Research Papers

Students in Asia experience a unique set of academic challenges that heighten stress levels and have known implications on rates of youth depression and suicide. Changing political situations are also increasingly encroaching and applying pressure to educational systems and national curriculum which is clearly illustrated by tension and unrest in Hong Kong. Policy makers and politicians are challenged to make 'smart decisions' with student outcomes and wellbeing at the core of current and future policy changes. 

The following papers explore the many and varied challenges experienced by educational systems in Asia and make reasoned proposals and solutions to inherent issues where appropriate.

International schools operate as a specialty educational niche, though questions regarding whether collections of schools should be referred to as a ‘sector,’ ‘network’ or ‘industry’ remains a contentious topic. Despite a growing body of empirical research in this space, there lacks a universal consensus on ‘what is an international school?’ and ‘what is an international education?’ These questions have proven difficult, as any school can simply adopt the title ‘international school’ with the absence of specified criteria and conversely, an international education is certainly not restricted to just international schools.

The following papers examine the international school sector critically; probing and discussing and searching for evidence to substantiate their organisational claims and acceptance as elite educational institutions. Specifically I investigate quality assurance and the importance of accreditation, whether or not international schools are best placed to foster global citizens and unique organisational and leadership challenges.

My favourite paper explores the relationship between poor international school leaders and high turnover of faculty which negatively affect students’ learning outcomes, tarnishes a school’s reputation and disrupts the facilitation of school programs.

Leadership in international schools is dynamic and distinct from other leadership roles due to multiple layers of complexity. Based in countries with different cultures, languages and with distinct socio-political and cultural nuances, leaders traverse unseen challenges driven by politics, culture and ego in an effort to balance: parental expectations, transience of staff and students and the influence of the school board. Leaders clearly have significant difficulty handling the complexities which exist in this sector as indicated by the average tenure of only 3.7 years and where 80% of a leader’s contract is often terminated.

The following papers explore approaches to international school leadership, successful leadership models and the prevalence of destructive/dark leadership within the sector.

Academics and commentators argue that simply using technology by itself is no guarantee of learning, though if used properly, can enhance and transform the classroom and student outcomes, equipping them with the tools they need for the future. The integration and use of digital technologies opens up immense opportunities for both teachers and students as it allows the teacher to act as facilitator rather than a fount of knowledge and enables student-centered learning to take place, assisting students to deepen their knowledge of the past and present world by applying disciplinary real world skills. However, when integrating digital technology in the classroom it is vital that pedagogy and technology work in unison to achieve the desired outcomes for students.

The teaching of history has continued to evolve over time as the world has slowly moved away from history as the promotion of single national narratives to provide unity and solidarity amongst individual communities. With the rise of globalisation, internationalisation and emerging voices to contest history, these new perspectives have offered a way forward in terms of how history education should be considered in the 21st century. For students to be inquirers of history, investigators of the past and ultimately historians who view the evidence with a critically informed eye aware of the multiple perspectives in the field, then they must be taught by teachers who are trained specifically within the discipline of history teaching. As such, curriculum should not only adapt to this need, but time also needs to be provided to teachers to be adequately trained to facilitate historical thinking and a disciplinary based pedagogical approach within the history classroom. In moving away from the master narratives and relationship with nationalism, history teaching is challenged and provided with a timely opportunity to learn and understand all the voices which have been historically silenced or marginalised so that students develop into critically aware, empathetic global citizens.