Then something happened, I fell in love with teaching! Seeing my students' faces when they learn something new, or when they overcome a previous difficult task, it is one of the best "bonuses" of being an educator. However, as mentioned before, I was not a certified teacher back in the US. So, after making the decision to continue this career (of teaching) for the rest of my life, I started to look into getting certified (check!) and where to work. This, somewhat long introduction, now leads us into our post for today. During my research I came to the realization that the best place to work, for me, is at an international school. Now, that I have my certificate, I can go to one and done. Blog over...
Or so I thought! I really thought international schools were a simple concept that one could easily explain to people, but boy was I... right... wrong?
So what are international schools? First, I will give the definition I had in my head BEFORE my research. Then I will give some more professional definitions. Let's us begin with my pre-research definition:
An international school is a school in a non-Western country with a Western curriculum and schedule. It is mostly aimed at expats living abroad. The local population can attend as well, however, it is not the majority of the student population.
(Eliseo Rodriguez Jr, 2018.)
After my research, I found out my definition was... well... not wrong, but also, not right. It was a simplified definition that covers some schools, but not others. So then, what "is" an international school? This is where we have to slow down for a bit. For you see, there is no one straight forward definition of it. Therefore, I will start out with some definitions that are similar to mine and then, we will work our way to a deeper understanding of international schools.
Our first professional definition comes from the International School Consultancy (ISC) (they provide data on almost 10,000 international schools and 5 million students). They state an international school,
"Delivers a curriculum to any combination of preschool, primary, or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country."
To me, that is very similar to my own definition! But let's look at one more definition:
"Some are essentially national schools catering for children away from their home country."
(Hayden & Thompson, 1995)
Again, similar to my own.
Then, where does my definition, somewhat,"falter." I did not know this, but after my research, I realized my definition lacked one very important criteria: international education!
Just having expat students learning in English in a non-English country might cover some international schools, but it does not cover them all. For there are many schools who do not have the aforementioned criteria, however, they are still international schools because their curriculum is international. Here too, though, we need to slow down. For just as there is no one definition to international schools, there isn't one either for international education. So for this blog, I will simplify it for the reader. However, do keep in mind, this is my own simplified definition of it. There are deeper layers to its definition which deserve their own blog entry. Anyway:
International education is to help students cooperate across borders in order to help people (and our planet) in an increasingly interdependent world.
(Eliseo Rodriguez Jr, 2018.)
In other words, international education is to prepare students for the 21st century world we live in. With an international education, it is hoped that students develop "a sense of responsibility towards others and towards future generations," an ideology based on the goal of, "international cooperation and harmony" (Hayden & Thompson, 1995).
For many schools, the best way to exemplify international education is by offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (see below for a very brief history on it). With this program, schools feel like they can truly help students, "appreciate their own diversity so they can... create a better world" (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). That last quote, actually, is the philosophy for the school we are about to talk about next, the International School of Geneva.
For many schools, the best way to exemplify international education is by offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (see below for a very brief history on it). With this program, schools feel like they can truly help students, "appreciate their own diversity so they can... create a better world" (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). That last quote, actually, is the philosophy for the school we are about to talk about next, the International School of Geneva.
A Brief
But where and when did international schools start? Many consider the International School of Geneva, founded in 1924, to be the first ever international school (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). In fact, this school is the one that created the International Baccalaureate (IB), back in the 1960's.
In 1964, according to the Yearbook of Education, there were approximately 50 international schools, a number that increased greatly to about 1,000 by the year 1995 (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). If you recall above, ISC alone provides data on almost 10,000 international schools these days! In less than a hundred years, the number of international schools has increased dramatically!
Growth
According to ISC, even just twenty years ago, it was still not common to find many international schools, but today, "some leading cities have 100 or more" (ISC). According to their data, in the year 2000, there were 2,584 English-medium international schools educating fewer than a million students. Today, the number is closer to 9,000 international schools teaching over 4.85 million students. The biggest change, however, is the fact that now, approximately 80% of the enrollments are children from the local population attending an international school in their native country.
But why are the numbers growing so much these days? Well, ISC puts it best when they said,
But why are the numbers growing so much these days? Well, ISC puts it best when they said,
"When economies improve and incomes rise, so more families aspire to better education standards for their children. This includes gaining a place at a reputable university, most of which are located in western countries and deliver their learning in the language of English. This is considered by many families to be a 'passport' to global career opportunities and prosperity."
I personally see this myself on a daily basis here in South Korea. Just 40 years ago, South Korea's economy was not very well. Then the, "Miracle on the Han River," happened, and its economy expanded exponentially. Korea went from a "developing" country to a "developed" country. And just as the above quote said, Korean families started to invest more in their children's education, especially in a Western education. Again, as the quote above says, these families see an English or Western education as their children's ticket (or "passport") for better job opportunities in the future.
For a great article about some trends in international schools, please click here.
For a great article about some trends in international schools, please click here.
Kurt
Hahn
Hahn
I would like to end this blog with some words from, and about, a very important figure in education, Kurt Hahn. I hope that just by looking at the quote above, the reader can tell what kind of man Kurt Hahn was. Now, I am not here to say how perfect he was, of course he wasn't, or to write an autobiography on him, no. I will just discuss a little about his views on education, and why they are important.
As the quote above says, Kurt Hahn believe in his students. He believe that they were capable of more than they thought of themselves. According to a website dedicated to him, his philosophy was,
"That each of us has more courage, more strength, and more compassion than we would ever have fathomed. Kurt Hahn's calling in life was to help people around the world realize this truth about themselves."
(KurtHahn.org)
This optimistic view on education mirrors my own. I truly believe that my students have the potential for anything. I encourage my students to go into the world and learn about, and, from it. The more they know about the world the better they will be for it. This kind of thinking then ties back into international education. As mentioned before, international education is more than just about learning in a classroom. It's about learning beyond frontiers; it's about learning about our fellow man and about our world. Kurt put it brilliantly when he said,
"The boy growing up in brotherhood with foreigners, cannot help but learn to care about the rights and the happiness of at least one other nation."
(Hahn, 1936)
I think, especially in today's political climate, these kinds of words (and mentality) is more of what the world needs. And for many who are in the international school and international education fields, this is what they are trying to do.
For an infographic of a small sample of international schools, please click here.
Sources
ISC Research about the international schools market. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.iscresearch.com/about-us/the-market
Hayden, M. C., & Thompson, J. J. (1995). International Schools and International Education: A relationship reviewed. Oxford Review of Education, 21(3), 327-345. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgYlY1O2AV2dFNNOERaMl9lQUk/view
KurtHahn.org / Devoted to the Education Philosophy of Kurt Hahn. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.kurthahn.org/
ISC Research about the international schools market. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.iscresearch.com/about-us/the-market
Hahn, K. (1936). Education and Peace: The Foundations of Modern Society. Kurthahn.org. Retrieved from
KurtHahn.org / Devoted to the Education Philosophy of Kurt Hahn. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.kurthahn.org/
