People and places
Different experiences leading international schools in China Barry Speirs answers questions about recent research by RSAcademics into international school leadership in China What did the research involve? We spoke with 20 people who have detailed experience of international schools in mainland China – ie schools which teach at least part of their curriculum in English. We visited current heads at their schools, as well as speaking with former school leaders, board members and recruiters. Why focus on China? We had heard how leadership challenges and short tenure of heads, which is a feature of many international schools, is an even greater issue in China. Also, nearly every week we hear of a new school setting up in China or a leadership vacancy Winter
Summer |
| 2018
there, and as we at RSAcademics are increasingly involved in helping schools find the right candidates, we wanted to better understand the environment, challenges and rewards of working in that country. What’s different about China? Most people we spoke to had led schools in different countries, but several described their experience in China as their most challenging or most different to previous experiences. Whilst every country has unique features, it would seem that China’s are particularly marked. Comments included:
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