Student teaching abroad will help you get a job: Exploring administrator perceptions of international experiences for preservice teachers

Given the purported benefits pre-service teachers can gain from international experiences, we chose to conduct a qualitative case-study to explore the extent to which these experiences influenced the hiring decisions of local school administrators. We collected data using questionnaires and follow-up interviews and found that in many instances international experiences did influence hiring decisions. Yet, these influences were conditional, based on transferability to future classrooms, content area, and the location of the international experience. Implications of this study include the need to reexamine broad presumptive benefits attached to international experiences and instead inquire into the promises and challenges accorded to particular experiences.