Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding

Joining together to educate children for a compassionate, peaceful and inclusive world

WELCOME

I warmly welcome you to my website.

I am Debra Rader: international educator, author and consultant.

This website is dedicated to establishing a collaborative community of educators to promote and support the development of intercultural understanding in ourselves, in each other and in the children we teach. This includes building strong relationships with parents and caregivers, and creating inclusive school communities where everyone is valued, affirmed and thrives.

It serves practising teachers, students in teacher training programmes and teacher educators worldwide as we share our collective wisdom, experience, skills and talents, and work together to help create a better world. The resources are relevant to everyone who cares about children and has an influence in their lives including parents and caregivers, grandparents and other family members, and friends and neighbours.

I invite you to explore my website, and to participate in the conversation by sharing your comments and questions following my blogs and newsletters. In this way we can join together to help move this important work forward. I look forward to connecting with you. Please feel free to contact me with your questions, comments and suggestions.

My warmest wishes,

Debra

MY BOOK

Developing intercultural understanding is vital for our world today, and while it is not an easy task, it can be achieved. This book is designed to support you as you integrate teaching and learning for intercultural understanding into your existing curriculum. I warmly invite you to journey with me as we explore the nature of intercultural understanding, and the meaningful and powerful ways we can encourage its growth and development.

ENDORSEMENTS

‘In ‘Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding: Engaging Young Hearts and Minds’, Debra Rader has produced a clearly-structured, carefully researched volume which informs and encourages its readers to integrate intercultural understanding into their teaching, and also challenges them to reflect on issues relating to their own cultures, beliefs, values and attitudes. This new title promises to be a must-read for anyone with a concern for supporting the young adults of tomorrow in developing the skills and attributes that will be essential if they are to live peacefully with others in our increasingly complex world.’

Mary Hayden, Professor of International Education, University of Bath, UK

‘Indispensable reading for teachers today. This is a remarkable book, perhaps even a courageous one. Debra Rader’s appeal to teachers blends theory and practice into a narrative that is passionate and inspiring, urgent and compelling, with a mine of resources and ideas for lessons and activities. It will be a seminal text on how to address the most important educational challenge of our era.’

Terry Haywood, Trustee, Alliance for International Education and International Schools Consultant

‘More than ever, schools are called to help students see the world through different eyes, appreciate different cultures and divergent thinking, and to build a shared understanding among groups with diverse experiences and interests, thus increasing our radius of trust to strangers and institutions. This is easy to say, but really hard to accomplish in a classroom. This book provides a framework for how to do this, and not only that, it also illustrates in insightful and practical ways what it might look like when intercultural understanding is lived in our daily lives.’

Andreas Schleicher, Director OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General