Philosophy of international schools
Philosophy of International Schools
The first international school can be traced back to 1924, the International School of Geneva founded by Arthur Sweetser and Ludwik Rajchman with an emphasis on bilingual education (English and French). These schools were introduced as a mode for education of foreign ( in context to home country and host country) students. Catering to children of diplomats, military families.
International schools come in many different shapes and sizes and the term itself, includes a variety of school systems encompassing a wide variety of formats and curricula, with some being more international than others.
In order to be considered an actual international school, it is widely agreed that a school generally follows a national or international curriculum different from that
of the host country. Additionally, an emphasis is placed on international education (with such programs as the IB) and global citizenship.
Even when the world becomes closer, the cultural intelligence is sluggish. In the study conducted by Lorraine Brown, the observation Higher Education Institutions could work harder to foster greater interactions between both the international and home student communities and within the heterogeneous international student population itself. Only then, one might argue, can they describe their campus as truly internationalized: boasting a significant presence of international students is insufficient. (Lorraine Brown(2009)
Taking a look at different types of international schools:
ORIGINAL EXPATRIATE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
Curriculum, teaching staff and children from a single, expatriate nationality
Original expatriate international schools are what most people visualize when they think of teaching abroad - a Canadian school with a Canadian curriculum and Canadian students taught by Canadian teachers... just in a country that is not Canada. These are international schools that are mono-nationalistic, therefore the majority of the children, parents, staff and curriculum reflect only that one country, despite the location of the school. Many decades ago, when international relocation was something few people did, this kind of school was the only type, but now they represent the smallest proportion of international schools available.
BROADLY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
Curriculum modified from one country, but children, parents and staff from a broad mix of countries Some international schools exist in areas that have a large number of expatriates from all over the world. Countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Hong Kong have thousands of expatriates from hundreds of different countries living and working together, a perfect recipe for Broadly International Schools.
Broadly International Schools serve parents and children from a variety of different nationalities and they tend to hire teachers who are also multi-cultural. Whilst they do use a particular curriculum foundation, it is often modified to address the needs of their multi-ethnic student and parent body. When looking around a Broadly International school you will see a rainbow of different ethnicities and many different languages being spoken at break time, but the language of instruction is almost always English.
LOCAL INTERNATIONAL AND BILINGUAL SCHOOLS
Curriculum adapted from a single country but children and parents are mainly from the host national country
Local International schools represent the largest as well as the fastest-growing segment of the international school landscape. Local International schools serve a mainly host national population but use an international curriculum and language of instruction that are different from those used by the host government‘s state schools. Bilingual schools also serve host nationals but they differ from Local International schools because they use all or most of the national curriculum of the host country, but deliver significant portions of that curriculum in English.
Simply due to numbers, many international teachers start out their careers in Local International or Bilingual schools so it is important to understand how they compare with other types.
More than any other type of school, the Local International and Bilingual schools reflect the host culture in which they are based, which means that international teachers will be immersed in the local culture and make local friends. Teachers often get invited to holiday celebrations, learn the language more quickly and assimilate into the lifestyle more quickly, but they also need to conform to local customs more thoroughly and the school environment and ethos may reflect the host country rather than the international curriculum to a larger extent.
The philosophy of Kurt Hanh is that education and life itself is learned through experience and he believed that education could prevent this corruption, if students were given opportunities for personal leadership and to see the results of their own actions. This is one reason for the focus on outdoor adventure in his philosophy. Kurt Hanh portrays education in the form of adventures.For example the Outward Bound brings out personalities. And that would be the future of international education.
Lorraine Brown (2009) International education: a force for peace and cross‐cultural understanding?, Journal of Peace Education, 6:2, 209-224, DOI: 10.1080/17400200903086672
Hill, Ian. (2015). What is an international school? Part one.. International Schools Journal. 25. 60-70.
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