Abstract
This study examines the impact of phenomenological teaching approaches on intercultural competence (ICC) among 300-level pre-service teachers in southwestern Nigeria’s colleges of education, a highly culturally diverse region. Traditional lecture-based methods, which prioritize rote learning, often limit the development of skills needed for multicultural classrooms. Drawing on Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology (emphasizing embodied, reflective, and experiential learning) and Deardorff’s process-oriented model of intercultural competence, this mixed-methods study compares phenomenological (reflective and experiential) approaches with traditional ones. Quantitative surveys (adapted from Fantini, 2009; n=500 students, n=200 staff) showed significantly higher ICC scores in phenomenological classes (overall M=4.20, SD=0.60) compared to traditional classes (M=3.50, SD=0.70; p