Employability, international mobility and intercultural awareness in Bilingual Education: Studying the perceptions of pre-service bilingual teachers

Abstract

Bilingual Education has grown in popularity across Europe, and so has the body of research proving its benefits for students. However, little has been studied about its real impact on graduates from these programs in terms of employability, international mobility, and intercultural awareness despite having been demonstrated as helpful indicators of the success of Bilingual Education. Likewise, research has not addressed yet if bilingual teachers agree with the importance of developing these elements and feel prepared for such a task. In this study, a mixed-method approach based on the Grounded Theory and content analysis has been used to examine the perceptions of Spanish pre-service bilingual teachers (n = 53) regarding their preparation to develop these elements among their future students. Findings show that participants believe these are elements to be developed in Bilingual Education and, in turn, should be the focus of bilingual teaching, although they also agree that some other issues like language proficiency and communication cannot be overlooked. Conversely, they consider online-based teacher training in these aspects is insufficient. The study encourages to rethink the role of employability, international mobility, and intercultural competence in initial bilingual teacher education.