Browsing by Subject "International School"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    An Analysis of Leadership Succession in International Schools: Novelty, Disruption, and a Path to Resolution
    (2018-06) Kokonas, Dean
    This research project is an exploratory multiple sample study of three European international schools and utilizes semi-structured interviews to gather data to better understand the phenomenon of leadership succession events at the director level of the organization. The succession of leadership is a significant event in the life of an international school and is viewed as a novel event with disruptive strength. As such, Event System Theory is used as the theoretical framework to view and analyze the event of leadership succession. The purpose of this study is to determine recurring themes influencing the process of leadership succession in international schools. The following research questions assist to focus the study: Q1. Within the boundaries of the three sample schools, what are the director and Board Chair person’s perceptions and understandings of planning and management for director leadership succession events? Q2. In what ways have past school leadership succession events been a disruptive influence in the life of the three sample schools, and what is the nature of the disruption? Q3. In what ways are sample schools actively engaged in strategic succession planning, and what elements of that strategy, if any, have been effective? From an analysis of data eight salient themes emerge: Certain change, Transition, Disruption, Strategic Succession Planning and Management, Internal Leadership Development, Necessary Conversations, Policymaking, and Deputy Director Appointment. Recommendations for practice are distilled from the analysis of data, which can help to moderate the disruptive effects of leadership succession for the benefit of the entire school community.
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    Factors Influencing Expatriate Teacher Engagement in K-12 International Schools in China
    (2019-07) Burnside, Peter
    The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence expatriate teacher engagement in K-12 international schools in China. Using an exploratory qualitative methodology, 23 teachers and 6 administrators at three different international schools in China were interviewed on site in focus groups and individual interviews. The following research questions guided the inquiry: 1. In what ways do expatriate international-school teachers and administrators describe teacher engagement? 2. In what ways do expatriate international-school teachers exhibit engagement? 3. What are the barriers to expatriate teacher engagement in K-12 international schools? 4. What are the drivers of expatriate teacher engagement in K-12 international schools? Key findings suggest that highly engaged teachers impact student learning directly through their interactions with students and continuous modification of instruction in response to student performance and learning needs. Teachers further support student learning through engagement with colleagues and with the profession. Supportive leadership, meaningful work, and supportive colleagues were seen as key drivers of teacher engagement. Teacher transience, overwhelm, cultural differences, and personal health or family issues were seen as barriers to teacher engagement. Implications for practice include guidelines for developing a school-level teacher-engagement strategy based on embedding key drivers of engagement into the culture of the school and using a transformational leadership approach and the Job-Demands Resources model at the organizational and individual level. The impact of teacher transience is an important area for future research as is expatriate teachers’ intercultural competence as international schools continue to grow and accommodate more host-country students.
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    Factors influencing the ways students develop intercultural sensitivity at an international school in China
    (2019-08) Hibbeln, Michael
    The purpose of this study was to examine high school teacher, parent, and student views of factors influencing the development of student intercultural sensitivity at an international school in China. Evidenced by the growth of K-12 international schools around the world, an intercultural education appears to be of value to an increasing number of families. Eleven teachers, 11 parents, and 16 students, for a total of 38 participants were interviewed, through seven structured focus group interviews and four individual follow-up interviews to explore themes related to this study’s four research questions. From this qualitative study, themes emerged indicating a unique set of both individual and institutional factors converging in schools that influence the development of student intercultural sensitivity. Teachers, parents and students indicate that intercultural sensitivity is developed through significant immersion experiences and interactions with others from different cultures. Individual factors influencing intercultural sensitivity are related to parents, contact with one’s home culture, diverse friends, motivation, family intercultural experiences, second language ability and student technology use. Institutional factors influencing student intercultural sensitivity are organizational policies, natural unforced activities such as co-curricular activities, school community events, a diverse teaching staff, and student body, contact with host culture through class trips, the International Baccalaureate framework, and language classes. Findings lend support to Bennett’s (1993) Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) and that an international school environment fosters the development of intercultural sensitivity.