Understanding the Philosophy of International Schools

In recent decades there has been an explosion of “International Schools.” Pre-1964, there were only around 50 of these so-called schools. As of 2017, a reported 8,000 such schools were serving 4.5 million students. This blog will discuss what an international school is, the history of these schools and why some regions are growing faster than others.

The Definition of an International School according to the ISC

By investigating the definition of an international school, I hope to give some historical background to this ever-growing part of education. The International School Consultancy (ISC) defines an international school as:

“an international school if the school delivers a curriculum to any combination of pre-school, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country.”

or;

“Suppose a school is in a country where English is one of the official languages. In that case, it offers an English-medium curriculum other than the country’s national curriculum. The school is international in its orientation.”

This somewhat broad and encompassing definition allows the ISC to assess data on an ever more comprehensive selection of schools, which makes business sense. International schools come in many varieties, and by definition, they should include various formats and curricula, with some being more international than others. To be considered an international school, the institution should generally follow a national or international curriculum that differs from the prescribed syllabus that the host country follows. International education, such as IB and global citizenship should be emphasized.

There are 7 specified criteria that help narrow the broad definition of an international school:

1. Students should be able to transfer schools and pick up where they left off without missing a beat.

2. The student body should be multilingual and multinational.

3. The school should follow an international curriculum like IB.

4. International accreditation.

5. Teachers are multinationals well as transient.

6. Students should be enrolled without bias and must be non-selective.

7. The school is usually English or at least bi-lingual as the language of instruction.

In 2010, 345 new international schools were opened around the world. Only 80 or 23 percent of them met some of the criteria (like IB) I mentioned earlier (Nagrath, 2011). This begs the question, what about the other 77 percent of schools that have the title of international schools, but does not offer programmes like IB? If we take ISC’s definition into consideration, these schools are in fact international schools.

I think that if we look at it from a business perspective, it makes sense to follow ISC’s definition of an international school. The biggest demand comes from wealthy families that want an English-medium education for their children. When looking at it this way, it makes sense to offer ISC’s criteria.

On the other hand, when following stricter criteria like those listed above, it makes more sense when looking at it from a more student-centered approach. Considering that, that is what education should be all about, it makes sense for schools to follow stricter criteria on the way to becoming truly international.

Kurt Hahn’s Legacy

Kurt Hahn established several schools and focused on what today would be called a holistic education during his life. He found the Outward-Bound movement and encouraged his students to be active and compassionate. Having been influenced by Hahn, one of his colleagues went on to help establish the IB. Today, in international schools, especially IB schools, we can still see Hahn’s influence. He talked about student choice over what activities his students would like to undertake. He spoke of the “soft skills” of teaching students to respect their community and others. He said the student’s curiosity was significant and something to be kept and nurtured. His vision may not have been implemented primarily because education has become accessible to only a few who can pay for such a privilege. The fees in many IB schools are not graded according to parents’ income, as his school was, and there seems to be no push towards this goal.

The Foundation and History

In some respects, these “International Schools” have been around for hundreds of years. Missionaries have been teaching (using their mother tongue). They were teaching content that was highly structured (usually from one book – the bible). This way, they were the first international schools of their time. However, let’s move away from a religious standpoint and focus on education of non-religious content as the main reason for the institutions’ existence. We can trace the first international schools back to the end of the 19th century. In countries such as Turkey, Japan, and Switzerland, these schools were mainly set up for educating the children of international companies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, and embassy staff. These children would usually be taught according to their national curriculum around children of the same nationality. These schools were ad hoc and responded to a growing need because of increased international business and geopolitics, known as globalization

However, post-1964, there has been a massive increase in international schools in recent years, and their reasons for education, audience, and make-up have become hugely varied and complex. Today, we have institutions that call themselves “International” but have no international students. Instead, we have institutions that follow their native curriculum, teaching within their home country, but offer one course to a small number of students that follow an international curriculum and call themselves “International Schools.” We now have schools with multiple locations worldwide and offer various curriculums within every school. The question is: Why have these “International Schools” become so popular? Of course, because the need for education is becoming more international. Globalization is making the world smaller, and students will need to be educated to become global citizens to succeed within their careers.

Anticipated Growth: Why Some Regions are Growing at a Faster Pace

Some regions are growing faster because of the curriculum that international schools are increasingly offering suits certain regions more than others. In recent years the IB, Cambridge, AP, etc., have been adopted by an ever-growing number of international schools. These are associated with offering students 21st-century skills, which are highly desirable to many parents and companies within that region. Within North America, large parts of Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, the students have gone beyond the “hard” reading and writing skills. Their economies demand “soft skills,” such as collaboration and creativity, that will push their economies forward. Other regions, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, have not yet developed economies that rely on these 21st-century skills and still have many people working in manual labor. Thus, at present, the need is not for those 21st-century skills to be the same amount as in other regions. In developed regions that rely on an increasingly skilled labor force, these international schools will continue to grow in number.

The Role of Organizations such as the Alliance for International Education

As the community of international schools grows ever more significant and the number of international educators grows, there will be an even greater need for these schools and educators to collaborate and share best practices. Hayden (2016) states that its purpose is “of bringing together those committed to advancing international education and intercultural understanding to develop ideas and practices through sharing and exploring their similarities and differences.” The chapters it has already organized within different parts of the world establish a global reach, with regional understandings of similarities and differences. It allows educators to compare programs such as the IB and Cambridge and debate where they are strong and need to be developed. With today’s increasing market, educators should discuss and analyze the best practices and how international education can move forward and hopefully offer its students the best chance of peace and understanding in the future.

Conclusion

In whatever guise they take, international schools have been growing in huge numbers over the last 60 years, and I can see no reason why this trend would not continue (apart from the situation with Covid). International curriculums address the growing needs of 21st-century learners. The need to speak English as the dominant language to be viewed as an international school and the limited access for students who cannot afford these schools should be addressed going forward. International schools can build bridges between cultures and should be seen as a positive influence within education.

References

Hahn. K (1936), ‘Education and Peace: The Foundations of Modern Society,’ reprinted from The Inverness Courier; March 24, 1936. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2VERSQVVpZFNVOFE/view

Hayden. M, Thompson. J, (1995), ‘International schools and international education: a relationship reviewed,’ Oxford Review of Education, 03054985, September 1995, Vol. 21. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2dFNNOERaMl9lQUk/view

Hayden. M (2016), ‘The Alliance for International Education: retrospective and prospective,’ International Schools Journal Vol XXXV No.2 April 2016. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2MDdhZXlsRjRZUjA/view

Hill. I (2015), ‘What is an ‘international school’? Part one,’ International Schools Journal Vol XXXV No.1 November 2015. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2UHhHa25ta1JvakE/view

Hill. I (2016), ‘What is an International School? Part one (ISJ November 2015) discussed some of the problems in defining what is an international school. Part two considers ‘a way forward?’ International Schools Journal Vol XXXV No.2 April 2016. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2ODAxbGQxRl83dWs/view

Nagrath, C. (2011). What makes a school international? The International Educator (TIE Online). Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.tieonline.com/article/87/what-makes-a-school-international-

Wechsler. A (2017), ‘The International-School Surge Increased demand for a “western” education around the world has reshaped whom these institutions serve.’ The Atlantic (website). Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/06/the-international-school-surge/528792/