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An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body and staff, multilingual instruction, curricula oriented towards global perspectives and subjects, and the promotion of concepts such as
world citizenship Global citizenship is the idea that one's identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives ...
, pluralism, and intercultural understanding. Many international schools adopt a curriculum from programs and organizations such as
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
,
Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board ...
,
Cambridge Assessment International Education Cambridge Assessment International Education (informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations ...
,
International Primary Curriculum The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is an independent programme of education for learners aged 5 to 11, cited by The SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education in 2015 as one of the three major international systems of education ...
, or
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
. International schools often follow a curriculum different from the host country, catering mainly to foreign students, such as members of
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
communities, international businesses or organizations, diplomatic missions, or missionary programs. Admission is sometimes open to local students to provide qualifications for employment or
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
in a foreign country, offer high level language instruction, and/or foster cultural and global awareness.


History

The first international school can be traced back to the
International School of Geneva The International School of Geneva (in French: ''Ecole Internationale de Genève''), also known as "Ecolint" or "The International School", is a private, non-profit international school based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1924 in the servic ...
founded in 1924 by
Arthur Sweetser Arthur Sweetser (1888–1968) was an international journalist and statesman. Early life Born in 1888, Arthur Sweetser was a member of a generation that saw the nations of the world engaging in violent bloodshed in what was labelled optimistically ...
and Ludwik Rajchman with an emphasis on bilingual education (English and French). Later that year the Yokohama International School was also established in
Yamate is the name of a historic neighbourhood in Naka-ku, Yokohama often referred to in English as ''The Bluff.'' The neighbourhood is famous as having been a foreigners' residential area in the Bakumatsu, Meiji and Taishō periods. While still domi ...
,
Naka-ku, Yokohama is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. In 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 146,563 and a population density of 7,080 persons per km². The total area was 20.86 km². Geography Naka Ward ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. These schools catered to children of expatriate families. These could include American diplomats, missionaries, military members, business workers transferred to foreign office locations, etc. An example would be children of American military personnel attending
Department of Defense Dependents Schools The Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve the dependents of United States military and civilian United States Department of Defense (DoD) personnel in three areas of the ...
(DoDDS).


Criteria

At a conference in Italy in 2009, the International Association of School Librarianship came up with a list of criteria for describing an international school, including: * Transferability of the student's education across international schools * A moving population (higher than in state schools or public schools) * Multinational and multilingual student body * An international curriculum * International accreditation (e.g. Council of International Schools,
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
,
Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing School accreditation, accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary school, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, ...
, etc.) * A transient and multinational teacher population * Non-selective student enrollment * Usually
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
of instruction, plus the obligation to take on at least one additional language However, there are also disagreements amongst educators on what the exact criteria should focus on. Factors such as international history, culture, and perspective within the education curriculum would also make a school "international". Although the nationality of students plays a big part, the manner in which the education is delivered is just as important.


Languages of instruction

While English-language international schools are the most numerous, many international schools teaching primarily in other languages exist. For instance, there are 140 "German Schools Abroad" which are accredited and partly funded by the German federal government through the
Central Agency for German Schools Abroad The German Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (german: Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen, ZfA) is an agency of the Federal Office of Administration, itself an agency of the Federal Ministry of the Interior, that operates and manages ...
''(Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen)'', and teach a curriculum at least partly based on German schools. According to the German Foreign Office, the government's support of these schools "helps to overcome cultural barriers, to convey a modern, diverse image of our country and to strengthen German language skills in other countries." Other examples of non-English international schools include: * French schools abroad accredited by the French government's
Agency for French Education Abroad The Agency for French Education Abroad, or Agency for French Teaching Abroad, (french: Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger; abbreviation: AEFE), is a national public agency under the administration of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ...
''(Agence pour l'enseignement français à l'étranger)''. *
Nihonjin_gakkō , also called Japanese school, is a full-day school outside Japan intended primarily for Japanese citizens living abroad. It is an expatriate school designed for children whose parents are working on diplomatic, business, or education missions ...
- Japanese-language schools accredited by the Japanese government's
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology The , also known as MEXT or Monka-shō, is one of the eleven Ministries of Japan that composes part of the executive branch of the Government of Japan. Its goal is to improve the development of Japan in relation with the international community ...


Curriculum

Curricula in English-language international schools are most often based on
education in the United Kingdom Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England; whilst the Scottish Government, the Welsh ...
,
education in the United States Education in the United States is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and sup ...
, or curricula specially designed for international schools such as the
International General Certificate of Secondary Education The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
or the
IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
. These international curricula are committed to internationalism, developing the global citizen, providing an environment for optimal learning, and teaching in an international setting that fosters understanding, independence, interdependence, and cooperation. Like other schools, international schools teach language arts, mathematics, the sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education, information technology, and design technology. More recent developments specifically for primary school include the
IB Primary Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle ...
(PYP) and
International Primary Curriculum The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) is an independent programme of education for learners aged 5 to 11, cited by The SAGE Handbook of Research in International Education in 2015 as one of the three major international systems of education ...
(IPC). Secondary education is provided through the relaunched
IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to p ...
(MYP) and redeveloped International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC). Most recently, the launch of the International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) in 2016 has provided an international curriculum for early years learners aged 2–5, growing to 500 schools and early years settings between 2016 and 2021. In 2013 there were 3063 schools offering the international baccalaureate curriculum in the world and over 1000 schools offering the IEYC, IPC, and/or IMYC around the world. The curriculum could also be based on the school's origin country. Schools that are a part of th
International Schools Consortium
(iSC) deliver an International Standard Classification of Education (
ISCED The International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) is a statistical framework for organizing information on education maintained by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It is a member of the in ...
) curriculum. This is the standard curriculum for American schools. High school education includes core classes such as English, Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Social Studies, Fine Arts, with the addition of ESL (
English as a second language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...
) classes for students who may need. In addition, students may select
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
(AP) programs to prepare for college-level education, specifically in the United States.


International school teachers

An international school teacher or educator is someone engaged in the
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
of pupils in schools other than their country of citizenship. The term generally refers to teachers who are teaching in
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
or
independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
s. While these schools are private there is an important distinction between private for-profit and private non for-profit schools. Faculty at international schools are usually from or certified by the standards of their country of origin. Hiring is frequently done at large international job fairs, such as the ones held by the Council of International Schools (CIS), where schools can interview and hire several teachers at once. There are also a handful of agencies that specialize in recruiting international teachers. Over the years it has become more difficult to recruit young international teachers, partly because of security concerns and the trend towards less attractive compensation packages. In some countries such as South Korea, recent visa changes have also made it more difficult to obtain both qualified and unqualified teachers.


Education

As of 2020, 33% of international schools are categorized as bilingual, with English as the main language. 52% of international schools offer a UK style of education, around 20% offer the International Baccalaureate Programme, and around 21% offer US style education. Statically, international school students have achieved higher examination marks compared with the global average: * The average point score of the IBDP in international schools was 33.6 out of 45. The global average for all IBDP students was 29.63. * US Advance Placement qualification, international school students scored an average AP exam score of 3.54 compared to a global average of 2.91. The maximum score is 5. * In International A-Levels, the percentage of A grades was 34% while the UK average was 25.5%. There has also been an increase in The National Curriculum of England and Cambridge Curriculum as a curriculum choice over the span of the past 10 years. Schools are also adopting a hybrid model of teaching and learning moving forward to provide more flexibility.


Growth

With the increase in situations such as diplomat relocation or missionary travels, there has been an increase in the demand for International schools. Especially within the start of the 20th century, there has been a massive growth in international schools worldwide. In 2011 alone, 345 new International schools were established. According to th
ISC Research Data
there were a total of 7,655 registered International schools worldwide. That number has since risen to 12,373 registered international schools in July 2021. The number of students attending international schools has also increased from 3.54 million to 5.68 million since 2011. In April 2007 there were 4,179 English-speaking international schools, which was expected to set to rise with
globalization Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...
. In
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, worldwide entries for the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
International General Certificate of Secondary Education The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
(IGCSE) June 2009 examination session are up by almost 20% on the same session last year. The strong growth confirms the status of Cambridge IGCSE as the world's, and India's, most popular international curriculum for 14- to 16-year-olds. With rapid globalization, these numbers will most likely continue to grow. Asia and the Middle East are the leading geographical locations in international school growth. Enrollment in international schools located in the Middle East alone has grown by 20% since 2015, reaching 1.7 million enrolled students. Southeast Asia has grown by 35.5% and East Asia has grown by 33.3% all since. South Asia experienced the largest jump in growth by 64.6% percent since 2015. Since international schools also tend to offer bilingual education, it is a fitting opportunity for attending students to acquire a second language. International schools have also risen in popularity with the fast-paced growth of globalization.


Criticism

Hannah Smith of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote in 2013 that many students of international schools move between countries and places constantly. Several reported that they feel they have no one place where they have roots or background.Smith, Hannah.
International school students: rootless and without a home?

Archive
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''. October 29, 2013. Retrieved on October 20, 2015.
Many international students are often referred to as
third culture kid Third culture kids (TCK) or third culture individuals (TCI) are people who were raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of their country of nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of thei ...
s (TCKs). A phenomenon they experience is having their identity shaped mainly through people instead of place.An online survey
by Denizen shows that over 200 participants first moved before nine years old and, on average, lived in four countries. These reoccurring moves mean children continuously leave friends and relationships, which can bring about stress and anxiety. The transition to a completely new environment and culture can be burdensome as well. However, most international schools understand these circumstances and help students with this transition period through counseling programs.


See also

;International schools *
List of international schools This is a list of notable international schools from around the world. Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan The Bahamas Bahrain Banglades ...
*
Nihonjin gakkō , also called Japanese school, is a full-day school outside Japan intended primarily for Japanese citizens living abroad. It is an expatriate school designed for children whose parents are working on diplomatic, business, or education missions ...
;International school associations and services * Association of Christian Schools International *
Cognita Cognita is a global private schools group which owns and operates schools throughout the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, India and Chile. Between them, Cognita schools deliver eight different ...
*
International Schools Services Founded in 1955, International Schools Services (ISS) was created as a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting the international and American schools that were proliferating at that time. These schools were developing as a result of the incre ...
*
Nord Anglia Education Nord Anglia Education, commonly referred to as Nord Anglia, is a provider of international schools. The head office is in Nova South, 160 Victoria Street, London. Nord Anglia has 70+ private day and boarding schools which are located in 30 co ...
*
United World Colleges United World Colleges (UWC) is an international network of schools and educational programmes with the shared aim of "making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future." The organization was founde ...
;International school teachers * Teaching abroad ;Examinations and qualifications *
Cambridge International Examinations Cambridge Assessment International Education (informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a provider of international qualifications, offering examinations ...
*
International General Certificate of Secondary Education The International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognised in the United Kingdom as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognising prior attainm ...
*
IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
*
IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to p ...
*
IB Primary Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International School School types