Content uploaded by Ian Hill
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Ian Hill on May 01, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
What is an international school? Part two
... International schools catering largely for local students have been described by Hayden and Thompson (2013) as Type C non-traditional international schools, though some authors in the field question the extent to which some of these schools can actually qualify as international (see Hill, 2016;Bunnell et al, 2016;Poole, 2020). For example Poole (2020), in pointing out that not all Type C schools are the same, refers to a distinct body of what he describes as 'Chinese Internationalised Schools': for-profit Type C international schools in China that are characterised by having a mainly local student body, providing both international and national curricula, and including Chinese symbolic routines. ...
... These changes in the international school sector led to revised definitions and typologies (see, for instance, Cambridge and Thompson, 2004;Bunnell, 2014Bunnell, , 2019Hayden and Thompson, 2013;Hill, 2016), with the most established and widely cited being the ABC classification proposed by Hayden and Thompson (2013). In this typology, Type A are traditional international schools set up to cater for the children of globally mobile professionals: such schools were in the majority up until the 1990s. ...
... The reference to 'non-national' curriculum allows overseas schools that follow for instance the British curriculum and offer International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and A-level to be considered international schools. Hill (2015Hill ( , 2016 aimed to classify international schools based on their level of 'internationalisation'. He created a framework which provided specific scales with regards to the educational programme (scale 0-5), composition of student population (0-4), cultural diversity of the governing body (0-4), and level of student tuition fees (0-3). ...
The growing popularity and diversity of international schools worldwide has resulted in the identification of several typologies of such schools based on different factors of significance. The largest growth in numbers of international schools is now occurring in local markets, with many having a large number of host-country students and to some extent incorporating both national and international curriculum and customs. In this article we discuss the institutional and social issues that may be faced by such schools in terms of their curriculum and their identity, as well as socio-linguistic aspects. We discuss the global and local perspectives that drive and challenge the internationalisation of these schools, with a focus in particular on the context of Cyprus.
... In general, the idea of educating children outside of the context of their nationality has been associated with the concept of attending an international school (Hayden & Thompson, 1995). Despite this, the expansion of international schools can be attributed to the influx of foreign and local parents seeking a more flexible international curriculum accepted in schools and universities worldwide (Hill, 2015). The curriculum offered at international schools varies, combining native and international elements to their mission, student body, faculty, and history (Gardner-McTaggart, 2018). ...
... The researchers discovered that a clear distinction between international and national schools in this country was the presence of cultural diversity in the school's student and faculty bodies and their advocacy for a safe learning environment despite the cultural and religious differences present in these schools. While there are several curriculum options available at international schools, the three most commonly offered are the United States, English National (British), or International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula, which are all adapted to meet the requirements of the host country's Ministry of Education (Hill, 2015). ...
The research focuses on the development of social and emotional competencies (SEC) among international school leaders and its impact on the implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) programs within their schools. The study aims to understand how these leaders perceive their own SEC development and how it influences their ability to foster a healthy school climate and positive outcomes for students.
... On the other hand, Hill (2016) and Halawah (2006) observe various ways through which the practices of school heads can be identified. These include being fully compliant with set local and state regulations, promoting and ensuring an all-inclusive learning institution, ensuring that all teachers provide quality education, setting a clear school vision for all employees, and collaborating with learners, parents, and stakeholders in the creation of a common vision. ...
This thesis focuses on how schools implement three of six standards in the UAE inspection framework which are: Standard 3, teaching and assessment based on teaching for effective learning; Standard 5, how protection, care, guidance, and support of students has been implemented; and Standard 6, leadership, and management, which illustrates gaps in educational leadership due to differences in the direction, vision, and communication.
The study’s significance is that it will help determine how school leadership practices influence governmental school inspection outcomes in the UAE. School leadership must have supporting standards that schools should implement to improve their performance. There is a gap on the impact of leadership practices on school performance management and inspection outcomes in the UAE. Although the UAE school inspection framework emphasizes a visionary education system that is knowledge-based and drives innovation through research, it provides standards to ensure comprehensive performance to achieve quality education (Ministry of Education, 2017). It clearly defines the specific governance systems that should aid schools in implementing the framework.
This research is expected to provide details about new leadership practices that should be developed to help school principals identify and implement good educational and learning practices and offer recommendations on how to implement the inspection framework to improve performance. The research also provides a distinctive recommendation for school principals to develop their performance using the government excellence system in the United Arab Emirates GEM 2.
... The second criterion excluded international school students whose English language learning experiences were different from typical Thai students. For example, students who studied in an international school were not only exposed to the English language more frequently with more opportunities to communicate in English, but who were also immersed in culturally diverse contexts (Hill, 2016;Iamudom & Tangkriengsirisin, 2020). As a consequence, their success in English language learning may have been largely due to their learning environment. ...
Autonomous learning, which emphasizes learners taking charge of their knowledge acquisition, plays a vital role in effective English language acquisition. However, attempts to foster autonomous learning in the Thai context face many challenges. Therefore, this mixed-method study explores how autonomous learning thrives in the context to inform future attempts to foster autonomous learning. The study employed exploratory sequential mixed methods which consists of two phases to collect the data. The data collection began with the qualitative phase which involved interviewing fifteen first-year undergraduate students who have high English language proficiency. The focus was on their English language learning experiences concentrating on the four main constructs suggested by literature to reflect autonomous learning namely: learner beliefs, learning behaviors, metacognitive knowledge, and factors influencing English language learning. Themes and sub-themes emerged from the interview were used subsequently to develop a questionnaire with 396 undergraduate respondents. In the quantitative phase, the questionnaire results confirmed that the findings in the qualitative phase were prevalent in the larger sample. Moreover, the discussion presents several causal relationships between the factors influencing English learning and the other three constructs, suggesting that the manipulation of the factors may help in fostering autonomous learning in the Thai context.
This study explores the factors that can promote (or deny) inclusion and support for students with special educational needs in international schools. It is informed by data collected in a selection of six international schools, located in four different global regions, using a combination of data gathering tools that included teacher questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with the schools’ leadership and SENCOs, and analysis of relevant school documentation
The findings show that host-state intervention and related legislative requirements were the most significant factors in influencing international schools within specific areas towards adopting more inclusive practices in supporting students with special educational needs. Other important factors were leadership and governance that were committed to the principles of inclusion, and that supported and implemented effective inclusive policies and practices. These were found to influence other factors such as the levels of resources and professional development used by the school for supporting students with special educational needs.
The term empowerment is present in international schools' mission and vision statements. Structural and psychological empowerment lead to increased creativity, change resilience, work commitment, job satisfaction, and retention. School leader empowering behaviors are needed to enact the empowerment structures in organizations. The SLEB, CWEQ-II, and PEM instruments with high reliability were used to measure the school leader empowering behaviors, structural and psychological empowerment in a quantitative correlation study with 127 international school teachers from different geographical regions. The point-biserial Pearson test was used to analyze the collected data. A strong correlation between school leader empowering behaviors and structural empowerment was identified (r=.71) with high statistical significance (p<.001). The findings can inform international school leaders' actions to enact latent empowerment structures in schools.
International schools refer to a category of educational institutions for students in preschool/kindergarten to high school that vary from the normative schooling provided in a country’s educational system. International schools typically vary with regard to their specific mission and educational philosophy, curriculum, key school community members, and the influences of the geographical context of their location on what transpires in these school communities. The rich multicultural mixture of students, families, and staff in an international school community adds a level of complexity for the personal growth of the individual community members and for their intercultural interactions with each other. To optimize their professional effectiveness when working in international school communities, school psychologists should intentionally focus on the international and intercultural context of their work setting and provide valuable culturally responsive expertise as they engage in their traditional professional roles of consultation, assessment, intervention development and implementation, mental health services, and organizational development. To do so effectively, school psychologists should strive to develop the multicultural and intercultural competencies to deliver culturally focused and responsive services to the members of the international school community where they work. Intentionality in gaining this expertise will be pivotal to the ultimate cultural and intercultural competencies developed by individual school psychologists. Addressed in this chapter are descriptions of the cultural contexts and dynamics of international schools and the related key cultural attitudes, knowledge, and competencies that school psychologists would benefit from acquiring to provide valuable and effective cultural and diversity components in the roles they perform. Recommendations for intercultural training and research are provided in the concluding pages of this chapter.
This conceptual paper critically examines the evolving landscape of international schooling against a complex backdrop of competing globalisations, which has seen the emergence of post-globalisation, which we frame in terms of a modality of globalisation. Post-globalisation and the post-global foreground renewed interest in the nation state and the relationship between the nation and the global. In so doing, this paper challenges the conventional use of the term 'international' and instead proposes the 'internationally-facing school' as a more nuanced alternative. The notion of the 'internationally-facing school' reflects the unsettled nature of globalisation as encompassing post-global tendencies and elucidates the complex relationship between the global and the national in international school systems. The paper ends by suggesting that the internationally-facing school heuristic has the potential to transcend the context of international schooling and become a mobile concept applicable to various educational contexts. The paper also advocates for further research to explore the practical implications of the 'internationally-facing school' and its relevance to both international and non-international school contexts.
The problem is empowerment is not clearly defined and therefore perceived as vague. Turnover of high-quality teachers negatively impacts school culture and student achievement and is costly. A quantitative study to investigate the relationship between teacher retention and empowerment was conducted by the author in international schools in East Asia. A moderate correlation (r=.393) between structural empowerment and teacher retention and a modest correlation (r=.323) between psychological empowerment and retention was found. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher empowerment and retention in other geographical regions, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and compare them to the original study. Another aim was to explain and provide insights into some of the findings of the original study. Similarities and differences between international schools in the investigated regions, a potential relationship between access to support and competence, and a difference between retention in Type A, B, and C schools were identified.
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.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.