The Internationalisation of School-level Education: International Schools and the Global Nomad Dr Mary Hayden, University of Bath

International Schools Some Issues in International Schools Teachers, curriculum, students in international schools

Background and Context Exact origins unclear, depending on definitions (eg Spring Grove School 1866, Yokohama International School & International School of Geneva 1924) Largely post-WW1: League of Nations Growth largely since WW2 with increasing global mobility of, eg, large multi-national organisations, aid agencies, diplomatic communities (Jonietz and Harris, 1991)

Decreasing interest in boarding schools/desire to move as a family Origins of many international schools (eg Washington International School 1965, Alice Smith School Kuala Lumpur 1946) catering for expatriates, as parent- instigated cooperatives

Matthews (1989) estimated that approximately 1,000 schools were in existence at that time, employing 50,000 teachers and catering for around half a million students, with about 90% going on to higher education. More recent estimates (Brummitt, 2007) suggest current numbers around 4,000 international schools worldwide

International Schools to end 20 th century Growth in numbers of international schools: Generally parent-run, expatriate clientele Mostly individual ‘ one off ’ institutions, responding to local needs of globally-mobile families Private, fee-paying, mostly not-for-profit Fees often paid by parent ’ s employer Mostly English-medium Increasingly also including ‘ host country national ’ students (where permitted by law) Often highly multicultural student population (40+ nationalities)

Large variation in types of school Size (very small to very large) National affiliation (eg British International School of Bangkok) or ‘international’ (non-national affiliation) Student population largely from one expatriate national base vs multicultural Curriculum offered Governance (eg board or single owner)

International schools early 21 st century Still large number of parent cooperatives Some clusters of schools sharing aims/values (eg United World Colleges, European Schools) ‘Ideology drive’ vs ‘market driven’ Some employer-sponsored (eg Shell Schools) Some state-funded (eg Netherlands: DISS & DIPS) ‘Franchises’ of English public schools (eg Dulwich, Shrewsbury, Harrow, Repton) ‘Commercial’ groupings: eg GEMS, Nord Anglia Increasing market for socio-economically advantaged host country nationals (cf Thailand)

Some Issues re International Schools Lack of central international ‘control’/ authorisation Essentially self-regulated Lack of consistency Accreditation/authorisation voluntary Changing nature: from essentially ‘one off’ parent cooperatives for expatriates, to more commercially oriented groups of schools aimed at socio- economically privileged host country nationals Growing impact of globalisation; English as main global language; credentialism; desire for competitive edge (access to Western universities etc)

Teachers in International Schools (often) transient short-term nature of contracts initial training for international school context? preference among parents for native English speakers short-term ‘seeing the world’ vs career international school teachers returning to ‘home’ context

Curriculum in International Schools Originally entirely ‘ exportation ’ (Thompson, 1998) of national programmes Followed by ‘ adaptation ’ (eg International GCSE, US Advanced Placement International Diploma) Increasingly ‘ creation ’ : eg International Baccalaureate Diploma (1960s); IB Middle Years and Primary Years Programmes (1990s); International Primary Curriculum (2000)

‘ Reverse ’ effect: international programmes increasingly being offered in national systems (eg IB Diploma in UK independent and maintained sectors, and US high schools; IGCSE in UK independent sector; IPC in maintained English primary schools)

Students in International Schools Broadly now two main groups: Host country nationals Globally mobile expatriates

Host country nationals attracted by: English-medium education International curriculum, recognised worldwide Desire for competitive edge Aspirations to HE in, eg, US and UK

Global Nomads/ ‘ Third Culture Kids ’ Expatriates Mix of native and non-native English speakers Often very transient student population Often move with very little notice Relatively materially privileged, but possibly psychologically disadvantaged Unresolved grief etc (Pollock and Van Reken)

Rootlessness: lack of geographical sense of ‘ home ’ or belonging Now 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th generations of TCKs, where neither children, parents nor grandparents have a sense of ‘ belonging ’ to a national context Adult TCKs How can schools best support such students?

Possible further reading Hayden M C and Thompson J J (2008) International Schools: Growth and Influence, in UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) Fundamentals of Educational Planning series, Paris: UNESCO can be downloaded from: 6e.pdf#xml= bin/ulis.pl?database=ged&set=4A1EC006_1_464&hits_ rec=16&hits_lng=eng

Dr Mary Hayden Centre for the study of Education in an International Context (CEIC) Department of Education University of Bath