International teachers`` cross-cultural teaching stories: A tragic comedy?

Abstract

This article presents a framework based on the genred stories of Tragedy (where one is a captive or victim of uncontrollable social or personal factors) and Comedy (where one is a utopian who embraces an ideal community of teaching and learning). This framework is used to analyze four international teachers` cross-cultural teaching experiences. The analyses inform how international teachers` cultural backgrounds impact their accounts and resolutions of cross-cultural teaching struggles for moral sensitivity, reflection and imagination (Buzzelli & Johnston, 2002). Pedagogical implications are raised, as are future research possibilities to increase international understandings.