International schools: An Enlish language education anywhere in the world

Childhood Education, 2002 by Brewster, Jeffrey C

The late-August sunshine filters through the oak and beech trees on the campus. It is the first day of school at the International School of Brussels (ISB), where Filippo is about to start 1st grade. While it is his first day at ISB, it is certainly not his first day of school. Filippo attended kindergarten in Chicago and preschool for two years in Tokyo. Now, his father's diplomatic career has brought the family to Brussels.

The doors of the four 1st-grade classrooms have brightly colored signs displaying the students' names. Filippo joins the other eager 6-year-olds searching for their names. The parents also scan the lists of names, marveling at the diversity: Ana, Angelina, Ashoka, Cankut, Claire, Deirdre, Filippo, Hagar, Hak Hyun, Ines, Jarrah, Maya, Moustafa, Peter, Petra, Rigzin, Yarden, Yuka, Zachery.

While the teachers' names (which are also posted) are not as recognizably diverse, the four 1st-grade teachers do come from four different countriesGreat Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United States. They represent four very different training experiences, educational philosophies, and approaches to working with students and families. The tremendous diversity in cultural backgrounds of these 80 students and four teachers helps one understand why the Director of Admissions often comments that "ISB is really a mini-United Nations."

Filippo and his classmates represent 15 different nationalities in a classroom of twenty lst-graders. While such diversity may be found in many schools throughout the world today (Rodd, 1996), one unique characteristic of this international school group is that only Angelina, just one child out of 20, is attending school in her home country. The other 19 children and their families have relocated to Brussels for various reasons. For many of these 1st-- graders this is their first move away from their home country; for Claire, Deirdre, Maya, and Rigzin, however, this move to Brussels is their second move since birth. For Filippo and Yarden, it is their third.

How did these children arrive at this Ist-grade classroom on this August morning? While the individual stories are as varied as the names on the classroom list, they almost all share the experience of living for an extended time away from their home country. In addition, their parents wish to provide their children with an English-language education, despite the fact that only half of the families speak English as their first language.

In 1924, the first international school was established in Geneva, Switzerland, providing an English-language education for the children of diplomats and business people. Shortly after that, an international school opened in Yokohama, Japan (Hayden & Thompson, 2000). In 1965, the European Council of International Schools (ECIS) was founded; its primary mission was the advancement of internationalism through education and the provision of services to its members. While essentially a service organization, ECIS provides assistance where needed in a variety of ways, including school accreditation, teacher and executive recruitment, professional development for teachers and administrators, fellowships in international education, and specialized publications, including International Schools Journal. ECIS, a not-for-profit membership organization, is the largest association of international schools and serves the interests of more than 300,000 students and their families worldwide (ECIS Directory, 1999).

Today there are over 500 international schools throughout the world (ECIS Directory, 1999). The students are children of diplomats and business families. The schools also serve children of some local nationals who simply prefer the international school environment. While the largest groups of students are American and British, a wide range of national, cultural, religious, and linguistic backgrounds can be found in international schools.

Although the following statement of educational philosophy is taken from the strategic plan of the ISB, the stated goals are very similar to those of other international schools:

Our school focuses on educational excellence while fostering the development of the whole person. We encourage each student to develop the ability to think critically, creatively and independently, and to attain his or her academic and personal potential. We encourage the involvement and cooperation of parents in school life. Our larger purpose is to equip students to lead constructive and fulfilling lives, to appreciate and respect a diverse range of cultures, and to have a sense of service and responsibility toward the world community. (ISB, 1997, p. 3)

International schools share a commitment to academic excellence and to preparing students to be global citizens who are knowledgeable about and respectful of the beliefs and values of their own and other cultures, and who are willing and able to embrace a wide range of perspectives. Still, it must be emphasized that international schools are at least as diverse as they are similar. The following points highlight some of the factors that contribute to the personality of an individual international school: