International school

An International school is loosely defined as a school that does not require their students to learn the national or local language of the country the school is located in. These schools cater mainly to students who are not nationals of the host country, such as the children of the staff of international businesses, international organizations, foreign embassies, missions, or missionary programs. Many local students attend these schools to learn the language of the international school and to obtain qualifications for employment or higher education in a foreign country. International schools can be both private, or public.

Establishment

The first International schools were founded in the latter half of the 19th century in countries such as Japan, Switzerland and Turkey.Fact|date=April 2008 Early International schools were set up with the help of nations having large interests in the hosting nation. An exception to this rule being Robert College in Istanbul.Fact|date=April 2008

Curriculum

International schools typically use curricula based on the school's country of origin. The most common international schools represent Education in the United Kingdom or Education in the United States. Many international schools use curricula specially designed for international school such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education or the IB Diploma Programme. Like other schools, international schools teach the subjects such as language arts, mathematics, the sciences, humanities, the arts, physical education, information technology, and design technology. More recent developments specifically for primary school include the IBs Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the fast growing International Primary Curriculum (IPC).

Faculty

Faculty at International Schools are usually from or certified by the standards of their country of origin. However there are many exceptions. The most common exception is when the international school requires a teacher trained specifically for an international syllabus or for teaching a foreign language rare to the international school's country of origin. Hiring is frequently done at large international job fairs where schools can interview and hire several teachers at once.Fact|date=April 2008

See also

*List of international schools
*Council of International Schools
*European Council of International Schools

External links

* [http://princeton.iss.edu/displaydirectory/displaycountries.asp Directory of International Schools] Directory of International Schools
* [http://www.iesedu.com/ International Education Systems] Group of International Schools
*dmoz|Reference/Education/International/International_Schools/|International Schools
* [http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/K_12/Schools/International/ Yahoo! Education - "International Schools"] directory category
* [http://www.isaschools.org/ ISA] International Schools Association, international non-governmental organization, granted consultative status at UNESCO
* [http://www.schools.ac/ Schools.ac] International Schools Directory
* [http://www.gsgi.co.uk The Good Schools Guide International]
* [http://www.ibo.org/ IB Website]
* [http://www.internationalprimarycurriculum.com IPC website]