Shea: In support of sound educational practice for a better world
The number of international schools has increased significantly in the past few decades (including within the United States) — to more than 13,000 schools serving close to 10 million students, elementary through high school, around the world. Globalization has been the driver, but so has a growing appreciation for the value of these schools. There’s no standard definition as to precisely what makes a school “international,” but the typical elements include a global curriculum focused on the world as a whole (and the legitimate study of two or more languages), a diverse student body (by nationality, race, culture, etc.), and a similarly diverse faculty. Most schools on the planet are not international, but organized around national, state, or local curricula and simply as diverse as the areas they serve.
The international school the Rev. Dr. Gemechis Buba recently launched here in Addis Ababa serves students from throughout Ethiopia, Africa, and the world with a curriculum focused on global citizenship, critical thinking, and leadership. Like most international schools today, English is our primary language of instruction — though Amharic and Afaan Oromo are also studied and spoken. The economic dominance of the United States over the past several decades, coupled with the vast reach of the British Empire a few centuries ago, has made English a truly global language. When I traveled just 30 years ago, English speakers (and signage) were close to nonexistent outside the former British colonies. Today English is ubiquitous. Though this has surely made Americans more complacent about learning multiple languages (when kids everywhere else are learning two or more) — we should, at the very least, make fluency in Spanish (the dominant language of the Americas) a priority.
The most important decision in starting any school is the establishment of the academic program (the curriculum, instructional practices, and assessment systems) — what will be taught, how it’ll be taught, and how we’ll know what students have learned. About half of all international schools utilize the international version of the National Curriculum of England — which puts a significant emphasis on the externally graded iGCSE exams in Years 10 & 11 and the A-level courses and exams in Years 12 & 13. This is the program we’ve adopted at Cambridge Academy Ethiopia. The British system is well-known, and the exams offer legitimacy and accountability.
The fastest growing academic program in the world (and second most common among international schools) is the International Baccalaureate — designed about 60 years ago by a Geneva-based team of international educators. The IB program has always been global in perspective and is recognized by universities around the world. Like the British system, externally graded exams are central to the program. Many schools in the United States (public and private) have adopted the IB — whether they label themselves “international” or not — drawn by the rigorous curriculum, the emphasis on creative and critical thinking, and the validity offered by the IB exams.
International schools that serve a large number of expat kids from the United States will often adopt an American curricular program — though there really is no such thing. What makes such schools “international” is their location and/or the diversity of their student body. The U.S. system is essentially just a general framework — not anything close to a standard curriculum. Instructional practices vary greatly. Assessments are not commonly scored externally — other than particular high school courses offered through the College Board as Advanced Placement (AP). Curricular guidelines vary from state to state and district to district.
A school (or network of schools) can also create its own curriculum — within the parameters of any relevant regulations or accreditation standards — but more than 90% of international schools utilize the British curriculum, International Baccalaureate program, or American framework. (In the United States, of course, well over 90% of our schools follow the general American framework — with only a small percentage offering innovative curricula or global programs like the IB.)
Having worked for 30 years now in education, in a variety of different schools, at home and abroad, I’m convinced the world would be a much better place if we put the labels aside — and all schools, everywhere, adopted a more global orientation. This does not mean letting go of local history, culture, or the story of a given people, region, or nation (which are all critically important). But they certainly shouldn’t be taught in an “us/them” manner, with unfounded judgements of superiority, or at the expense of better understanding of who we are as humans sharing this planet. A rigorous global curriculum focused on critical thinking, compassionate problem solving, and our shared story better serves our kids and our world. Though cultivating a variety of perspectives around such a curriculum might be easier for schools with diverse student bodies, all schools, in this day and age, can find ways to maximize different perspectives — if they just choose to make it a priority. Distance learning, online resources, student exchange initiatives, scholarship programs, etc. — maybe even efforts to voluntarily and cooperatively desegregate — and simply being more deliberate in choosing literature and other curricular materials.
We also shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we need to do much better at assessment. No school can rightly claim to offer a quality academic program if it doesn’t reliably, validly, and regularly measure student learning. This doesn’t mean SAT scores or college matriculation data (fundamentally just measures of a community’s socioeconomic status — not the efficacy of its schools). It means sound assessments (focused on higher order skills and not just content regurgitation) tied directly to the school’s curriculum. This is not something we do well in the United States — and it is what has drawn many districts to, for example, the IB program.
I’m a bit biased, but I’m certain that getting K-12 education right — for all our kids, worldwide — is the solution to all our problems. Quite possibly, in the long-term, the only solution. Poverty, war, the next pandemic, gun violence, racism, collapsing democracies, climate change, etc. — tackled by a generation of global citizens, critical thinkers, and collaborative problem solvers — educated with a shared accountability for their growth and learning. No political agenda here, just sound educational practice for a better world.
John Shea, a Kittery, Maine resident and occasional contributor to these pages, is currently serving as the interim head of school of Cambridge Academy Ethiopia in Addis Ababa. This is the third in a series of commentaries.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Shea: In support of sound educational practice for a better world
