What Do You Mean When You Say Your School Is An International School?

by Karen A Wrobbel, EdD
In global education, it is common for schools to call themselves “international” – either in their name, such as “International Christian School of CityName,” or in their description, such as “XXX Academy is an international Christian school.” However, the term “international” can have different meanings to different people, so it is important for school leaders to be clear about the way(s) in which their school is “international.” 

What makes a school international? Schools base their “international” name on various factors, though it is usually one or more of the following:

• The students come from many nations, including the host country. For example, Vienna Christian School’s website reports that their students come from 65 countries.[1]
• The students come from locations other than the host country. In some cases, government regulations restrict “international” schools to admission of only expatriates.
• The teachers come primarily from locations other than the host country, and/or hail from many different nations. Carachipampa Christian School (Bolivia)[2] has staff from “various nationalities” including Canada, Bolivia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
• The location is “international” relative to the school’s owners/operators, but follows a curriculum based on a country, often the U.S., that is not the host nation.  Examples include the International Christian School of Lima, which says that it offers an American curriculum[3] and Evangelical Christian Academy (Spain), which says instruction is based in American system.[4]
• The school is intentionally international in its focus. This is what some of the early leaders in international schooling had in mind, when they identified international education as an education that helps students understand our common heritage as humans and our interdependence in the contemporary world.[5]

If your school calls itself “international,” you should be able to define and describe the way(s) in which the school is and is not “international,” so that parents can understand and have appropriate expectations about the international education their student will receive at the school. 

[1] https://www.icsv.at/about-us/welcome

[2] https://www.carachipampa.org/index.php/teacher-staff-needs/

[3] https://icslima.org/

[4] https://new.ecaspain.com/about-us/

[5] “Course for Teachers Interested in International Education,” 1956, 22. Cited in Ian Hill, “History of International Education,” In International Education in Practice: dimensions for National and International Schools, edited by Hayden et all. London: Routledge, 2002.