INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE ASSESSMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION TEACHER TRAINING

The study analyzed how is the initial formation of the intercultural competence of the students that belong to the Preschool Education Teacher Training Faculty of the University Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. The design of this research is framed in the mixed method approach. A questionnaire was administered to 788 students, interviews with 27 students and 27 teachers, five groups of discussion between students were formed and the curriculum of the degree was analyzed. The information was subjected to a quantitative and qualitative integration process and analysis, and complementarily, with support of the SPSS 17.0 and Atlasti 7.0 programs. Results reveal that intercultural formation competence is deficient, negative cultural attitudes toward foreign people are shown, as well as a low level of expectations toward the school performance of foreign children and a scarce knowledge in the intercultural education field.