Domestic Intercultural Immersion within the Somali Community: Fostering an Understanding of Diversity and Immigrant Experiences in the Midwest Ms. Monet Barnes, Faculty Mentors: Drs. Aram de Koven and Yun-Ting Hung  Department of Educational Studies  University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Introduction Major Findings Implications Research Questions Methodology Literature Review Interview Responses  A summary of pre and post-immersion experience surveys revealed the following:  Due to the increasing amount of diversity in U.S. schools, teachers need to be prepared to work effectively with racial and cultural backgrounds different than their own. To accomplish this goal, pre-service teachers at UWEC sought to gain an understanding of the Somali culture in Minneapolis, Minnesota by taking part in an intercultural immersion. The goal of this immersion was to help UWEC pre-service teachers gain a greater understanding of the Somali culture and their immigrant experiences. By fostering a deep understanding of one underrepresented community of language learners, pre-service teachers can develop a more positive attitude toward other underrepresented and misunderstood cultures as well.  The research participants consisted of eleven Education Studies and two Liberal Arts majors from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.  The participants engaged in more than twenty four hours of classroom-based instruction, a week- long, full-day, field placement in schools that serve primary Somali youth, and daily excursions in and around the Somali community in Minneapolis, MN  Pre and post-immersion experience surveys, which focused on multicultural awareness and the Somali culture were collected and analyzed.  To what degree did learners grow in their understandings of the Somali culture in regards to history, language, traditions and customs?  To what extend did the learners improve in their understanding of the complexities of urban immigrants’ lives and large populations of one culture in one school?  Was the program effective and in what ways was it effective?  Did the learners develop a sense of equity in public education for non-native English speakers and a willingness to advocate on behalf of non-native English speakers and their needs? “As teachers, we have the responsibility to care about our students and understand them because once you understand a student, you can create a connection with them. I feel that I have such a unique connection with the Somali community after this experience. If I ever have a Somali student in my classroom I will have a much greater understanding of them, and I feel that when you’re in the school you have the responsibility to feel that way about every one of your students.” -Participant A  This experience even changed what some students want to do in the future “It was the first time that I really had experience in an urban setting, and also the first time I had worked with such a diverse group of students. Small town, Wisconsin, mostly white, Lutheran students is mostly what I’ve been exposed to, and I feel like my upbringing has always kind of taught me that working in an urban school with almost no white kids in the class would be so difficult. I just kind of had this idea that it would be so drastically different. Then I got in there and I thought, ‘This isn’t different. Their skin is just a different color or they practice a different way religiously.’ Some people make it sound like it’s such a challenge and that it’s terrible, and they would tell me that I shouldn’t teach in an urban school. Which I think is terrible. So for me, I got to learn that it is something that I will be comfortable doing and I really hope that I end up doing.” -Participant E  This experience gave teachers a greater sense of empathy for all students in the classroom  This experience also helped pre-service teachers develop self-efficacy in an urban classroom “I think experiences like this help to get rid of stereotypes. Stereotypes were something that we observed in the Somali schools, and something I experienced when I came back home and my family starting mentioning stereotypical things about Muslims. I feel that now I can be more of an agent of change, whereas before if someone would address me with something like that I wouldn’t have any valid arguments against their comments even though I might not agree with them. But now, after having a real immersion experience, after talking to immigrants and refugees about their experiences, and after going to classes and receiving statistical data, I feel that I’m more prepared to deal with a situation where I might have to stand up for the Somali people.” -Participant C “I think there are so many different cultural norms between the Somali culture and the American culture in terms of what we teach in the classroom. For example, sex education, music, art, and even physical education are looked at differently in the Somali culture. I think this experience has brought to my attention even more how important it is to fully understand where those cultural norms come from, and to do everything in my power to work with the community, to understand them, and to do what I can to make sure they’re comfortable and feel that they’re in a safe environment” -Participant D Intercultural immersion experiences are be beneficial to pre-service teachers in a number of ways:  Intercultural and cross-cultural immersion experiences help teachers develop a teaching style that is culturally relevant (Zhao, Meyers, & Meyers, 2009).  The changing demographics within our schools create a need for teacher preparation programs to better prepare pre-service teachers for the diversity that exists within our schools. It is recommended that pre-service teachers cross cultural borders in order to gain a deeper understanding of urban students (Waddell, 2011).  Research suggests that teacher candidates with significant intercultural experience are more likely to develop positive attitudes and beliefs about diversity than those with little or no experience (Garmon, 2005).  Oftentimes, many of these intercultural experiences,  Experiences like intercultural immersions are the greatest source of self-efficacy for teachers because it provides them with evidence of their abilities to teach in an urban environment (Siwatu et al., 2011). especially early experiences, bring about a desire to participate in internships in urban schools. Pre-service teachers often find that teaching in the urban setting is their “calling” (Nuby, 2010).  Interviews were conducted at the end of the experience in order to provide further evidence in support of the quantitative findings.  Data analysis was done using open-coding techniques and comparisons of pre and post-test means.  Data collection occurred over a six week period  The results of this research suggest that an intercultural immersion is highly beneficial to pre-service teachers. Although education programs offer pre-service teachers some instruction on teaching in a culturally diverse classroom, there is no substitution to immersing oneself in a different culture. It is Photo courtesy of Samantha Kobs recommended that teacher educators engage in actual experiences with individuals from different racial and cultural backgrounds in order to prepare themselves to teach in a diverse classroom. This will help teachers to develop greater multicultural awareness, and to create authentic connections with students of a different racial or cultural background than their own. It will also ensure that teachers are confident in their abilities to teach in a diverse urban classroom, as well as provide teachers with a greater sense of empathy for every student in their classroom Sources and Acknowledgements Garmon, M. A. (2004). Changing preservice teachers' attitudes/beliefs about diversity. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(3), Nuby, J. (2010). An awakening through an inner city immersion. Multicultural Perspectives, 12(1), Siwatu, K. O., Frazier, P., Osaghe, O. J., & Starker, T. V. (2011). From maybe I can to yes I can: Developing pre-service and in-service teachers' self-efficiency to teach African American students. Journal of Negro Education, 80(3), Waddell, J. (2011). Crossing borders without leaving home: The impact of cultural immersion on the perceptions of teacher education candidates. Issues in Teacher Education, 20(2), Zhao, Y., Meyers, L., & Meyers, B. (2009). Cross cultural immersion in China: Preparing pre-service elementary teachers to work with diverse student populations in the United States. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), Special Thanks To:  UWEC Differential Tuition Funds and UW-Eau Claire Center of Excellence for Faculty and Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration  Ceder Riverside Academy and Anne Sullivan Elementary School.