“Resilience is a characteristic necessary for teachers to possess in order to provide an international education.”
Do you agree with this statement? What is your perception of the provision of international education in international schools?
When I embarked on my first post at an international school in Kenya at 24 years old, I immediately expected the experience to be identical to working within the UK but with a lot more sunshine; the same focus on examination grades, completing paper work for lesson plans and observations, and teaching the curriculum in a content based approach. Well, considering that I was moving to a boarding school in the middle of the rift valley, 45 minutes away from the nearest supermarket and coffee shop, I was certainly naive in my approach to the role and had clearly not considered what international education was.
Skip two years later, myself and my husband were ready to take on a new adventure. “Let’s go anywhere in the world” and we took roles in Abu Dhabi. This was my first taste of the International Baccalaureate and I was so excited feeling like a ‘pro’ in international schools having already worked in Africa. Again, naivety was apparent – I had assumed that the school would be similar to Kenya, but this time I would not have to work at weekends or till 10pm at night in the boarding house. As a result, again I was consumed with questions about the differences of international schools – Why is it so different? Are not all international schools the same? What role should a national system have? Does a for-profit organisation correspond with the values of an international education? Does the IBDP lead to an international education? This was not from a critical perspective, but from a personal realisation that international schools are greatly different yet promote a very similar product of international education.
With the global number of international schools currently at 8,654 (ISC, 2017) which is expected to increase to 16,900 in 2027 (Cook, 2017), the significance of international education is growing leading to a change in the landscape. Therefore, I am not surprised that there may be a lack of understanding from the teacher community regarding international schools and education, especially when amongst literature, there is still no consensus for the concepts (Hayden & Thompson, 2013).
This led to the focus for my dissertation for the MA Education with the University of Bath: What factors determine as effective provision of international education in international schools? To summarise, using teacher perceptions through questionnaires and interviews, the following categories were deemed necessary for effective provision of international education:
- Not-for profit organisation
- International curriculum
- Ideological values
In particular, teacher openness and resilience was highlighted as being extremely relevant to the success of international education. Whilst aspects such as an involved national system and provision for host national students were highlighted as complex challenges to the realms of international education, they were deemed as adaptable.
My post is to open up the question “What is necessary for the effective provision of an international education?” as I would love to hear further perspectives beyond what I investigated.
#internationaleducation #international schools
References:
Cook, N., 2017. ISC Research; Annual Update Growth and Development in the International Schools market. PowerPoint Presentation. ISC Research Ltd. United Kingdom
Hayden, M., and Thompson, J. J., 2013. International schools: antecedents, current issues and metaphors for the future. In R. Pearce (ed.), International Education and Schools: Moving Beyond the First 40 years. London: Bloomsbury Academic, pp. 3-24.
ISC, 2017. The International Schools Consultancy. Who we are [online]. Available from: http://www.iscresearch.com/company/who-we-are.aspx [Accessed 4 May 2016].
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