These notes and reflections were made in June 2018. The literature that I read back then is still relevant and informative to my current work since now I am closely engaged in one international school project. Pushing myself and colleagues to thinking about this question in relation to the nature and essence of international education is important.
Note: photo was taken in Hainan in April, 2021.
International schools: Current issues and future prospects, Edited by May Hayden and Jeff Thompson
-Tate, N. What are international schools for?
Immanuel Kant is one of the earliest advocates of international education. He urged teachers to develop children's 'cosmopolitan disposition' and he also advocated the more 'child-centred' approaches to teaching and learning. (Tate cited Kant's words from Kant, I. (2007). Anthropology, History and Education. The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Immanuel Kant. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.)
Note: Kant is an Enlightenment philosopher. To him, the purpose of education was to enable a person 'to use one's mind without another's guidance'. If this kind of independence is the origin of the idea of international education, then a corollary is that any kind of universal approach to international education should not be advocated as international education has never implied any kind of imposition to either a child or a teacher.
...''two main stimuli to the development of 'international education' and 'international schools'...one is pragmatic and the other ideological, and the two, again as often in education, are intertwined." (p. 19)
Pragmatic reasons: the needs of internationally mobile professional elites; providing an education with the medium of English for local elites especially in 'developing' world; policy makers in some countries adopt international education as a means to boost host country's educational outcomes and economic competitiveness.
Take USA as an example, Tate doubts that "to what extent this success results from anything distinctively 'international' about IB programmes is less clear" (p. 21).
Note: I feel that it is the same issue in Ontario. Public schools adopt IB primarily to bolster up students' academic performance and university readiness, much less is that about 'international education'. Clearly it is not true in the case of NAE Chinese International Schools. Producing graduates fluent in English and able to study in prestigious English-medium universities are main goals, but they should be all.
Ideological origins of international education: bilingualism and multilingualism, international mindedness, education for peace, developing a better world (which is IB's mission).
Tate lists main characteristics of the "ideological syndrome" of international education:
Individualism, Freedom, Democracy, Rationalism, Optimism (progressive), Universalism
Tate argues that international schools are predominantly taught by Western teachers and democratic approaches to teaching and learning are everywhere in international schools, therefore democracy is an undeniable ideal that permeates international schools.
Tate continues to argue that IB's Learner Profile accords with Enlightenment ideas (as shown above) and that
"A young person who had successfully developed these 'learner attributes' would not find it comfortable to live in the many societies around the world which forbid criticism of religious beliefs and practices, deny the claims of science when these conflict with revelation, pay only lip service to democratic principles, put loyalty to family, tribe and religious group above all other allegiances and withhold equal rights from women" (p. 24)
Note: certainly the questions of the underpinning purpose of international education and international schools in China arise. To what extent, these above values can be applied to Chinese international education. Which of these values can be dropped without compromising the goals of international education too much?
Tate discusses two questions:
(1) "how we prepare students to face a world in which there is a disjunction between the 'ideals' underpinning their education and ambient realities?"
(2) "is there any case for educators to reconsider these 'ideals' in a world in which they are widely challenged, in which in many of those countries in which the international education sector operates?"
Note: For question (1), it is the case for those Chinese students in Chinese international schools. It seems true that the education they have is built upon the six Enlightenment liberalism ideals, as listed above, whereas, the culture and society where they live and likely continue to live do not agree with all of them. For educators, it is our responsibilities to help students understand the disparities between those underpinning Enlightenment ideals and the traditions and culture that they live. Students should be equipped with critical thinking skills so that they can make their own judgement and own choice when circumstances need them to do so. In NAE Chinese International Schools, students need to learn Chinese values and at the same time, they need to learn Western values explicitly. Likely, Chinese values are studied in Chinese language while Western values are discussed in English. However, it is not just a language issue. It is an identity issue.
For question (2), certainly it is our Chinese educators responsibility to critically reveal these Enlightenment ideals to students. Educators might influence students because of their own preference and choice, however, educators do not make choice for students. Educators just expose these Western values in front of students and help them deliberate on them. I can hardly imagine those teachers hired from the West are able to take this responsibility. Therefore, Chinese educators should act as the host of the international education in NAE CIS, while western teachers pitch in with their perspective and knowledge as needed. At the same time, it is also Chinese educators responsibility to pass on core Chinese values to students. Undeniably, majority of students in NACIS will live in Chinese culture, be it within China or in Chinese communities overseas. It is crucial for them to understand and act on core Chinese values and tradition for both pragmatic individual development reasons and cultural transmission purposes. In short, Chinese staff in NACIS should understand both Chinese and Western values and should be aware of the challenges in front of them. They should know, it is more than just a bilingual education, more than just a combination of Chinese and Western pedagogy, more than just an integration of content, knowledge, and skills from Chinese and Western curriculum. It is a new model of international education in the context of Chinese curriculum and culture.
International education and utopianism
"The liberal utopianism strain in international education accounts for many of its good features--service learning, simulation of the UN General Assembly, careful thought about the meaning of 'a common humanity'. (p. 26)
Note: The idea of Da Tong world resonates with the liberal utopianism, in that it also emphasizes "天下为公“ 和 ”大道“， which can be understood as a common humanity. If Da Tong is linked to education, it resonates with, at least, the ideas of 'universalism' and 'making the world a better place'. That "选贤与能，讲信修睦" may be regarded as linked with education.
International education and national citizenship
Tate points out a worrying trend that international schools tend to have, that is, the ignorance of nurturing national citizenship. He points out that decisions affecting most people's lives are made by nation states, therefore, the problem in many countries is not nationalism but "a lack of identification with the national community and a disengagement from national and local politics" (p. 28).
He asserts that the best national schools with international education, if it is done properly, can teach students concept and practice of national citizenship.
Note: The above statement is enlightening to me. It fit NACIS very well. NACIS shouldn't be shy away from concepts and practice of national citizenship. A balance between local, national, and international should be found locally in the school.
IB doesn't use the vague and contentious concept of 'global citizenship', instead IB uses 'global engagement', 'intercultural understanding', and 'multilingualism' to define international mindedness, which is a core goal of IB education.
Note: For NACIS, the IB's citizenship framework is a smart one. NACIS shouldn't even mention global citizenship. NACIS should best nurture Chinese national citizenship. At the same time, NACIS cultivate international mindedness (国际视野）, that can be differentiated into three elements as IB does above.
Note: I have an issue with the Chinese name of NACIS (双语学校）。Ideally, it can be changed to 国际学校，to emphasize its international education pursuit. This international education is built upon an education for Chinese cultural identity and Chinese national citizenship. At the same time, it nurtures international mindedness with opportunities of global engagement, learning more than two languages with Chinese and English as the two main languages, and fostering intercultural understanding through the above two and interactions with nationalities from different cultures including foreign teachers.
International education and progressive pedagogy
Progressive pedagogy is associated with thoughts of Rousseau (French), Dewey (USA), Piaget (Switzerland).
Progressive pedagogy is represented by approaches to teaching and learning such as student-centered teaching, inquiry-based learning, discussion in classes, debate, collaboration, and student voice in curriculum.
Progressive pedagogy reflects constructivism with which learner construct their own meaning, form their own values, trust their own purpose, and make sense of the world from new perspectives.
Tate calls for perspectives other than constructivist pedagogy in international education (p. 32). He enlists some thoughts that disagree with constructivist pedagogy.
International schools: Current issues and future prospects, Edited by May Hayden and Jeff Thompson
--George Walker. International schools and international curricula
ISC Research (International School Consultancy Research), it adds a school to its database of 'international schools' if the school "delivers a curriculum to any combination of infant, primary or secondary students, wholly or partly in English outside and English-speaking country' (Brummitt & Keeling, 2013, p. 25) So, ISC Research define international schools from a curriculum perspective.
--Brummitt, N. & Keeling, A. (2013). Charting the growth of international schools. In R. Pearce (Ed.) International Education and Schools. London: Bloomsbury.
Walker talks about "a new landscape" of international education in that a few features stand out, including dramatic increase of number of schools especially in developing countries such as China and India; diversity of international schools with 23% studying IB programmes, 22% studying other international curriculum such as IPC, while other 55% offering national curricula; more and more for-profit international schools compared to slow growing traditional type of international schools.
Note: Interestingly, only NAE entered Chinese market, among the three international education providers that Walker mentioned--GEMS, NAE, and Cognita.
Walker concludes that to qualify an international school curriculum it need to contain the following elements: an ideal of making the world a better place (think globally and act locally is encouraged); a comprehensive language policy including both the indigenous language and second language (likely English); learning opportunities to develop intercultural understanding; global engagement (a forum for regular discussion of global issues).
Note: Walker's conclusion reminds me of Mary Hayden (2006) 's piece on curriculum in international schools. Hayden's piece offers a few important perspectives to examine international school curriculum--intended, implemented, and learned curriculum, academic curriculum, pastoral curriculum, hidden curriculum, language as medium of instruction and subject of study, assessment.
"The rapid growth of new international schools in countries in the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia offers the possibility of strengthen Eastern cultural influences on international curricula...The new international schools, especially in China, are in a strong position to redress this apparent cultural imbalance." (p. 50)
Note: The cultural imbalance that Walker refers to here is the Western centric international curriculum such as IB curriculum. I definitely resonate this expectation. This is what I am moving towards. Walker also anticipates that international schools will influence local and national curriculum. I also resonate with this.
It seems I will have two directions to pursue:
(1) Explore academically how Chinese international schools contribute to the research on international schools, international curriculum, and the pedagogy of international schools
(2) Prepare myself to provide consultancy to national curriculum in terms of its internationalization. It is not necessary to buy a badge, such as IB, to become an international school. (According to ISC Research, IB schools only takes up fewer than a quarter of all international schools worldwide and more than half of the total follow national curriculum).
International schools: Current issues and future prospects, Edited by May Hayden and Jeff Thompson
--Tristian Stobie. The curriculum battleground.
Stobie summarizes reasons for the interest of international curricula of schools serving local populations:
1. English as a global language
2. apply international best practice in local education
3. nurture 21st century skills
4. students' future international mobility, especially through higher education in English speaking countries
5. gain competitive edge through an international education brand
Note: (1) I would add there is some kind of 'peer pressure' for Chinese parents. This pushes the demand for international education in China even higher. When friends around you send their kids to international schools, which usually have better facility, more glamorous image and brand, and potentially more prestigious university, you will likely take the same action if you can afford it. (2) The intensive exam-oriented teaching and learning in local Chinese schools play a big role in pushing some students out of the regular education system too.
Stobie discusses internationalization of national curricula. Reasons for internationalization include the need for cultural transformation in addition to cultural transmission due to faster pace of society change and an emerging global culture both in terms of educational achievement and economic development.
Stobie continues to talk about the desired balance between knowledge and skills in curriculum. A tendency is that knowledge is downplayed as problem solving skills, inquiry based learning process skills, and other 21st century skills are excessively emphasized. Stobie argues that a balance between knowledge and skills is desired. He invokes Young (2013)'s work on the lack of evidence to claim the effect of use of computer in learning, Hattie (2015)'s work, and Rata (2013)'s work based on New Zealand national curriculum.
Stobie cited Nisbet I (2013)'s a short piece. Nisbet summaries that Confucianism values learning, cultivates a habit of receiving knowledge, encourages hard work and perseverance. Teacher (Laoshi) is viewed as a source of knowledge and wisdom in this Confucian tradition. Nisbet contrasts this tradition with Socratic tradition in which teacher is more of a facilitator for students' inquiry and learning.
"Both the Socratic and Confucian traditions provide extremely important perspectives on curriculum planning and pedagogy and should not be viewed as alternatives. Simplistic comparison often describe Confucian approaches as passive, and associate Western constructivist approaches with being active...In fact, best practice in both traditions shares some similar features which are often missed in simplistic comparisons between the two." (p. 61)
Adding to Nisbet (2013)'s observations about Confucian approaches to learning (value learning, direct instruction from the teacher and receiving and internalization of knowledge by the student, encourages hard work and perseverance, and authority of teacher), Stobie observes that teachers in Confucian culture enforce strict order over classroom, expect students' attentiveness, encourage humility. Also memorisation of knowledge is an important way of learning; and memorisation and understanding are intertwined in Asian students' learning.
Stobie argues that active learning requires students to think hard and to engage in deliberative practice and that the ways that make student think hard have to be considered in relation to the culture, tradition, and context of the school.
Note: Stobie goes on to discuss disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to curriculum. For NACIS, a simple solution to the Chinese curriculum and IPC/IMYC integration might be using Chinese curriculum and Chinese teachers as primary disciplinary learning sources, while imported IPC/IMYC and western teachers as primary interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary learning sources.
Note: As far as international education is concerned, it comes not only from those imported IPC/IMYC learning units/projects but also from some learning materials in the Chinese curriculum. IPC/IMYC learning units/projects are learned in English, Chinese curriculum are learned in Chinese. In addition, there are languages as subjects of learning, including English, Chinese, and another selective.
Stobie also talks about assessment as part of curricular consideration. He highlights assessment of higher-order thinking skills (such as problem-solving, application, interpretation and evaluation--this comes from Bloom's Taxonomy). He also highlights assessment of 21st century skills.
Note: One missing piece in Stobie's discussion is the assessment of factual knowledge, it is the foundational of higher order thinking skills. As Hattie (2009) says, a student needs some foundational knowledge before they move onto to inquiry based learning and other higher order thinking skills--students need something to think about! I think a good assessment framework should include all the three pieces--basic knowledge and skills, higher order thinking skills, and observable 21st century skills.
Note: For NACIS teachers, I would encourage them to adopt a variety of assessment tools and include a range of knowledge/skills in their assessments. Formative assessment should be implemented--teacher PD is needed here, Summative assessment should be differentiated from Formative assessment. External assessment and evaluation is necessary. As Stobie suggests, Confucian heritage society has a examination culture in that examination performance is viewed as fair, reliable, and accountable.
Stobie suggests that the backwash effect of assessment on teaching and learning should not be blamed but should be recognized and capitalized on. Getting what and how to assess right can positively and powerfully impact how teaching and learning happen in classroom.
In the end of the chapter, Stobie proposes several principles of building a international school curriculum:
1. balance between cultural transmission and cultural transformation in recognizing students' need to adapt to the changing society and world
2. international mindedness, global engagement, and multilingualism (at least bilingual)
3. emphasis on broader curriculum goals instead of cram the curriculum by excessive qualifications, subjects, and content
4. balance between examination performance and broader learning competences (higher order thinking skills and 21st century skills)
5. powerful knowledge--new tools for thinking about the world, disciplinary knowledge, and interdisciplinary understanding (p. 67)
6. emphasis on active learning that can be brought about by constructivist approaches to teaching and learning or other indigenous and traditional approaches such as whole class instruction
7. corresponding teacher PD needs to be "culturally and contextually sensitive" (p. 67)
8. system coherence--assessment, curriculum, and pedagogy are aligned with each other very well; one practice in component should support the other two
Stobie cites Young (2013)'s idea of "powerful knowledge"--"specialized, expressed in the focus of and boundaries between different disciplines and subjects. It is not general knowledge as it is differentiated from the experiences students bring to school...the structure of (powerful knowledge) empowers students by providing access to subject-based understandings and methodologies that extend beyond their everyday experience." (p. 63)
Young. M. (2013). Overcoming the crisis in Curriculum Theory: a knowledge-based approach, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 45(2), 101-118.
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