THE INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The research aimed to determine the intercultural competence levels of primary school teachers. The research questions examined problems of intercultural competence of teachers working in a multicultural school and in a monocultural school such as the level of ethnocentrism and ethnorelativism and the level of intercultural competence in the dimension of global competence (substantive knowledge, perceptual understanding and intercultural communication). An online quantitative survey through the Intercultural Sensitivity Index (ISI) was used to collect data. The research was conducted on a purposive sample of 53 primary school teachers in multiethnic regions of North-West Macedonia. Data processing was performed using SPSS. Key findings reveal that the intercultural sensitivity of primary school teachers is middling (M=3.19). Teachers working in a multicultural school have developed a higher level of intercultural competence (M=3.22) compared to teachers working in a monocultural school (M=3.15). Teachers need professional development in the field of intercultural education. They also need international mobility.
Keywords: ethnocentrism, ethnorelativism, intercultural competence, intercultural communication