Curriculum, learning and teaching
International schools ‘moving towards inclusion’ Richard Gaskell looks at trends across the sector An increasing number of international schools are embracing the opportunities and the challenges of inclusion, according to a survey conducted in January 2016 by ISC Research (ISC) in collaboration with Next Frontier Inclusion (NFI). Since that research, the international school community has been devastated by news of the death of NFI Co-Founder and Design Team member, Bill Powell. As well as serving as a respected international school educator for over thirty years, Bill was passionate about his work with NFI; an initiative that he and his wife Ochan established together with Kevin Bartlett and Kristen Pelletier to promote and support the inclusion of children with special educational needs within international schools. The survey was the first of what will be an annual study of the market into the approaches that international schools are taking regarding inclusion. Future surveys will be dedicated to the memory of Bill. Over time, as trends can be identified, the research will hope to show the continued progress that international schools are making towards inclusion. Today’s international schools market responds to the learning needs of children from both expatriate and local families, and both sectors are driving the demand for
Autumn
Spring |
| 2017
provision for students with special learning needs. As legislation supporting inclusion in schools is being implemented in countries including the UK, US and Australia, so expatriate parents are expecting similar provision from international schools. Local families who are unable to access specialist support in their state schools are increasingly turning to international schools for the solutions they need. It is as a result of these demands that a growing number of international schools are becoming more inclusive. The initial survey collected responses from 584 international schools about their approaches to inclusion and their provision for children with learning differences. The research represented international schools of varying sizes based in all regions of the world, and the results of the survey suggest many international schools are addressing inclusion to some extent. The initial findings Although a third of the schools that responded to the research classify themselves as selective (27% based on testing and previous school records) and 6% as highly selective, the remaining schools consider themselves non-
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