Making connection across time and space: International experience applied within classroom learning

How do people’s international experiences affect what is learned in school? This study examines how teachers and students in diverse school settings in Hong Kong and The United States bring their international and cross-cultural experiences into classroom learning. Through the theories of global education and intercultural development, the authors analyze how students’ and teachers’ experiences are contextualized within classroom instruction and identify ways in which the shared experiences influence learning about the subject under study. The paper also synthesizes findings within and across schools and countries with illustrations to flesh out both commonalities and differences.