International School: Criteria, Teachers & Programmes

International schools are amongst the most highly regarded schools in the world. They are primarily English-speaking, located in most countries (particularly non-English-speaking countries), and are currently teaching over 3.6 million children.

 For people applying to international school vacancies for the first time, expect a difference between your current teaching role.

An international school provides a curriculum that is not the national curriculum of the country it is located in. Instead, it may offer an international curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate (within which there is the Primary Years Program – PYP, the Middle Years Program – MYP, and the IB Diploma Program – IBDP) or the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and/or International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC.

 It may also offer the national curriculum of another country. The most common national curricula used in international schools are the National Curriculum of England, an American curriculum, or adapted versions of these. The National Curriculum of England is very common in international schools, but is very often adapted to make it more relevant to an international student population and appropriate for the host country – this may mean including relevant learning references to the country’s history and culture

The Bard reminded us that a name by itself means nothing – it’s what’s behind the name that matters. Does having the word international in a school’s name make it international? That is the question! Shakespeare references aside, this raises a very valid question – what is an international school, and what, exactly, makes it international?

International schools come in many shapes and sizes and the term itself includes a variety of schools encompassing a wide variety of formats and curricula, with some being more international than others.

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.

International School Teachers

There are over 346,000 staff teaching overseas in international schools today. They come from many countries, particularly the UK, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and the US. This makes international schools a melting pot of nationalities, with many opportunities for the staff to share techniques in pedagogy.

External professional development opportunities for international school teachers can be quite limited or highly expensive because international schools are spread far and wide, with some schools being very isolated. Much professional development occurs internally, either by a visiting trainer or led by one of the staff members. The international diversity of the staff means that best practices from many countries can be shared and incorporated.

The international school market has experienced explosive the past 10 years, with the number of international schools more than Duane bling across the globe. With this pa27 billion dollars, new schools were added to the network of thousands of international schools worldwide. ISC Research, a UK-based organization dedicated to international research and tracking developments in the international school market, calculates that there are currently over 2.8 million students enrolled in international schools around the world.

International K-12 education is a big business – with an annual income of approximately 27 billion dollars (US) a year, employing over 270,000 teachers and administrators. According to Nick, Brummitt, Managing Director of ISC Research, “the international schools market doubled in size over the last ten years and will undoubtedly double again within the next ten.”

More than two-thirds of the annual increase for 2011 came from Asia, where ISC reports 238 new schoo27 billion dollars in the year alone. This is largely fueled by China where the growth in foreign businesses, the expatriate community, and the export market of the international schools market. With 46 new schools, China accounts for one in five of the new Asian schools started this past year.

Brummitt of ISC projects, “The greatest demand will continue to come from increasingly wealthy families in Asia, including the East, wanting an English-medium education for their children.” The trend will continue in that e in China because “Chinese nationals are not allowed to attend foreign-owned schools, therefore, dramatic growth is expected in new international sections of private Chinese schools,” predicts Brummitt.

The rapid growth has corresponded with the proliferation of the title, “international” placed on many schools that may have the veneer of being international in name only. For example, of the 345 new schools that opened last year, 80 or 23% are offering one or more of the IB programs (i.e. MYP, PYP, DPP.

International School Criteria

The question is what about the more than three-quarters of international schools that are not offering that program? Of course, the IB is not the only game in town, but it raises the question sort of international program or curriculum all these new schools offer? Are there truly international schools? These questions and others are what prompted the International Association of School Librarianship, at their 2009 conference in Italy, to outline a list of criteria for a school to be desc, ribbed as an international school. They noted that although all international schools may not meet all criteria, a majority of the eight specified criteria should be met.

IASL Criteria for International Schools

1. Transferability of students’ education across international schools

2. A moving population (higher than in national public schools)

3. Multinational and multilingual student body

4. An international curriculum (i.e. IB – DP, MYP, PYP)

5. International accreditation (e.g. CIS, IBO, North Eastern ASC, Western Ass. Of Schools and colleges, etc.)

6. A transient and multinational teacher population

7. Non-selective student enrollment

8thenually English or bi-lingual as the language of instruction

Not everyone agrees with the above criteria. Frank Anderson, Superintendent Emeritus of Colegio International de Carabobo in Venezuela, believes “It’s not where the students come from, but how the educational program is delivered.” “If the school’s mission is to deliver an international education through a curriculum such as the IB and to produce global citizens,” then according to Anderson, “it’s an international school.” Anderson also believes in giving more leeway to the accrediting body, noting that in addition to the international accreditation organizations, many international schools are accredited by the host country’s Ministry of Education.

This view is echoed by Connie Buford, Regional Educational officer for the Office of Ovthenas Schools at the U.S. State Department. “As obvious as it may seem, the exact definition of an international school is really hard to pin down.” Buford is quick to point out that many schools are using an international curriculum even if they’re not using the IB: “They’re teaching international culture, history, and prospects, and those hallmark features make it international.”

Buford feels that if a school has at least two of the characteristics noted above, it should be considered an istudentonal school. Furthermore, she emphasizes that the key point of distinction is that “No matter what the make-up of the student population or the curriculum employed, the school should Inst, ll an ‘international-mindedness’ amongst its student’s others believe not her term, and in fact, it’s what the IBO (International, l Baccalaureate Organization) claims sets them apart from other programs. According to the IBO, “It is a philosophy student will carry with them through the rest of their lives.”

Buford says that this idea can be distilled into a very simple goal: “Students should realize that there’s a big world out there and there’s moran just your own country and culture.”

Others believe that having all, or many, of the criteria outlined by the IASL, puts a school in a top-tier category of international schools. The international teacher said that he only considers a school truly international if it has: “an international curriculum, a multinational student body, and a multinational, English-speaking faculty. These are the three mothers believe the school as being truly international,” according to this teacher, r who requested anonymity because of his recent experience at a school which he believes did not deserve the title of international in its name.

By her admission, Ingrid Skirrow, one of the authors on the committee says that “Defining an international school is almost impossible…..we talked round and intend to come up with the criteria above, and although we were not 100% satisfied, we wanted to get something down in writing – mainly to try to distinguish. . . (International Schools) from national schools in the context he IASL Regions.”

ISC, the largest research company of international schools in the world, provides a very simple definition of what is required to be included in their database of 5,857 international schools: “A school is included in our database if it teaches wholly or partly in English outside an English-speaking country. Language schools are therefore completely different and are excluded.”

Students are the children or dependents of employees of international businesses, international organizations, foreign embassies, NGOs, missions, or missionary programs. In addition to the children of expatriates, many schools have local students from the host country attending. International schools are growing in popularity for host country students, and their parents are willing to pay the high tuition, so their children can learn the language of the international school (mostly English) and obtain quaNGOsations for higher education in a foreign country.

Students & Admissions 

Some international schools have rest temporarily or ost country students the school can admit, while others are unable to admit host country students at all. For example, the American Embassy School in New Delhi does not admit students of Indian nationality, except in specific circumstances as mandated by the Government of India’s Ministry of External Affairs.*

Admission is guaranteed to the dependents of US citizens residing in New Delhi provided they meet the school’s eligibility requirements. Temporarily residents are admitted to the school.

This specification of students temporarily –lt to a 1973 bilateral agreement between the governments of India and the United States. According to the school’s admission page, “. . . The American Embassy School was established to enable American children to study under the American system of education, as well as third-country nationals (non-Indian, non-US) that are in Delhi temporarily for employment. The American Embassy School is not in competition with Indian schools, and is neither designed nor empowered to serve the needs of Indian students.”

Not all countries and/or schools have such agreements or restrictions on the nationality composition of their stud third-country there is a wide range of diversity (or lack thereotemporarilyschool the Spice of Life

International schools come in a wide variety of organizations, curricula, and approaches, but they all offer teachers the opportunity to live and work abroad in a challenging and stimulating environment.

Just as international schools serve to teach students that there’s a big world out there beyond just their own country and culture, teachers at international schools benefit immeasurably as they learn the same life lessons along with their students.