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Educational and economic principles, rather than political pressures or idealism drive multiculturalism in international schools. Schools must cater to their client base and effective education and healthy child development demands an environment that can accommodate a diverse and varying cultural population. Administrators and their teams have the job of developing and implementing policy, balancing the needs and demands of a variety of groups and maintaining a positive school atmosphere.
Most international schools have scores of nationalities and the cultural composition tends to be in a constant state of flux. International schools must respond to their multicultural student bodies in a different way to schools in 'home countries' where the majority culture is reflected in schools and where the cultural composition is limited and stable. How can administrators set standards and effectively govern a school with a culturally varied student and parent community and a faculty typically encompassing a number of different nationalities including members of the host community? Should they insist on adherence to the cultural norm for their own culture and if so, how can they communicate this effectively to students and parents? What educational options are available which allow equal participation in an environment with so many cultures? Where students' cultural standards are very different, how can students and parents be encouraged to support school philosophy, teaching methods and activities? Administrators are faced with a variety of cross-cultural situations which demand reactions that take into account both the school philosophy and sets of conflicting values or beliefs. Cultural differences manifest in mundane day-to-day issues such as how to deal with cheating when 30% of the student body considers it acceptable for instance or in fundamental values that run deep. Will the upcoming play offend religious sentiments? How can they react to international events when students and parents represent warring nations? Administrators must be prepared to develop acceptable synergies, communicate a set of (not always explicit) values and creating a system as fair to all parties as possible.
Administrators face cross-cultural situations not encountered by the rest of the faculty, for instance, political issues relating to local and school communities and various authorities. They must negotiate sets of values, beliefs and behaviors with members of the host community, schools boards, faculty, parents and students. Typically they also find themselves mediating cross-cultural conflicts in all these areas. Administrators set the example for faculty. Their sensitivity to cultural issues and their judgement in dealing with the issues which inevitably arise in an international school that provide guidelines for teachers and students.
International schools function as communities far more than schools in home countries. Boarding schools must be a 'home away from home' for their students while local international schools are often a focus for the whole family. Expatriate students are frequently unable to participate fully in the local community and the school becomes the focus for leisure time as well as school time. Parents too, find opportunities in the school for making friends and using experience and energy in meaningful ways. Well-functioning communities are the result of a complex interplay of administrations, faculty, parents, inter-school and host community contacts. Administrators most frequently function in a coordinating role. More information can be found under Community Building.
Many students in international schools come from cultural and educational backgrounds that are unfamiliar to administrators. To be able to assess students' educational level, assist integration and predict potential challenges, administrators need background information. Information packages on various schools provide the following information. These modules are offered as information packages.
At this point information can be offered for the following countries: Russia, Japan, Austria, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.
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A - Identifying cultural norms What are the philosophical, educational and social norms in the school? What expectations are explicit or assumed? What are the options in terms of adapting these to the intercultural environment or how can they be more effectively communicated? B - Communicating school norms Children are very sensitive to new norms and often adapt readily to new expectations. However, not all children are equally adept and many differences will not be apparent to students. Administrators must guide the school community in developing norms, for instance in presentation of materials or attitudes to cheating and encourage teachers to communicate these effectively as well as picking up miscommunications. Equally many parents will not understand the school system and underlying philosophies. Miscommunication and conflict can be avoided if these are effectively communicated. Lines of effective cross-cultural communication are discussed and action plans developed. C - Encouraging biculturality Not every aspect of a school can be made acceptable to every participant culture. Children's success depends on the ability of the school to make the environment equitable and comfortable for all students but also on students' ability to become bicultural. Schools can do a great deal to encourage healthy and balanced biculturality. In this session the components of healthy biculturality are discussed and practical measures for encouraging bicultural development within the structure of the international school.
A - Cultural knowledge for leaders. Cultural differences affect power structures, hierarchies and interactions, styles of negotiation and communication. Administrators in their various functions, face a variety of situations that resemble, but are not identical with, business situations. To interact effectively with parents, other-cultural faculty, board and expatriate community members as well as host culture members, administrators require knowledge of cultural differences in these areas. B - Cross-cultural Negotiation and Mediation Administrators must frequently negotiate cross-cultural differences and mediate differences, often on various levels simultaneously. Not only must they promote synergies between their own culture and other specific cultures, for instance but also between all these cultures, as students, faculty members and parents interact with each other. This requires both general cross-cultural skills and a high level of sensitivity but also very specific skills relating to cross-cultural negotiation and mediation. C - Developing intercultural skills Administrators set the example for faculty. Their sensitivity to cultural issues and their judgement in dealing with the issues which inevitably arise in an international school that provide guidelines for teachers and students. sensitivity, self-knowledge. This module involves primarily experiential and open-ended learning. |
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