Today's education in Europe is confronted with the challenge of 'diversity,' as well as an increase in the cultural heterogeneity of educational settings. This has several implications for how schools respond to changes in student ethnic composition and the impact on social cohesion (Lähdesmäki, Koistinen & Ylönen, 2020; Osler, 2020; Fiorucci et al, 2021). Indeed, the perspective of intercultural education in school systems has been described as one of the most critical and current challenges for the development of an inclusive culture (Woodrow et al. 2019). Teachers play an important role in this context because they must respond to this new educational challenge. They must accommodate the many cultural and social elements emerging from current migration phenomena and increasingly multicultural societies in order to promote change processes, a culture of difference, and equal opportunity (Banks & Banks, 2009; Arar, Brooks & Bogotch, 2019;  Portera, 2020).

The European Union and Italy have called for increased efforts to prepare teachers for diversity and lay the groundwork for more inclusive societies through education. Intercultural teacher education is essential to prepare teachers for inclusive classrooms and promote a professional ethic based on openness, mutual recognition, and collective responsibility (Hinojosa Pareja, & Lopez Lopez 2018; Figueredo-Canosa et. al, 2020).

With reference to Italy, the AMIF (Asylum, Migration, and Integration Fund) Program 2014-2020 is a multi-year training program for managers, teachers, and educators in schools with a high percentage of foreign students. The AMIF program aims to engage Italian teachers at all levels in training initiatives, research-action paths, professional networks, research documentation dissemination, and best practices. Among the AMIF-funded initiatives was the establishment of a post-graduate diploma in 'Organization and Management of Educational Institutions in Multicultural Contexts' - (academic year 2020/2021), which was developed in a similar format at seven Italian universities. This course represents one of the few attempts at structured and institutionalized intercultural training for teachers and administrators.

This paper focuses on the course organized by the Department of Educational Sciences at the University of Catania. The post-graduate diploma aimed to improve teachers' skills in multicultural classroom management and multicultural teaching, as well as the main intervention methods used in multicultural and heterogeneous schools, with a focus on teachers as intercultural agents. 

Between June and December 2021, 118 teachers took part in an online training course that included lectures and seminars. Furthermore, the research-action process was used as an effective exploratory tool for participants to inquire about educational issues and improve their knowledge of intercultural teaching practice.

The purpose of this study, which is part of the specific Departmental line of research (P.I.A.C.E.R.I. research project), was to map out the sense-making experiences of teachers who completed the postgraduate diploma and thus to examine the participants' perception of the intercultural training program. We wanted to listen to the voices of the teachers and investigate how they represented their practice and intercultural training experience.  As result, the primary research question was: How do teachers perceive the significance of this training experience?

To answer this question, metaphors were used as a tool for critical analysis, which is important for promoting the reflective skills of participants in teacher education (Craig, 2018; Baş, 2021). Metaphors, which are symbolic expressions, create different meanings in people who interpret words differently. Indeed, visual methodologies rely on the use of metaphors and visual storytelling as epistemological and methodological 'tools' for revealing implicit conceptions and views on diversity in didactical and educational practices (Wall, Hall, & Woolner, 2012). 

The research method used in this work is qualitative, and it is based on a phenomenological approach designed to reveal and understand an individual’s subjective experience as it is reported and perceived by him/her (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; Berg & Lune, 2011). The ultimate goal of this methodology is to encourage teachers to engage in conscious and open self-reflection in order to revise the theoretical and methodological foundations of their professional activities. This approach encourages teachers to become active knowledge builders. Phenomenography, in particular, is a research method that focuses on people's perceptions of phenomena they encounter while living in the universe and their experiences with them. Individuals differ in their ability to experience or comprehend a phenomenon. Ineed, the goal of phenomenographic research is to identify the critical components of this diversity (Stolz, 2020). In a ‘metaphorical sense’, participants were asked to send a ‘postcard’ describing their educational experience. A postcard sent during a trip immortalizes a space, a glimpse of a landscape, or an architectural element, and communicates to those who receive it a desire, a bond, or an idea of the place visited. To keep the memory alive, the image was accompanied by a brief message. At the end of this training course, participants were asked to send an unique and original photograph that expresses the meaning of their training experience, as well as a short descriptive message that summarizes the meaning of their training 'journey'. To explore their experience, the data for our reflection and analysis included: visual data (photos), narrative writing to describe teacher models, and semi-structured interviews with a group of 10 participants. All the activities were be carried out in accordance with ethical procedures

The data was analyzed using a grounded approach, and the metaphors created by the research participants were examined and presented in three thematic areas. 1) personal experience (the teacher's personal attitude, values, and ethics); 2) intercultural teaching practice (classroom teaching); 3) teaching profession (professional skills and their role withing the school). In addition, direct quotations from the participants' narrative writing are included. The findings show that the knowledge and skills gained and developed in this course enabled the development of appropriate operational and organizational strategies in the teaching practise, as well as the management of the multilingual classroom and the use of intercultural didactics to promote learning processes and the integration of students with non-Italian citizenship. Furthermore, the opportunity to participate in an intercultural training course helps participants become aware of how their personal attitudes, opinions, prejudices, and stereotypes can influence inclusive practice. This study demonstrated how metaphor can be used to assist teachers in conceptualizing their intercultural experiences, while also investigating implicit or emerging personal and professional epistemologies. Using this visual methodology for reflective practice in teacher education is a promising pedagogical option. A significant advantage of using metaphors was the ability of teachers to understand and articulate their narrative more easily than if it was first verbally reported. In fact, metaphors are a powerful tool for encouraging self-awareness and reflection. Visual methodologies, in fact, can be used to delve deeper into the deeper meanings of educational practices.

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