how to prepare them to use innovative methods in the contemporary, often multicultural, school community? There also comes a question whether teachers are ready for changes which require them to improve their competence and constantly gain knowledge. The book “A Teacher in the Contemporary Multicultural World” expands on and completes the reflections included in the monograph “Teacher Training – Models, Tendencies and Challenges of the Multicultural World”. It is a collection of essays written by authors who deal with theory and practice of training teachers of all levels of education. The work is divided into two parts. The first one, “Contemporary trends in the teacher training in Europe”, consists of three essays that present three different models of teacher training. S.V. Shmalyey touches upon the issue of multicultural communication in Ukraine. He describes experiences of introducing a special program that improves students’ qualifications in that area. Warud Jayusi presents a program of education for peace realized in Israel. He points out the heart of the matter, describing how important this model of education is for supporting and developing tolerance and acceptance of cultural and social differences, especially in communities in which ethnic minorities live in constant conflict. Éva Kovácsné Bakosi presents experiences in teacher training in the context of implementing the Bologna Process in Hungary. The second part, “Reflections on teacher education and teacher professional practice in Poland”, includes essays that focus on the professional attitudes of teachers, their professional awareness and the anxieties resulting from the inevitable transformation. Iwona Czaja-Chudyba, Maria Kocór, Anna Karłyk-Ćwik, Paweł Ochwat, Michał Tomczak, Maria Kmita, and Krystyna Celarek discuss vital problems of self-reflection and self-criticism of teachers, as well as their willingness to change. The considerations made by the authors include important conclusions which result from the presented research outcome. The authors concentrate on issues which seem universal, thus solutions that they propose may be applied in various educational systems. The book was published thanks to the help from the authorities of the Pedagogical University of Krakow. My special thanks go to Prof. Joanna Michalak and Prof. Andrzej Murzyn for their detailed reviews as well as kind remarks and suggestions which greatly contributed to the substantive value of this study.