An international school truly by the name signifies a school meant for children who may, not be in their host country or children who would like to have an exposure to a diverse international curriculum with practical based learning. Such schools also do not stress upon children learning the local language.
International schools are thus very popular among parents whose children are constantly on the move, for example children of parents working for multinational organizations, top management personnel’s, NGO’s, embassy staff etc. Although the popularity and need of such schools evolved through the above criteria, however International schools are not restricted to these sectors only. Now-a-days, with rising demands in the corporate sector, more and more students aspire to get admissions into foreign universities. Education methodology in a truly international school also increases higher education prospects as well as employment chances in foreign countries. The trend today shows that international schools in India are also becoming very popular with local residents as it gives children an opportunity to improve their language skills.
Early international schools in many countries were established by expatriates who found themselves working in various parts of the world, bringing with them children who needed to receive education that would suit their overall progress. The early international schools were set up with the help of nations having large interests in the host countries. Some of the earliest international schools were founded in the second half of 19th century. Countries like Japan, Switzerland, Turkey and UK were the pioneers in establishing international schools and curriculums.
The curriculum of most international schools is based on the country of origin and set criteria’s by the governing organization. Most of the top class international schools are accredited to reputed learning institutes either in U.S. or U.K. or Switzerland. Many international schools use curricula especially designed for international schools such as International General Certificate of Secondary Education or the International Baccalaureate, (IB) Diploma Programme and other country specific baccalaureates. The faculties at International school are usually certified by standards of their origin country. The faculties in these schools have an extra edge over the teachers of state curriculum schools as they have a larger exposure and advanced degree. However, there are always exceptions. The most common exception being that, an International School requires a teacher specifically trained for an International syllabus or for teaching a foreign language that is not common in the international schools country. Recruiting teachers for International Schools many a times has proved to be a tedious process according to international schools and this is usually done at large international job fairs where schools can interview and hire several teachers at one time.
Just like how a strong foundation is essential for a sturdy building, good education forms the basis of a child’s overall development. Choosing a good international school is thus an integral part of one’s life. What truly distinguishes a normal school from an international school are parameters like infrastructure, passionate teaching staff, teacher to children ratio less than 1:25, healthy and pollution free location and international teaching norms reflecting quality and excellence. International Schools have come a long way and evolution packed with innovation is the key process driving it.
Learning foreign languages is important for communication purposes.
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