The research questions:

1.       1. What kind of experiences of otherness do the teacher students have?

2.      2. How do the experiences of otherness enhance intercultural competence?

In this paper we examine the narratives of otherness by student teachers at the University of Helsinki, especially how their reflective self-explorations affects intercultural competence, which implies the need for increased awareness and sensitivity as well as respect for differences.

Experiences of otherness are connected to boundary crossings. Boundaries can be cultural or social, and cultures, ethnicities, gender, sexualities and social classes define these borders. There is no doubt that issues of diversity, and especially that of understanding the Other are the greatest challenges to education and teacher education today (Taylor, 2002; Nieto & McDonough, 2011). Teachers’ intercultural competence is one of the most important factors that facilitate quality education for all students. Although teachers’ own identities play an important role in their professional practices, teacher education has often failed to sufficiently motivate students to examine their own histories, self-concepts and attitudes or ideas about diversity (Cochran-Smith,  2003). Experiences of otherness have a strong impact on one’s cultural sensitivity and intercultural competence (e.g. Merryfield, 2000).

The concept of otherness has often been defined with dichotomies between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the norm and the exception, or “us” and “them”. By naming the difference(s), we have the evidence of otherness. The self-definitions based upon what one is not create a distance from and the devaluation of the Other. The concept of otherness internalizes the idea of power in relationships. (Kristeva, 1991; Bhabha, 1994; Gay, 2000).

Understanding people different from us requires that we work on ourselves in order to avoid lapsing into a projection, a game of mirrors, or into a reproduction tautology what already exists (Abdallah-Pretceille, 2006; Kristeva, 1991). One way to learn about diversity is to understand otherness as part of one’s own identity (Kristeva , 1991). When we accept all that is imperfect, improper and vulnerable in our solid self, we learn to accept others. Teachers with significant experiences of otherness would be more sensitive to diversity in their work. When teachers have an experience of being the uncomfortable “other” themselves, they would not allow that feeling to permeate in their class. (Roose 2001.)

Educators need more complex understanding of intercultural interaction and skills to negotiate between cultures (Coulby, 2006). What do we need to know about other cultures or the ‘Other’, in order to help diverse students to learn? Is it enough to understand the cultures themselves or the learners through their cultures or should one avoid focusing only on the characteristics of others, because it may lead to exoticism, stereotypes and even prejudices? (Abdallah-Pretceille, 2006, 476)

Living in another culture does not automatically make a person intercultural but rather through authentic relationships and dialogues with others. The inter-relationships thus formed across identity, power, and experience can lead to a consciousness of other perspectives and a recognition of multiple realities” (Merryfield, 2000, Talib, 2006).

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