The Heads' Viewpoint

Paul Mclean, Principal of the American International School, Salzburg

“International schools, by their very nature and the make-up of their student body, do not necessarily fit the classic example of educational institutions which serve the purposes and needs of a local community. As such, international schools are presented with a dilemma which must, to a greater or lesser degree, be resolved.

“Simply stated, the international school must identify appropriate societal needs given the fundamental fact the ‘society’ in question is the world community in its diversity of beliefs, economic inequities, and political systems. International schools are forced, then, to consider the needs of students and parents in the sense that they are world citizens.

“Although a difficult task, I believe that it is not impossible. As a suggestion, it is my belief that international schools must concentrate on those qualities, aptitudes and abilities which are required of successful and gratifying participation in a world of growing interconnectedness. As a start, this means encouraging the skills of attention and care and their prerequisites, self-control and self-discipline. Only careful attentiveness and concern for the issues facing all human beings can increase the likelihood of success and happiness regardless of our occupation, location or nationality. Secondly, international schools must seek to engage students in meaningful evaluation of the growing mass of expert opinion. Given the growth and availability of expertise made available to an ever increasing world population through modern communications technology, it is essential that students can be equipped with a ‘critical aptitude’. This is to say that the international student must be engaged in a meaningful moral discourse concerning the direction of human progress.

“I would also suggest that the international school must focus student attention and direct student interest toward the responsibilities required of a concept world citizenship which stresses the interdependencies of communities and individuals. World citizens must learn not only to nurture themselves, but also the world around them. Lastly the common virtues of humanity, essential to establishing good families, institutions and governments must be stressed in the international schools. These, in my opinion, would include generativity (care for those things in which we have been entrusted), a desire to be just and a growing capacity for acting justly, a moral stance which discourages privilege and the exercise of arbitrary power, the resolution and valor to resist tyranny and oppression, and the patience, tolerance, and kindness to successfully carry out negotiation, argumentation  and reconciliation.”

M J Cooper, Principal, The British School of The Netherlands

“As Europe becomes more closely integrated and the global economy becomes more wide ranging and bouyant, exciting employment opportunities for young people will appear as we approach the 21st century. Schools today must address this challenge by providing their students with more than just a purely academic education. Tomorrow’s entrepreneurs will need exceptional interpersonal skills to relate to others and to work successfully within a mobile and multi-cultural society.

“International schools throughout the world have recognised this requirement and are already preparing their students for success in the global marketplace. These students will have an ability to work professionally in more than one language and will be trained to understand cultural differences, having studied alongside friends from many different countries. These confident, motivated and culturally aware students follow an English language based curriculum (American or British) in the major subject areas of mathematics, the sciences, technology, geography, modern languages, art, music and sport, which are already international in approach. History, often taught previously from a nationalistic perspective, now has an international dimension and covers worldwide history. This gives students an understanding of world events from a global veiwpoint.

“The most important requirement for an expatriate family is that their children are able to transfer smoothly to a new location, maintaining an uninterrupted education. International schools throughout Europe and the world provide this needed facility as well as the opportunity to pass examinations which qualify them for entrance in to university in the country of their choice. The education offered by today’s international schools may well need to become the norm, as other schools realise they have to provide their students with the extra skills they need in order to prosper in the 21st century.”

Sr Rosaleen Sheridan RSHM, Principal, Marymount International School, London

“Recently there has been much talk of the need to bring back the teaching of ‘values’: a clear indication that, in their pressing concern with results and league tables, many schools pay only lip-service to the idea of education as a process nurturing the development of the whole person: morally and emotionally, as well as physically and intellectually.

“But education, if it’s to be worthy of the name, must focus on drawing out each individual’s special qualities, in an enriching awareness of the gifts of others. Appreciation of diversity - of personal uniqueness as well as cultural distinctiveness - lies at the heart of ‘learning for life’, especially in the ‘global village’ of the dawning 21st century.

“What’s needed now is not any regimentation of today’s young people, but rather a formal integration (ie  at curriculum level) of the spiritual and academic dimensions. Indeed, a growing number of international schools have adopted such innovative structured approaches to balanced growth as the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (an ideal preparation for the IB Diploma Programme, long recognised worldwide for university entrance).

“True multiculturalism - the key to  personal success as well as to social harmony in tomorrow’s world - implies a totality of acceptance and respect, a milieu in which, acknowledging the rootedness of each and the humanity of all, the young of many nations and cultures can grow up to face the twin challenges of freedom and responsibility: a process which must be lived, not merely studied, in order to be learnt. Making that happen on a daily basis, is the genuinely international school’s raison dêtre, its living principle.”

Gareth Jones, Headmaster, International School of Paris

“International education is currently a growth industry. Some of the reasons for this are more obvious than others.

“With the world shrinking and more mobility being asked of executives, it is no accident that the 1980s and 1990s have seen the founding and development of international schools all over the world. Partly because of this and also current fashion, fewer parents are prepared to leave their children behind at boarding schools in their own country, and prefer to offer them a different and very enriching international experience.

“International schools and especially the International Baccalaureate Organisation have recognised this potential not only by continuing to develop the IB, but also by becoming involved in the Middle Years and even Primary School programmes in an attempt to view an international education as a coherent from six to 18 years old.

“If the world is to become a more harmonious and safer place to live in, it seems that the only path to lasting success is through the education of our young people to become citizens of the world, rather than simply nationals of one country.”

Mrs Joyce Grimley, Headmistress, The Junior School, Nicosia, Cyprus

“International schools have an added responsibility to that of educating children in that they contribute to children’s understanding of the interaction of nations. Through learning and playing with children from diverse cultures they learn tolerance of their customs and mores, which eventually must lead to a more in-depth appreciation of others’ needs when, later, as adults these children take on responsibilities in their working lives. I would like to see the development of teacher training with these aims in mind. We need TEFL Primary teachers (since English is the recognised international commercial and diplomatic language) and resources to support their teaching. More material and resources based on moral and spiritual development would be welcomed, especially in view of the difficulties encountered in teaching RE.

“Finally, a centre for international in-service training would be well received which existing teachers abroad could attend during holidays, or from which we could select suitably trained lecturers and invite them to our schools.”

Published in Guide to International Schools 1999

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