Intercultural Competence: Attitudes and Comprehension of Social Studies Teacher Candidates.

21st century imposes intercultural communication since citizens live in an increasingly interconnected world. Contemporary and democratic societies necessitate the peaceful coexistence of people of different cultures. In most communities, people encounter individuals of different perspectives and origins daily on the street, at school, or at work. So each individual should get the chance to live peacefully, cooperate and develop a sense of responsibility for the well-being of society. Social Studies course is essential in teaching future citizens knowledge, skills, and values related to cultural differences. This research aims to reveal the attitudes and comprehension of Social Studies teacher candidates (TCs) toward different cultures. The study, carried out with a basic qualitative research design, covers the data collected during the activities designed to improve the attitudes and comprehension of TCs toward intercultural communication. 32 TCs participated in the study. Data collection tools used in the research are individual interviews, focus group interviews and documents. The eight interviews, three focus group interviews, and performance assignments and evaluation papers prepared by the participants were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The results indicate specific patterns in TCs attitudes and comprehension toward different cultures. The paper shows that TCs define culture with its formalistic features, and do not realize that culture may be related to worldview. Also, TCs are insufficient in researching cultural concepts and generalize superficially about culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]