This thesis reports on an interpretative case study about student teachers’ and new teachers’
personal interpretations in their teaching practice, during and after an international
teaching internship. The main aim of this study was to describe how an international
teaching internship interrupts existing, familiar ways of thinking or acting. The findings are
an interpretation of how this interruption influences student teachers’ and new teachers’
“personal interpretative frameworks” (Kelchtermans, 2009) during their teacher training
programmes and transition from student to teacher. This framework reflects the basis on
which a beginning teacher grounds their personal decisions or judgements for action and
answers the questions: ‘how can I effectively deal with this particular situation? and ‘why
would I work that way?’ (Vanassche & Kelchtermans, 2014, p. 118).
