| dc.description.abstract | The present small-scale qualitative study explores teachers’ perceptions and practices of working with democracy, citizenship, and intercultural competence in the English subject. Five English teachers working in 4th-7th grade took part in individual semi-structured interviews to provide an insight into their reflections and practices regarding the chosen research topic. The study aimed to investigate teachers’ perceptions of democracy, citizenship, and intercultural competence and their practices in English subject, and addressed the following research questions: “What are teachers’ perceptions and practices of working with democracy and citizenship in the English subject?” and “What are teachers’ perceptions and practices of working with intercultural competence in the English subject?”
The study found that the teachers’ perceptions of democracy and citizenship indicated a holistic view of the terms, where political and cultural perspectives were included. Findings in the study also reported that the participants focused on the competence of understanding and having knowledge of one’s own culture and other people’s cultures, when addressing intercultural competence. Furthermore, the findings showed that the teachers’ practices of working with democracy, citizenship, and intercultural competence were overlapping and were all based on a cultural approach, in alignment with their perceptions of the terms. Overall, for the teachers in the study, democracy, citizenship, and intercultural competence were seen as strongly related, and the topics were considered particularly relevant when teaching English as a foreign language in primary education. | |
