Characteristics that Define an Exceptional International School According to Stakeholder Perspectives. A Thai Case Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 147524092110609
Author(s):  
Matthew Fahey ◽  
Henriette van Rensburg ◽  
Rahul Ganguly
Keyword(s):  
Initial Phase ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
International Schools ◽  
International School ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives

Research in international schools has lagged behind the growth of such schools (Lee et al, 2012). This paper offers support to international school leaders by identifying the ten most important characteristics of international schools as reported by three significant stakeholder groups (administrators/teachers, parents and students) in one case study international school. An initial phase utilised a Delphi framework whereby interviews led to the identification of 68 separate items, ranging from school ethos to teachers’ credentials, which formed the basis of a follow-up questionnaire which was implemented following piloting. It was found that for 46 of the 68 items the three stakeholder groups were not statistically independent, sharing a common perspective on these items’ relative importance. Similarly, four items appeared in all three stakeholder groups’ top ten, while six items appeared in two out of three stakeholder groups’ top ten.

Shifting borders: a case study of internationalisation of education within a Dutch school group in Amsterdam

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boris Prickarts
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
International Schools ◽  
International School ◽  
Social Boundaries ◽  
Institutional Diversity ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Value Differences ◽  
School Group

This article focuses on a case study of internationalisation of education, a process of change pertaining to the mission, vision and delivery of education. Teachers working in international schools can be understood as gearing a student’s disposition towards the ability and preparedness to handle and value differences and diversity. In an effort to cope with a number of challenges from within and outside of the Netherlands, a Dutch school group in Amsterdam embarked on a process of change by adopting an international dimension to the students’ experience. Instead of these schools becoming more similar to each other, i.e. converging towards an internationalising ‘master-viewpoint’, the schools’ alignment under pressure showed a process of ‘anisomorphism’: their education’s primary function, approach, tasks, role and objectives for society were changing into different internationalising directions. However, the pragmatic expectations and actions, particularly of the parents and the students, were creating new boundaries and rationales for the schools as bargaining zones. The ‘shifting borders’ between the schools were becoming more connected with a growing international focus, yet had different pragmatic and ideological implications for each of them. The result was that these borders became permeable, a nominal erosion of differences between the ‘international’ school selectively catering for children of internationally mobile families and the other schools catering for all children in the Netherlands. ‘International schools’ became places where students were trained to engage with difference and diversity and where the students had not necessarily been crossing geographical borders. This raises the issue of the role of education in a multicultural and globalising society, as – in this case – an increase in institutional diversity within the specific Dutch national context, and an increased uncertainty about the multiple aims of education, stretched the educational as well as social boundaries which constrain the futures for which students are being prepared.

scholarly journals The practice of choice-making: applying Bourdieu to the field of international schooling

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-154
Author(s):  
Lina Khalil ◽  
Anthony Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Context ◽  
International School ◽  
The Body ◽  
Field Analysis ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Choice Making ◽  
Teachers And Parents

This paper presents findings from a recent study on choice-making among teachers, school leaders and parents in a for-profit British international school in Kuwait. Using a Bourdieusian field analysis, the choice-making of the various stakeholders is investigated to reveal their positionality within the school’s social space, to examine the resources they hold and the capitals in which they are willing to invest. We find that choices made by, and within, an international school reveal symbolic violence, and a ‘taken-for-granted understanding’ that this form of schooling (British- rather than American-style international schooling) is superior. Participants in the study included teachers, parents, graduating class students and school leaders. Teachers and parents were a representative mix of local (both Arab and non-Arab) and expatriate. The study makes an important contribution to the body of knowledge relating to international schools, in its theoretical framework and its inclusion of the wider stakeholder population, which together generate a deeper understanding of professional practice in the international school context.

scholarly journals Third culture kids : examining their impact in school communities, a case study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Erinn A. Magee
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Community ◽  
International School ◽  
Third Culture Kids ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Third Culture ◽  
Local Students ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this case study is to explore the impact that Third Culture Kids have on one international school community. Third Culture Kids or TCKs are children who live in a culture that is not the culture of their parents (Pollock and Van Reken, 1999). Not to be confused with immigrants, these children move from country to country and do not settle in a single place. At the same time, they grow up expecting to return to their passport country (Cockbum, 2002). These children's lives are influenced both by their parents' culture (which they may have limited first-hand experience with) and the culture (s) they have grown up surrounded by. The result of the constant exposure to different cultures develops into a unique, "third," culture for the child. (Nineteen Third Culture Kids in an international school in the Republic of Panama were interviewed in order to explore with the aim of understanding how their experiences as transient students affected their school community. The Third Culture Kids in this study have lived, at a minimum, in two different countries. Neither the children nor their parents held passports from Panama. Combined, the nineteen students speak ten languages fluently: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Arabic, Singhalese, and Hebrew. The students speak an average of 2.8 languages each, with one child speaking five languages fluently. Every student spoke at least two languages. In their brief lives, they have lived in 28 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, United States, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. On average, the students have lived in 3.8 countries each, with two having lived in six countries. These children understand the advantages of being Third Culture Kids. They understand that as a whole, they are more tolerant, mature, have a wider worldview, and they appreciate human differences. In the international schools they have attended, they observed how challenging it is to make friends in schools without other Third Culture Kids, and they feel they can make the biggest difference when they are in a school includes other TCKs. The case study found that TCKs contribute greatly to a school's culture. They attribute this to their willingness to participate in efforts to create an open and caring attitude. More than one TCK expressed that they feel free to be himself or herself in this particular school, in contrast to other international schools they have attended. Despite published results that suggest difficulty in establishing friendship with local students, they report making great friends not only with fellow TCKs, but also with Panamanians students. In understanding how TCKs can be embraced and introduced into a school's efforts to create an inclusive environment, academic institutions can instill openness, maturity, and a broader worldview in students who are not TCKs. In such an open community, instead of remaining on the sidelines, TCKs and their accepting attitudes can influence the entire school--building a powerful community of children whose collective interests and experiences reflect the need for inclusiveness to spread throughout the entire globe.

Leveraging professional development to build professional capital in international schools in Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-182
Author(s):  
Dana Specker Watts ◽  
Jayson W. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
International Schools ◽  
International School ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Capital ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Culture Of Safety ◽  
The Individual

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the connection between professional development and professional capital within international schools in Asia.Design/methodology/approachThis study was an exploratory multisite case study. Teachers and leaders in six high performing international schools in Asia were surveyed to measure their professional capital. Three leaders with the highest professional capital from different schools were interviewed to better understand how professional development fosters professional capital of their teachers.FindingsInternational school leaders tended to have high professional capital while teachers reported having less professional capital. Leaders fostered professional capital of their teachers through professional development by supporting the intellectual passions of individuals, fostering collaborative learning within and across international schools and creating a culture of safety and vulnerability for teachers to try new things.Research limitations/implicationsThis study showed that a short version of the professional capital survey tested well in this context with items just focused on professional development. However, more work needs to be done to make the individual constructs more robust as it pertains to professional development. This research also highlighted the need to look at how international school teachers foster their own professional capital through professional development.Originality/valueThis is the first study that focused on the intersection of professional capital and professional development. Additionally, this article serves as one of the few studies of professional capital in international schools.

“Change in schools it’s more like sort of turning an oil tanker”

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 377-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belinda Gardner ◽  
Debbie Ollis
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Setting ◽  
International School ◽  
Readiness For Change ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
K 12

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to add to the evidence of best practice in the implementation of the Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework by examining the process of creating readiness for change in a large international school in South-East Asia. Using a settings-based approach and guided by readiness for change theory the data collected reflects which factors were most influential in the decision of the leadership team (LT) to adopt a comprehensive HPS model. It follows the process of creating readiness in the early stages of adopting a HPS approach and captures the critical factors effecting leader’s beliefs and support for the program. Design/methodology/approach – This research is a case study of a large pre-K-12 international school in South-East Asia with over 1,800 students. A mixed methods qualitative approach is used including semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The participants are the 12 members of the LT. Findings – Readiness for change was established in the LT who adopted a HPS approach. That is, they adopted a comprehensive model to address health-related priorities in the school and changed the school’s mission and accountability processes to specifically include health. Uncovering the reasons why the LT supported this change was the primary focus of this research. Building the motivation to change involved establishing a number of key beliefs three of which were influential in bringing about readiness for change in this case study. These included the belief that leadership support existed for the proposed change, a belief that there was a need for change with a clear discrepancy in the present and preferred operations in relation to addressing the health issues of the school and the belief that HPS was the appropriate solution to address this discrepancy. Research limitations/implications – Adopting a HPS approach is the first phase of implementation. Long-term research may show if the integrity of the chosen model is maintained as implementation continues. The belief construct of valence, that is, the belief that the change will benefit the change recipient, was not reliably assessed in this research. Further research needs to be conducted to understand how this construct is interpreted in the school setting. The belief construct of valence was not reliably assessed in this research. Further research needs to be done to understand how this construct fits in the school setting. Practical implications – This paper provides a promising example of how health can be integrated into the school’s Mission and Strategic Learning Plan. The example presented here may provide strategies for others working in the field of HPS. Originality/value – Creating readiness is an often over-looked stage of building sustainable change. International schools cater to more than three million students are a rarely researched in regards to health education. It is predicted that the numbers of students in international schools will grow to more than six million in the next ten years.

scholarly journals Promoting inquiry-based working: Exploring the interplay between school boards, school leaders and teachers

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisette Uiterwijk-Luijk ◽  
Meta Krüger ◽  
Monique Volman
Keyword(s):  
School Board ◽  
School Boards ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
School Leader ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teacher Professionalization

Inquiry-based working contributes to teacher professionalization and educational improvements. This article presents the key findings of a qualitative case study carried out in three primary schools in the Netherlands. That study focused on the inquiry-based working of school boards, school leaders and teachers, with the goal of better understanding how schools establish an inquiry-based culture. As a follow-up to a nationwide survey, this case study used semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis to gain insight into the interplay between school boards, school leaders and teachers regarding inquiry-based working. It identified multiple ways in which educators can encourage others to work in an inquiry-based manner. These approaches are not only top-down (i.e., from school board to school leader, and from school leader to teacher) but also bottom-up (i.e., from teacher to school leader, and from school leader to school board).

scholarly journals Sustainability Reporting for Inland Port Managing Bodies: A Stakeholder-Based View on Materiality

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magali Geerts ◽  
Michaël Dooms
Keyword(s):  
Urban Environment ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
Sustainability Report

Sustainability reporting has been marked by a rise in importance in recent years as it has proved to be an important management tool in the understanding of where an organization is situated along the sustainability pathway. However, industries have shown different behaviors towards embracing this practice. In this paper, we turn our attention to the port industry, using the metropolitan inland Port of Brussels (Belgium) as a case study. Given the contested nature of port activities within urban regions, metropolitan inland ports are expected to benefit from the development of a sustainability report as it allows a more transparent account of the contribution of port activities to the objectives of different stakeholder groups in the urban environment. The case study is based on a survey yielding 74 valid responses from different stakeholder groups (employees, clients, and broader society). Our results show that the expected content of a sustainability report is viewed differently by these various stakeholder groups in terms of the relative importance of the dimensions of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL), as well as in terms of the specific indicators representing material issues. Furthermore, the concept of boundary setting with respect to the different dimensions of the TBL and the desired level of inclusion by stakeholders during the development of a sustainability report are differently assessed. The paper is of interest to academics as well as policy makers, as the research results complement the existing insights on sustainability reporting in general and can be used as basis to stimulate the adoption of sustainability reporting by inland ports.

scholarly journals Branding Strategies of a Private International School

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balasubramanian Varadarajan ◽  
Timothy Malone
Keyword(s):  
School Leaders ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
International School ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Internal Branding ◽  
Interview Method ◽  
Branding Strategies ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Indian Perspective

Demand for international K-12 schools in India is growing, and this is causing competition between them. The purpose of this paper was to explore the branding strategies that private international school leaders in India use to enhance the school brand. Case study method was used where fifteen participants were interviewed from an international school in Southern part of India. Interviews were conducted with five school leaders, five teachers, and five parents using a semi-structured interview method with open-ended questions related to branding strategies. Brand-oriented organizations have internal approaches to developing their brand based on vision, mission, and values. As education is an intangible product, both internal branding and external branding are required to win the trust of parents. Various information technology tools including social media can help to devise personalized communication channels to tell the school’s story to the stakeholders. The inherent limitation with a case study method is that it is not generalizable. Branding as a process has been discussed for higher education institutions but not the K-12 sector, especially from the Indian perspective. The empirical evidence presented in this paper may help K-12 schools, especially in India to understand how to enhance the school brand.

scholarly journals The nature of hybrid governance: A case study of a large and well-established European international school

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-68
Author(s):  
Leila Holmyard
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
International School ◽  
Hybrid Structure ◽  
Hybrid Governance ◽  
Data Points ◽  
And Training

The number of international schools is growing rapidly and existing data points to great diversity of their governance structure. The nature of hybrid governance, in which a board comprises both elected and appointed governors, was investigated through a case study of an international school in western Europe and triangulated with interviews with nine experts in international schooling. Hybrid governance was found to offer the advantages of both elected and appointed boards: elections foster transparency and representation of stakeholders, while appointments allow the board to be populated with particular skills. A model for governance was presented in which the hybrid structure is underpinned by recruitment and training practices that ensure governors complement the existing skillset of the board, have desirable motivations for serving, and understand their role. This model may be useful for informing international school improvement efforts, although its compatibility with the diverse landscape of international schools remains to be determined.

Intensive Stuttering Therapy With Telepractice Follow-up: A Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzan Irani ◽  
Rodney Gabel
Keyword(s):  
Case Report ◽  
Therapeutic Intervention ◽  
Intensive Therapy ◽  
Positive Outcome ◽  
Eclectic Approach

This case report describes the positive outcome of a therapeutic intervention that integrated an intensive, residential component with follow-up telepractice for a 21 year old male who stutters. This therapy utilized an eclectic approach to intensive therapy in conjunction with a 12-month follow-up via video telepractice. The results indicated that the client benefited from the program as demonstrated by a reduction in percent stuttered syllables, a reduction in stuttering severity, and a change in attitudes and feelings related to stuttering and speaking.

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