1. Schools charge fees and often are run for profit
Most international schools are not owned by the state; they are independent institutions that charge fees. Although there are a small number of older schools that operate on a not-for-profit basis, almost all of the schools established in the past 20 years were set up for-profit.
This means that they have owners who control spending on resources and have varying degrees of influence on how the school is run. Another consequence is that parents tend to complain more because they see themselves as paying for a service.
2. There is a different regulatory framework
Governments around the world set the regulatory framework and inspection regime for their country. This means that, even if a school is following a "British curriculum", there may be other aspects that are required to be taught.
For example, in China, it is mandatory to teach Mandarin and in the UAE it is mandatory to teach Arabic, Islamic education and moral education. There is a huge variety of practice when it comes to oversight, ranging from annual Ofsted-style inspections in Dubai, to no compulsory inspections at all in Hong Kong.
3. Schools tend to be new
There has been an explosion in English-medium international schools over the past 20 years (from 2,584 in 2000 to 10,400 in 2019), and these tend to be new, with up-to-date facilities and greater access to technology.
In their initial growth period, they are usually operating below full capacity, giving a sense of space and being over-resourced. It can be very exciting to be part of a founding school’s journey as it is a real opportunity to shape its future direction.
4. Random holidays
One of the quirks of working in an international school is that there are quite regular, seemingly random holidays that fall during term time. Religious holidays tend to move around because many of them are based on a lunar calendar, so no two years are the same.
In addition, there are often a number of national holidays marking the founding of the nation or its independence. My particular favourite was Flag Day in the UAE.
These can bring both a welcome break and be hugely disruptive to the curriculum. At times these holidays clash with key points in the UK schools year (such as when the 5-day Eid break coincided with UK GCSE examinations) necessitating key staff to go above and beyond and forgo their time off, but for most staff they are a very welcome bonus.
5. A variety of cultural backgrounds and more EFL
It is not surprising that the pupils in international schools tend to come from a broad range of cultural backgrounds: it is not uncommon for schools to have a student population with passports from more than 80 countries.
However, what struck me going abroad for the first time was the complexity of some of the pupils’ backgrounds (Kuwaiti-Romanian, for example, or Thai-Swedish). This cultural, ethnic and religious diversity brings with it not only a richness of experience but also challenges.
One important consideration is that the range of linguistic diversity can mean that a significant proportion in a given class are operating their second, third or even fourth language.
6. High pupil and staff turnover
International schools typically experience a relatively high level of pupil and staff turnover, as fixed contracts come to an end and families move to the next posting or back to the UK.
There can also be significant movement of pupils between schools within the same city as pupils and teachers move either opt for a "more prestigious" school or look for a better financial deal.
7. Younger staff
Staff in international schools tend to be younger than in the UK, with the "centre of gravity" being somewhere in the early to mid-thirties. There are two factors that drive this.
First, many teachers take the opportunity to travel and work abroad before they settle and have families; and, secondly, a large proportion of international schools are relatively new and therefore haven’t yet had the opportunity to grow into being a more senior staff room.
8. You're a long way from home
The teaching staff is predominantly made up of expats. A community made up of people living away from their home countries can bring emotional challenges. It simply isn’t possible to have the same level of regular face-to-face contact and Skype is, at best, a poor substitute.
The most difficult aspect of being a long way from home is that there are times when expats miss out on key events in the lives of their family and friends such as weddings, christenings and even funerals.
9. Limited supply teachers
Most countries do not have supply agencies, so schools must make their own arrangements to cover staff absence. Most schools will have lists of people on whom they can call, but, in many cases, teachers will have to rally round by merging classes or providing cover during their non-contact time.
10. Interesting local challenges
Internationals schools certainly do the weather differently, be it avalanche warnings in Switzerland, rain days in Dubai, or typhoon warnings in Hong Kong. In a similar vein, crisis management goes way beyond the termly fire drill – with staff practising lockdown and bomb evacuation procedures, not to mention measures to protect children from kidnapping attempts.
Mark S Steed is the Principal and CEO of Kellett School, the British School in Hong Kong; he previously ran schools in Devon, Hertfordshire and Dubai. He tweets at @independenthead
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