ABSTRACT
The chapter revisits some key research findings on promoting children’s intercultural encountering in schools, and reflects on teaching philosophy and practices. Examples are presented from an intercultural story exchange, which was conducted between primary schools in Scotland, Belgium, and Finland. During the project, children told oral stories to their exchange partners using the Storycrafting method, a Finnish innovation that supports listening to children’s voices. The project was underpinned by an educational philosophy which promotes equitable opportunities to learn for all, views children as active participants in the learning process, values professional and autonomous teachers to make pedagogical decisions locally, and supports the holistic growth of the child. To enable intercultural encountering, the teachers worked together with the children to develop a learning space that supports encountering. The project promoted a dynamic approach to interculturality, which focuses on learning ‘through intercultural experiences’ rather than ‘about culture’. This chapter explores the idea that teaching and learning interculturality should be viewed as processes of inquiry.
