Intercultural Communicative Competence in Teacher Education: Cultural Simulation Insights from Hawaiʻi

Abstract

This article discusses how cultural simulations promote teacher candidate cultural competence. The case study uses intercultural communicative competence to examine written reflections and focus group interviews of 21 undergraduate teacher candidates in Hawaiʻi who engaged in cultural simulation visits on the island of Oʻahu. Findings reveal that cultural simulations allowed teacher candidates to develop intercultural competency in knowledge, know-how, and being. Implications include how cultural simulations may promote teacher candidates’ intercultural competence and offer recommendations on how teacher educators may consist of cultural simulations in multicultural teacher education.