Arctic regions have long been relatively heterogeneous culturally. Nowadays, an increasing number of teachers work daily with students and their families representing various cultures, language groups, and religions. Also in Finland, the importance of intercultural education and the enhancement of teachers’ intercultural competencies has grown in the 21st century due to the increasing diversity of society. In addition, the learning outcomes between students with an immigrant background and the native population exhibits the largest disparity among OECD member countries (OECD 2019). Teachers, both in Finland and internationally, have been found to perceive their ability to implement intercultural education as partially insufficient.

In this practice-oriented study, we examined Finnish teachers’ intercultural competencies. These competencies are seen as skills, knowledge, and attitudes that enable educators to effectively teach and interact in culturally diverse classrooms. Intercultural competencies include the affective dimension, which encompasses attitudes, beliefs, and emotions, as well as the dimensions of knowledge, skills, and action. The practical objective of this study is to outline ways to enhance the intercultural competencies of future teachers already during teacher education and to identify the practical tools that teachers need when working in multicultural contexts.

We have interviewed ten primary school teachers who work in intercultural classrooms. In open thematic interviews, the participants were asked to describe how they take into account different cultures, religions, and language groups in their everyday schoolwork and to explain how they have obtained tools for working in a multicultural classroom.

We used quaitative thematic analysis as the method of analysis.Thematic analysis showed that three distinct level can be found in teachers intercultural competencies: the level of practical arrangements, the pedagogical level, and the level of encounter and understanding. The practical working methods used by the respondents involve, for example, differentiated materials, support for language learning, and consideration of religions in various situations. Some respondents demonstrated particular cultural sensitivity and professionalism by recognizing that diversity and multiculturalism concern all students, rather than speaking of immigrants and Finns as separate groups. This kind of professionalism had developed through their own intercultural experiences, and the respondents did not feel that teacher education had provided them with the necessary skills for teaching in intercultural contexts. Teachers’ intercultural competencies is still a relatively under-researched topic and a new challenge for many teachers in the Arctic region. Research on the topic provides valuable insights into how intercultural skills can be supported by practical actions in teacher education from the outset and how we can train in-service teachers to incorporate multiculturalism into their teaching. Based on these results, it can be concluded that it is important to offer pre-service teachers not only theoretical knowledge, but also diverse opportunities for multicultural interaction during their studies through student exchanges, international connections, and trainers representing different cultures.

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