Coming from a UK, inner-city state school to the international scene, I was already pretty used to a high turnover. Of staff, that is.

I was not quite as prepared for the transient nature of the international student cohort, though.

Although this may not apply to all international schools (particularly those comprised of local students), many will have student populations that are subject to a high turnover for a variety of reasons.

For teachers, this can be a unique challenge but there are ways in which we can help to lessen the learning impact that moving regularly between schools could otherwise have.

How to minimise the impact of pupils moving between schools

1. Find out about the new pupil’s background and interests

Are they a third-culture-kid? That is, a person who has spent a significant part of their childhood growing up in a culture different to that of their parents?

If so, which culture and country are they most familiar with? Is this their first international school? How long were they at their previous location before they moved here?

An onslaught of questions in the first lesson probably isn’t the best approach, but there are ways to initiate a dialogue to understand how their background may impact their identity in the classroom.

Furthermore, from a pastoral viewpoint, if a student struggles to make connections or invest in friendships when they know they are leaving in the next couple of years, it’s worth considering how that impacts their wellbeing and engagement.

In this situation, the most valuable conversations are with the parents and guardians. They tend to convey how movement has affected their child more accurately than previous school reports, and the consequent strategies to use or avoid.

2. Offer opportunities for pupils to become part of the school

Identifying pupils’ long-term goals and making it clear how we can support them on their journey to achieving these can help them make the most of the opportunities that exist - even if they’re only here for a short time.

If the school offers a diverse extracurricular programme or leadership roles for students, this can highlight a new chance for them to gain experience in an area that they haven’t previously been able to explore.

Equally, the student may be feeling overwhelmed by the changes or by a school culture that they’re not used to.

Helping them to join a club, programme or course they enjoyed in their previous schools can create a sense of continuity and consistency.

3. Making the learning transition smoother

We know that students in our classes will always be at different starting points with their prior learning and knowledge.

However, the diverse background of transient students means they may not share the same cultural capital or understanding as their more settled or permanent peers.

If the learning is going to be truly differentiated or personalised, we must choose texts, sources and topics that students of all experiences will be able to connect with.

Are the questions we use to engage students broad enough to encompass those whose identity may not be as “fixed” due to their transient background? Making the student feel welcome and connected - rather than different - is vital.

Expectations also need to be made very clear for students who have come from an educational environment that may have been very different to the school they’re transitioning to.

If their last school had a more flexible approach to deadlines or academic rigour, it is going to take time and patience to allow the student to adapt to new policies.

4. Preparing for gaps in their knowledge and skills

During the process of moving schools and even curricula, missing school time or key topics in subjects is almost inevitable. This is particularly true of students who join the classroom mid-year.

Fortunately, having already returned back to the classroom after a period of online learning, teachers are now proficient in consolidating certain areas of the curriculum into “essential” learning.

It’s not an easy “fix”, of course, and we can’t always make up for this lost time.

However, if the student is able to acknowledge the areas they need to work on, we can try to be more efficient in closing this “gap” for transient students who are trying to adapt to their new environment.

This works the other way around, too. Perhaps the student has already studied that Year 10 poetry cluster in depth, and now needs to be stretched and challenged further in the current teaching unit.

Maybe a more in-depth discussion needs to be had about the student’s future pathway if they’ve missed key topics earlier in curriculum.

Of course, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the unique challenge of teaching young people who move around a lot.

But, as educators, the key is to be aware of the issue and provide the necessary adaptations and support to help them continue to learn and feel settled as best as possible. 

Rebecca Markham is an English language and literature teacher at an international school in Vietnam. She has been teaching internationally for two years