Proceedings of the Intercultural Competence Conference November, 2014, Vol. 3, pp. 188-206 http://cercll.arizona.edu Copyright © 2014 188 BUILDING TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE THROUGH STUDY ABROAD: A COLLABORATIVE AUTOETHNOGRAPHY Jennifer Stacy University of Nebraska- Lincoln jlstacy2@gmail.com Kristine Sudbeck University of Nebraska- Lincoln kristinesudbeck@gmail.com Jessica Sierk University of Nebraska- Lincoln jessica.sierk@gmail.com Abstract Comparative and international education serve as venues through which teachers can develop and acquire crucial intercultural competence to better serve their students. Study abroad allows teachers to be immersed in a different society, providing them the opportunity not only to learn about other cultures, but also to “see” their own culture through a comparative lens. While such study abroad programs are usually developed for pre-service teachers, it is less common for practicing teachers to participate in study abroad experiences, even though with actual, rather than hypothetical, classrooms in mind they may be better positioned to gain from such experiences. This collaborative autoethnography examines the influence of a short-term study abroad trip in South Africa on university instructors’ intercultural competence. Each participant was an instructor of a foundational course in education for pre-service teachers. Data were collected in the form of archival materials, self-reflection, coursework (the trip included work with South African graduate students and formal study of language planning and language policy), self-analysis, and pre- and post-trip interviews. Themes discussed include comparative construction of self, development of intercultural competence, and study abroad in teacher education. Introduction An increasingly globalizing world requires teachers to develop intercultural competence, defined here as the knowledge of others and self; the skills to interpret, discover and interact; the ability to value others’ values, beliefs, and behaviors; and the capability to relativize one’s self (Byram, 1997). Today’s American schools are characterized by culturally and linguistically heterogeneous enrollments taught by mainly monocultural, monolingual teachers (Quijada Cerecer, Alvarez Gutiérrez, & Rios, 2010). Comparative and international education serve as venues through which teachers can develop and acquire crucial intercultural competence to better serve their students. Study abroad allows teachers to be immersed in a different society, providing them the opportunity not only to learn about other cultures, but also to “see” their own culture through a comparative lens. While such study abroad programs are usually developed for pre- service teachers, it is less common for practicing K-16 teachers to participate in study abroad experiences, even though with actual, rather than hypothetical, classrooms in mind they may be better positioned to gain from such experiences. The Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education (TLTE) department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) seeks to engage students in informed conversations about