Beliefs and Collective Thought: Aligning the National with the International Curricula: The Indian E

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Beliefs and Collective Thought Aligning the
National with the International Curricula The
Indian Experience 21st IBAP International
Conference, Hanoi - Vietnam, October 2006

• P.Swarnalatha
• Dhirubhai Ambani International School
• Mumbai, India

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Globalization and the internationalization of
education Concerns regarding implanting of
international education into national systems Do
host country nationals impede international
education in international schools?
Indian experience of International Schools
necessity of co-opting both National and
International Curricula strands?
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• Objectives of the study
• explore issues and challenges encountered by
  emerging IB schools in India in conceptualizing
  and conditioning curricula for transmission of
  universal values and beliefs
• Understand fashioning of curricula that aim to
  position the school into the fold of
  international schools

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• Concept of international education perspectives
  and debates
• internationalism and international mindedness
• pragmatic globalist international education

• Balanced curriculum and internationalism
• Curriculum and thought collectives

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The Indian experience with international
education
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Need to understand meaning and nature of concepts
- internationalism and values (as perceived by
students, teachers, parents, and school
administrators)In India multicultural student
bodies are rarely found schools ambience is
conditioned by the presence of host country / one
country nationals.
How do students and teachers in Dhirubhai Ambani
International School perceive international
education?
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• Research Method and tools
• Sample survey teachers and administrators (29),
  and secondary school students (34)
• Questionnaire semantic-differential type scale
  Mary Hayden, Jeff Thomson, and Geraint Williams
  (2003)
• Items seeking views on global awareness, values,
  and pedagogies and methods related to delivery of
  curricula in the classroom
• Respondents asked to comment on each item on a
  five - point scale of importance ranging from not
  important to extremely important, or to rank
  items on a particular theme

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• Important findings and conclusions
• GLOBAL AWARENESS
• Human rights, sustainable development, social
  justice, and diversity accorded more importance
• Concepts of interdependence, and conflict
  resolution received little attention from students

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• Important findings and conclusions (contd.)
• 2. VALUES
• Sense of responsibility quite important
• Sense of spirituality least response
• Individualistic responses, no significant trend
  on other values sense of achievement, sense of
  independence and freedom, sense of belonging and
  identity, sense of usefulness to community,
  cooperation and team work
• Students more in favour of critical pedagogical
  approaches than teachers

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• Important findings and conclusions (contd.)
• 3. INTERNATIONALISM PEDAGOGIES AND METHODS
  RELATED TO DELIVERY OF CURRICULA IN THE CLASSROOM
• Multicultural faculty Both students as well as
  teachers recognized the importance
• Role of Language Important to learn a non-native
  language but constraints in learning subjects in
  a different language (non-English)

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• Important findings and conclusions (contd.)
• 3. INTERNATIONALISM (contd.)
• Globalist Education responses indicate
  commodification of education dictated by ongoing
  processes of globalization, and a pragmatic
  attitude towards education.
• Thought Collectives Catalyst for
  Internationalism
• thought collectives imbibed through formal
  curriculum as a powerful force towards developing
  sense of internationalism

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• Important findings and conclusions (contd.)
• 3. INTERNATIONALISM (contd.)
• Items related to learning beyond boundaries of
  national culture are as significant aspects of
  education in an international school by students
• Role of Critical Pedagogies construction of
  knowledge from a critical perspective - Theory of
  Knowledge and Extended Essays seen as very
  important

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• Important findings and conclusions (contd.)
• 3. INTERNATIONALISM (contd.)
• Value of Diversity given much weightage by
  teachers and students
• Balanced curriculum critical pedagogies and
  approaches considered very crucial in promotion
  of international mindedness
• more than 50 gave highest importance to school
  curriculum aiming at integrating the school
  vertically in subject areas, and horizontal
  integration aiming at interdisciplinary approaches

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• Conclusions
• internationalism increasingly recognized and
  embedded into the national system
• reinforcement and resilience of enduring values
  through thought collectives and beliefs in the
  classroom
• more powerful approach for appreciation and
  assimilation of universal values and traditions

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• Conclusions (Contd.)
• Despite fears of commodification, international
  education offers opportunities to incorporate
  concerns regarding womens equality, empowerment
  and social justice within the educational system