Traditional university-based Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education (SCDE) continue to be challenged with preparing pre-service teachers to be effective first-year teachers in any educational setting. Increasingly, this includes preparing for increasingly diverse and multicultural classrooms in an increasingly global setting. Traditional one-semester study abroad programs are recognized for their support for building global and cross-cultural competences. However, these experiences are not feasible for the typical pre-service teacher undergraduate. This paper describes the experiences of six pre-service educators who participated in a 12-day international practicum in China. The short-term practicum was designed specifically for pre-service teachers and academic site visits (college-level, elementary, and secondary schools) and cultural experiences. Global and cultural competency results, based on structured reflections, and pre- and post-practicum survey data will be presented. Implications and future research will be discussed.
