In Mongolia, where we at the British School of Ulaanbaatar (BSU) are privileged to be based, there is widespread concern about the standards of teaching and learning English in national schools.
Specifically, officials in Mongolia are worried that commonly used methods of teaching are didactic and outdated.
For example, within Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, the average level of competence among teachers of English is A2-B1 level, with a drop in more remote locations. There is also a difference in the quality of provision between fee-paying and national schools.
As a result, children are not learning the English skills that they themselves, their teachers and the government hope to see, and, given the direct link between high-quality English and job opportunities both at home and aboard, the problem is viewed as a national crisis.
So, improving the quality of spoken and written English is a significant development goal for the nation and was a key manifesto promise from the current government.
As an international school in Mongolia, we are keen to challenge the perception that we exist in a silo and work apart from our local community.
We have done so by developing and delivering a pedagogical training programme for local teachers working in the state education system.
International school support for the local community
This wasn’t something that happened overnight. It required work to cultivate an improved relationship between ourselves and the Ministry of Education and Science and the Mongolian Institute of Education and Training.
We received direct support from the British Embassy here in Ulaanbaatar, and worked hard to be active in the community.
From helping national firefighters put out a fire in a nature reserve behind our school to fundraising and making donations to support volunteers fighting Covid-19, we were able to develop a strong perception that we were a trusted partner and open to approaches to work together.
As such, when the desire to improve the teaching and learning of English rose up the political agenda, and given the fact that BSU employs more British nationals than any other organisation in the country, connecting our staff with teachers across Mongolia seemed like a natural fit.
Conversations between the Ministry of Education and myself took place soon thereafter, and we identified a range of areas where the school might work in support of state education.
These included supporting teachers and school leaders directly to find ways to reduce their school’s carbon footprint as a template for use by state schools around the country.
Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in early 2022, a pilot pedagogical training programme was launched with four trainees and five practising teachers from local universities and schools.
These participants were provided with eight hours of training per week over two months, physically attending training for three days (two hours on two working days and four hours on a weekend) on the school campus in order to see practice with several international teachers.
Training sessions were linked to specific techniques, which teachers attempted to use themselves with their own students in their schools of employment or training practice schools.
The students were overwhelmingly positive regarding their participation in the course, and mutual support networks were created between peers and trainers that still persist long after the course ended.
Developing provision
In response to feedback from participants, we enhanced the training programme, registering it as the school’s intellectual property, following review and endorsement by the institute. Starting now, two groups of 30 participant teachers will be trained per cohort over three months.
Participants now have more time at BSU, collaborating with our staff and with direct opportunities to try new ideas in their own classrooms without overly long breaks.
Adaptions to their own classroom practice in their own schools will be reviewed directly by trainers.
With 60 students receiving training every four months and the programme planned to run for three years, it is anticipated that this programme will provide direct support to 30 per cent of the teachers currently working across Mongolia by 2026.
Should the review planned for later in 2023 be successful, the programme will be expanded to include teachers of maths and natural sciences, with a reduced focus on English and increased emphasis on subject-specific pedagogical techniques.
Measuring impact
The impact to Mongolia’s national school system will be measured by improved standards of English for teachers and students, greater social mobility, improvement of Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) scores in the future and widening access to educational and employment opportunities for children.
We also hope the training will contribute to greater stability of teachers in the national system.
This project was not entirely altruistic on our part, as both the school and staff were paid for the use of our time and resources, not least because during the pandemic it became clear that non-tuition fee income streams must be developed to ensure the ongoing health and stability of our schools.
We hope the programme can be expanded further to include training for middle leaders and research into leadership models in the future.
More broadly, though, we hope that by following or adapting this example, international schools can see how they can embed themselves further into their local communities and provide meaningful benefits and experiences for students, colleagues and educators in their locations.
By doing so, schools will support and build networks that foster collaboration, community integration and trust wherever they are in the world.
Jonathan Warner is the head master at the British School of Ulaanbaatar
