Leadership of international schools and the International Baccalaureate learner profile

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 766-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gardner-McTaggart
Keyword(s):  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
International School ◽  
School Life ◽  
Individual Values ◽  
Interpretive Study ◽  
Learner Profile ◽  
Critical Phenomenology ◽  
Status Analysis ◽  
Change Culture

Purpose:this study offers a rare insight into senior leadership in International Baccalaureate (IB) international schools. The IB international school profits from the perceived quality and consistency of the IB brand; international schools, however, suffer from an endemic culture of change and reinterpretation. The IB learner profile (IBLP) offers scope for consistency and an overarching ethos, and research finds that ‘buy-in’ to the IBLP and modelling of it in all aspects of school life are essential in achieving this. It emerges that buy-in to the IBLP in directors is split between the personal and the operational.Research method:This interpretive study explores IB directors in multiphase research over two years employing an aspect of critical phenomenology through the lens of the IBLP and Global Citizenship Education (GCE).Findings:Only one in six directors uses the IBLP in leadership. Generally, directors attribute the IBLP a junior status. Analysis through Bourdieu finds IB directors have higher loyalty to (loosely defined) GCE through their Christian values. A foregrounding of individual values over the secular IBLP places IB directors as primary catalysts for the change culture unravelling the consistency of the IB international school, confirming the value of the IBLP in leadership.

Birds of a Feather: Senior International Baccalaureate International Schools Leadership in Service

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gardner-McTaggart
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Societal Values ◽  
Successful Leadership ◽  
Learner Profile ◽  
Critical Phenomenology

This article presents original research into International Baccalaureate international schools’ directors in Western Europe, based on multiphase contact with six director participants over two years and employing an aspect of critical-phenomenology. Successful leadership in this context responds to market demands with a commodification of Anglo identity. Service emerges as central to leadership, closely linked to cultural identity. Female participants appear as more successfully balanced directors. Directors indicate societal values as being more important than the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile.

A study into wellbeing, student engagement and resilience in early-adolescent international school students

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-92
Author(s):  
Phillipa McKeering ◽  
Yoon-Suk Hwang ◽  
Clarence Ng
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
International School ◽  
Early Adolescent ◽  
School Students ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Behavioural Engagement ◽  
Additional Support

Growth in the international school sector continues, with significant expansion of the sector in Asia. Whilst substantial research has been conducted on the adjustment experience of tertiary-aged students, limited research attention has been given to school-aged students in international schools. The environment, conditions and challenges experienced by school-aged international students can differ considerably from those of tertiary-aged international students. This can be heightened during early-adolescence with adjustment from school mobility linked to many negative developmental outcomes. The present study investigates wellbeing, engagement and resilience of 178 early-adolescent international school students (aged 10-14) from an international school in Singapore that offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma and the national curriculum of England. Results reported a positive significant association between wellbeing, engagement and resilience constructs. The study also identified demographic and mobility characteristics that were associated with lower levels of wellbeing, behavioural engagement and resilience. Findings of the study highlight a potential cohort of early-adolescent international students who could benefit from additional support.

scholarly journals IB School Libraries as International-minded Learning Spaces and Environments

2021 ◽  
pp. 397-408
Author(s):  
Anthon Tilke
Keyword(s):  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Library ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Learner Profile

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) offers educational programs to schools world-wide. Originally established for international schools, programs are now typically offered in a variety of public and private educational institutions in many countries. The IB has developed four programs, covering a continuum of education from early years to courses for students aged 18 years of age. Programs are largely constructivist-based and IB ‘big ideas’ include inquiry, a holistic view of the learner (IB Learner Profile), international-mindedness and academic honesty, yet the role of the library, overall, is not as clearly identified as may be expected, given factors friendly to a library and information sector paradigm. This professional paper reviews IB documentation and thinking, identifies opportunities where the library can support and contribute to the programs and identifies good practice, focusing on conference themes of the school library as a learning space, learning environment and as a ‘window on the world’.

Constructing International School Teacher Identity from Lived Experience: A Fresh Conceptual Framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-171
Author(s):  
Adam Poole
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Teacher ◽  
A Priori ◽  
National Curriculum ◽  
International School ◽  
Interview Data ◽  
School Teachers

This paper responds to Bailey and Cooker’s (2019) paper entitled ‘Exploring Teacher Identity in International Schools: Key Concepts for Research’ in which the authors offer a typology of international school teachers based on interviews with non-qualified teachers. This paper builds upon the typology of international school teachers by offering a framework for researching international school teacher identity. The framework is illustrated by interview data with an expatriate teacher in a Chinese Internationalised School, both of which remain under-researched. Chinese Internationalised Schools typically cater to local middle-class elites and offer some form of international curricula, such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma, alongside study of the Chinese national curriculum. Rather than utilising a priori teacher types derived from existing typologies, the framework utilises teachers’ lived experiences to inductively construct a ‘snap-shot’ of their teacher identity. Drawing upon postmodern approaches to teacher identity, identity is conceptualised as an ongoing dialogic process. Interview data with an international school teacher called Tyron (a pseudonym) is utilised in order to take the reader through how the framework is intended to be put into practice. The framework is an alternative approach to researching international school teachers that guides researchers away from labelling teachers by observation and instead looks at what they do and their histories. Moreover, this approach involves both the researcher and the teacher, and not, as is typically the case, only the researcher.

scholarly journals Disrupting conventional conceptions of parental engagement: Insights from international schools

2021 ◽  
pp. 174549992110384
Author(s):  
Shona McIntosh ◽  
Mary Hayden
Keyword(s):  
School Choice ◽  
International Education ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
International School ◽  
Parental Engagement ◽  
Education Markets ◽  
Practice Framework

Recently, increases in numbers of international schools have been fuelled by a growth in numbers of aspirational families selecting them. The perception that international education affords children access to social advantages has been established in the school choice literature, but there has yet to be an examination of this trend in relation to parental engagement in international schools. Views of parents on this growing trend will be sought in a separate study, but in this paper we approach the problem through international school staff perceptions of issues relating to parents. These emerged during interviews with those responsible for implementing one part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: Creativity, Activity, Service. A communities of educational practice framework, adapted for parental engagement, indicated previously unidentified tensions in the international school/parent relationship. Conditions in international education markets create conditions that tip the balance of power, conventionally with the school, towards already-privileged international school parents, raising important questions about the relationship between international schools and social inequalities perpetuated by education.

Integrating UNSDG in International School’s Curriculum: Nurturing a Sustainable Society in Malaysia

GIS Business ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-212
Author(s):  
Urish Wynton Pillai Thomas ◽  
Dr. Syriac Nellikunnel Devasia ◽  
Dr Parameswaran Subrmanian ◽  
Dr Maria Josephine Williams ◽  
Dr Hanim Norza Baba
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
International School ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Sustainable Society ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Nonparametric Correlation

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) into International School Curriculum, and to adapt Education for Sustainable Development using Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory and Stern’s value belief norm (VBN) theory to nurture a sustainable society. The study narrowed five development goals; Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Climate Change (SDG 13) and Life on Land (SDG 15) to evaluate the impact towards international school’s curriculum in order to nurture a sustainable society. Data was collected from 105 teachers from 5149 full time teachers in International Schools in Malaysia. The questionnaire focusses on indicators from Sustainable Development Goals and funnelled down to understand whether these indicators will impact the objective of these research, which is to nurture a sustainable society through integrating SDGs in International School Curriculum. The data was analyzed through SPSS application where correlation test were conducted and produce nonparametric correlation results in p<0.001 which indicate a very high significant of relationship between SDGs and sustainable society.

International Schools and the International Baccalaureate

1985 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Fox
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Future Development ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
International Schools ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
School Systems ◽  
Curriculum Innovation ◽  
Academic Curriculum ◽  
International Baccalaureate Program

Elisabeth Fox traces the origins and development of the International Baccalaureate program as an outgrowth of continuing curriculum innovation in international schools. She describes its rapid expansion in North America, where many school systems are attracted by its challenging academic curriculum. Worldwide university recognition of the program is steadily increasing. Fox concludes by considering the prospects for future development, with particular emphasis on attempts to move the Baccalaureate beyond its Euro-centric origins.

scholarly journals Policy Challenges for Administrators and Teacher Librarians in International Schools

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artemida Kabashi
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
International Schools ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
School Setting ◽  
The United States ◽  
International School ◽  
Third Culture ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Teacher Librarians

Policy development stands at the heart of running a successful library and having a positive impact on student literacy and overall achievement. This paper reports on the policy challenges that face librarians, teachers and school administrators in international schools, and provides the results of a case study from the Quality International School in Tirana, Albania. More over it provides a synthesis of the literature review on policy standards in international schools and the United States, and their impact on third world culture student achievement and success. Most of the achievements of students in international schools have more recently been studied under the scope of “third culture.” This paper, examines student access to policy and overall achievement within the context of “third culture” as a phenomenon. The paper also focuses on the importance of media selection, censorship, copyright and technology, as evidenced from interviews of school librarians, teachers and administrators at the Tirana International School. One of the central challenges in international schools remains the lack of centralized guidelines that support the institution’s library mission and vision. In order for libraries to thrive in an international school setting, communication at the onset of policy development between staff, teachers, librarian(s) and administrators is key.

scholarly journals Developing independent learners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Pavey
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
International Baccalaureate ◽  
Independent School ◽  
School Community ◽  
International School ◽  
Physical Design ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
English Curriculum ◽  
Statutory Requirement ◽  
International Baccalaureate Diploma

Box Hill School is an independent school in Surrey, England. In 2008 the English curriculum was abandonedin favour of the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD). A library is a statutory requirement of theInternational Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) endorsement who also recommend this be managed by aqualified teacher-librarian. In May 2008, I was employed to create a library and develop independentlearning throughout the school. This paper considers the rationale behind the physical design. It outlines theimplementation of independent learning in an international school community where no infrastructure topromote this style of teaching and learning previously existed.

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