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International schools ‘moving towards inclusion’, Richard Gaskell
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
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-
selective to varying degrees. Over 80% of the schools said they are currently supporting students with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, ADHD, as well as highly capable students. 75.5% are supporting students who are high functioning on the autistic spectrum. The percentages dropped dramatically for supporting students with intensive needs. 9% said they accept a managed number of children with learning differences who include some with intensive needs. Often children with intensive needs follow a modified curriculum and may be placed in ‘a school within the school’, following an alternative pathway to graduation.
Integration within the mainstream classroom varies significantly. 35% of schools participating in the survey said they follow an inclusive approach whenever they can. 25% said they use a learning specialist as a consultant, while 10% said they use a learning specialist to co-plan, co-teach and co-assess alongside the mainstream teacher (known as a ‘push-in’ model). 44% said they use both push-in and pull-out (resource room) models. Only 5% of schools reported that the pull-out model was the main learning approach employed. However, through its work with educators, NFI has found there remains considerable confusion in international schools regarding the relative merits and weaknesses of different models of provision, suggesting more understanding of appropriate provision needs to be developed.
What is evident from the survey is that most international schools are uncomfortable with an exclusionary attitude towards children with special learning needs. However, skilled staff are often lacking. Only 33% of schools in the study said that staff working with students with learning differences are entirely qualified special educators. 21.5% said staff are mostly qualified, 39% said some are qualified, and 14% said they have no specialists to support children with learning differences.
Challenging questions for some schools
The research highlighted an issue that some schools may wish to address. 84% of the international schools responding to the survey said they enrol children with special gifts and talents, but only 35% of the schools said they are satisfied with their provision for this group of students. “There is a disconnect here”, says Ochan Powell, NFI Design Team member. “Many times, school leaders use finances as a reason to exclude children with special educational needs. They’ll say: ‘we don’t have the programme for you, so it would be wrong for us to take you into our school’. But on the flip side of this, some of these schools are accepting children with high academic gifts and talents, even though they admit they are not happy with the provision they provide. That’s a significant ethical consideration that this survey has highlighted”, she adds. In response to this misalignment, NFI will be putting together a task force to propose standards for meeting the needs of highly capable students in international schools.
Other conclusions from the survey suggest an attitudinal shift away from elitist and non-inclusionary language and policies, although many schools indicate they are insecure about how to change. “There’s a greater willingness towards inclusion, but there’s also some scratching of heads about what to do, and a fear about getting it wrong”, says Ochan. Anecdotal evidence gathered within the survey suggests the market is moving towards being more inclusive. Looking to the future, analysis of this annual survey will help to identify trends and provide the data that international schools need in order to know how the market is responding to requirements of all students.
A full electronic report of the survey is available free of charge from ISC Research, via Liz Dixon (ld@isc-r.com).
