Teacher education with an international profile

The additional studies are aimed at teacher education students for all types of schools and all subject combinations at FAU who wish to build international profiles and improve their qualifications over and above their compulsory and/or standard course content. The studies prepare students to work in international education in school and non-school contexts, as well as equipping them for pedagogical activity in a globalised world.

The certificate helps aspiring educators to gain international develop profiles related to international affairs, in-person and virtual exchange projects, school partnerships and international school development processes in schools. It can also prepare them to take over specific responsibilities in schools. The certificate makes them particularly well qualified to work in schools with an international and intercultural makeup and which are implementing strategies promoting education in a globalised world as part of their school development plans.

The programme covers four different thematic focuses. Module 1 looks at the international and European dimension of subject-specific knowledge, teaching practices and/or education studies. Module 2 shifts the focus onto the interaction of multilingualism and pedagogical professionalism. Attending language courses to improve language skills and gain knowledge of other countries can count towards this module.

Module 3 covers planning and carrying out a stay abroad. The aim is for students to understand the organisational and cultural challenges associated with international mobility so they can reflect on the distinctive features of teacher education in different countries and from a comparative perspective.

Module 4 addresses theoretical and practical concepts of global learning, global citizenship education, European education, education for sustainable development, peace pedagogy, human rights education, anti-racist education, and prevention of antisemitism and xenophobia. Following the concept of ‘service learning’, students implement these in practice in collaboration with schools and non-school institutions.

The ‘FAU Lehramt International’ additional studies programme helps aspiring educators develop professional skills and personal qualities.

Peer-to-peer training for teaching staff on teacher education study programmes has covered internationalisation of curricula, designing multilingual classes, etwinning in teacher education, and internationalisation and ‘de-bureaucratisation’. The training courses are offered by FBZHL, (the professional development centre for higher education training) at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, and can count as work units towards the Certificate for Higher Education Teaching at Bavarian Universities.

The project consolidates a collaboration between the universities involved in the Bavarian Lehramt.International projects at the universities of Bamberg, Erlangen-Nürnberg, Passau and Würzburg. Bi-annual meetings take place to discuss and coordinate common areas of concern related to internationalisation in teacher education in Bavaria. In addition to this, a series of online events has been offered since the 2023/24 winter semester, aimed at teacher education students, lecturers and teaching staff at home and international partner universities. Students at FAU can count attendance at these events towards Module 1 of their additional studies.