In today's world, increasing human mobility, globalization, and various political and economic factors have created a situation in which issues of intercultural communication are becoming ever more relevant. Both global and national policies increasingly identify teachers as key agents influencing learning and improving educational quality. As a result, the role of the teacher in intercultural education is also expanding.

This publication examines the existing experience of intercultural education in Latvia, acknowledging that both locally and globally there are differing views on whether schools should prioritize intercultural education. Traditionally, Latvian teachers have been trained to work in monolingual and monocultural environments, and therefore often lack the professional competence to integrate intercultural experiences into their teaching practice. However, in order for students to successfully integrate into today’s diverse and global society, there is a growing need for teachers to be competent in multiculturalism and intercultural education. This study offers a Latvian perspective within the global discourse on intercultural education and teacher competence.

The aim of the publication is to analyze teachers’ understanding and knowledge of intercultural education aspects that promote awareness and growth of a multicultural society, as well as their motivation and readiness to work in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms. It focuses on the use of intercultural teaching methods that shape a pedagogical approach based on respectful attitudes toward ethnic, cultural, and religious differences.

The study was conducted using a mixed-method survey to gain a comprehensive view of teachers’ perspectives on intercultural competence in the teaching process. Statistical methods were used for data analysis, revealing several significant trends. The majority of respondents indicated that intercultural challenges in schools are mostly addressed intuitively or through personal experience, highlighting a lack of targeted professional preparation for working with culturally diverse student groups.
The study concludes that most teachers recognize intercultural competence as a crucial pedagogical resource for fostering inclusive, tolerant, and collaborative learning environments. While teachers show motivation to deepen their knowledge in intercultural education, there is a lack of systematic professional development in this area. It is therefore essential, at the level of education policy, to strengthen teacher education programs by incorporating components of intercultural communication, multilingualism, and multicultural pedagogy. This research may also serve as a basis for comparative analysis between countries facing similar educational transformations driven by migration and globalization.

Keywords: Multiculturalism, interculturalism, globalisation, student, teacher's work, intercultural learning.