Effects of German Language Teacher Professional Development on Pupils’ Learning Outcomes in Intercultural Competence

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

The study investigates whether German foreign-language teacher professional development focused on intercultural competence can improve pupils’ achievement of curricular goals related to intercultural competence. Using a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, the research evaluates 752 primary and lower secondary pupils from grades 4 and 8 before and after teacher participation. Results show positive effects on learning outcomes, especially the cognitive component, supporting the need for teacher motivation and targeted emphasis on stereotypes and prejudices in programme design.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Intercultural competence in education policy

Key competences and curriculum integration

Effects of German Language Teacher Professional Development on Pupils’ Learning Outcomes in Intercultural Competence Ana Šenjug Golub1 • The development of intercultural competence is increasingly being perceived as a key goal in today’s education. As a result of a strong emphasis on that competence in curricular documents, teachers are faced with demanding tasks. Confirming this, recent research in the field of intercultural competence in Croatian schools indicates the numerous difficulties teachers face in accomplishing the goal of developing their pupils’ intercultural competence. Teacher professional development can be crucial fora systematic approach to the development of learners’ intercultural competence. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether teacher participation in a further professional development programme on the topic of intercultural competence can significantly affect the achievement of goals set in the current curricular documents on foreign language learning related to intercultural competence. The effects of the professional development programme were assessed by means of analysing learner outcomes in intercultural competence prior to and after teacher participation in the programme. A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design was used, and the achievements of 752 primary and lower secondary level pupils attending 4th and 8th grades were evaluated. The results confirmed that foreign language teacher professional development in the field of intercultural competence had positive effects on pupils’ learning outcomes, especially in the cognitive component of intercultural competence. This leads to the conclusion that it is necessary to motivate foreign language teachers to participate in such programmes. The results also indicate the necessity of placing particular emphasis on the problem of stereotypes and prejudices when designing such programmes. Keywords: evaluation of learning outcomes, German language teaching and learning, intercultural competence, teacher professional development 1 Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb, Croatia; [ana.senjug@ufzg.hr](ana.senjug@ufzg.hr) 76 effects of professional development on learning outcomes in intercultural ... Učinki profesionalnega razvoja učiteljev nemščine na učne dosežke učencev s področja medkulturnih kompetenc Ana Šenjug Golub • Razvijanje medkulturnih kompetenc je vedno bolj v ospredju kot ključen cilj v današnjem izobraževanju. Glede na to, da je ta kompetenca močno prisotna v kurikularnih dokumentih, se učitelji srečujejo z zahtevnimi nalogami. To potrjujejo tudi novejše raziskave na področju medkulturnih kompetenc v hrvaških šolah, ki kažejo na številne težave, s katerimi se učitelji spopadajo pri doseganju cilja – pri učencih razviti medkulturne kompetence. Učiteljev profesionalni razvoj je lahkoključnega pomena pri sistematičnem pristopu k razvijanju medkulturnih kompetenc učencev. Zato je namen te raziskave ugotoviti, ali lahko udeležba učiteljev v programih profesionalnega razvoja na temomedkulturnih kompetenc pomembno vpliva na doseganje ciljev, postavljenih v obstoječem kurikulumu za poučevanje tujega jezika, povezanihz medkulturnimi kompetencami. Učinki programa profesionalnega razvoja so bili merjeni s pomočjo analiziranja učnih dosežkov s področjamedkulturnih kompetenc, preden so se učitelji udeležili programa in po udeležbi. Uporabljena je bila metoda kvazieksperimenta (predtest/ potest). Analizirani so bili dosežki 752 učencev, ki so obiskovali četrti in osmi razred osnovne šole. Rezultati so potrdili, da je imel profesionalni razvoj učiteljev tujega jezika s področja medkulturnih kompetenc pozitiven vpliv na dosežke učencev, še posebej glede kognitivne komponentemedkulturnih kompetenc. To vodi do sklepa, da je učitelje tujih jezikov nujno treba motivirati, da se udeležujejo tovrstnih programov. Rezultatikažejo tudi na to, da je pri snovanju tovrstnih programov treba še posebno pozornost namenit

FAQs

What is the aim of the study?

To determine whether teachers’ participation in a further professional development programme on intercultural competence can significantly affect pupils’ learning outcomes related to curricular goals.

How were the programme effects measured?

By analyzing pupils’ outcomes in intercultural competence before and after teachers participated, using a quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design.

What were the main findings?

Foreign language teacher professional development in intercultural competence had positive effects on pupils’ learning outcomes, especially in the cognitive component.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay