Preparing teachers for transition to an international Christian school

Abstract

The study reported here sought to gain insight into the experience of transition into teaching in an international Christian school that could inform the development of a pre-field orientation (PFO) programme for Australian Christian teachers. The experiences of five American teachers who had participated in a pre-field orientation programme was compared with the experiences of six Australian teachers who did not have access to such a programme. Based on the insights from participants gained through semi-structured interviews, recommendations are made regarding the content and structure of a PFO programme that could be developed for Australian teachers.

Keywords

international Christian school pre-field orientation Third Culture Kids transition

Introduction

International Christian schools are an increasingly available option for missionary and other expatriate parents seeking to access quality education for their children in English while engaged in overseas assignment. However, effective provision of educational services requires the commitment of qualified and equipped Christian teachers. These teachers must overcome significant barriers and develop unique skills and dispositions to thrive long-term in their new work-life context.

Teachers in international Christian schools need to adjust not only to the environment and culture of the host country, but also to the international culture of the school itself. They need to be able to respond appropriately to the needs of students from a variety of cultural and educational backgrounds, and to work effectively with similarly multicultural staff teams. The curriculum design, educational philosophy, behavioural norms and leadership structure of the school may be quite different from those which are common in the teacher’s home culture. Adapting successfully to these differences is important if a teacher is to be effective in an international Christian school.

In my experience, teachers who commit to serving in this way and facing these challenges do so in faith, trusting that God will meet their every personal and professional need. However, wisdom would suggest that holistic preparation prior to departure is also desirable. Pre-Field Orientation (PFO) programmes exist to meet this need for preparation in the United States, but I am not aware of any currently existing programme in Australia that addresses the specific needs of teachers preparing to serve in international Christian schools.

‘International Christian schools’ refers to schools that seek to provide education from a biblical worldview, and whose student enrolment is predominantly ‘Third Culture Kids’ (TCKs) – children who live in a country other than their country of citizenship for a significant time during their developmental years (Pollock and Van Reken, 2009). Instruction is usually in English, and the curriculum offered is generally different from that of national schools in the same region. Teachers serving in international Christian schools are not usually paid a salary by the school but are required to be supported by a mission organisation and churches in their home country.

The study reported here aimed to explore the transitional experiences of teachers serving in international Christian schools to provide insight into what would be valuable content and structure for a pre-field orientation programme for Australian teachers preparing to serve in international Christian schools.

Issues commonly faced by teachers in international Christian schools: A brief review of the literature

Teachers in transition

‘Of course, everyone goes through transitions in life, but missionaries have major specific transitions added to the general ones that everyone experiences’ (Koteskey, 2015: 6). If those missionaries are teachers serving in international Christian schools, they live in a community where people are constantly in transition. Transition, with all its practical and emotional implications, is always occurring, even for those who are not moving anywhere themselves at the time. Teachers not only experience transition themselves, but also play a role in guiding and supporting the young people in their care through their own experience of this same reality. This makes the topic of transition always relevant for teachers in international Christian schools, and especially for those who are about to encounter the lifestyle for the first time.

Pollock and Van Reken (2009) developed a five-stage model to describe the process of transition from living in one culture to living in another. With the decision to take on an overseas assignment, an individual or family moves from a state of involvement in their current location to a state of leaving. They begin to disengage somewhat from roles and relationships as they prepare to move. The central transition phase occurs as final goodbyes are said, the plane is boarded and they disembark in the new location. Soon after arriving, each individual begins to establish identity and relationships in the new place – the entry stage. In time, this leads to reinvolvement in the new community. The process begins again from this point with the next move, be that a return to the original location or to another different location. An understanding of this cycle and its attendant emotions could help smooth the process for those in transition.

Intercultural competence and cultural humility

Cushner (2015: 12) described a person with intercultural competence as ‘being able and willing to modify their behavior in ways that enable them to interact and communicate effectively with those different from themselves’. Although cross-cultural adaptation and communication is likely to be covered in general orientation programmes facilitated by mission organisations, such training may be inadequate for those preparing to serve in the unique context of international Christian schools. As these schools are ‘among the most culturally diverse and interculturally complex organizations anywhere on the planet’ (Cushner, 2015: 8), teachers in international Christian schools may require a higher level of intercultural competence than those serving in other mission contexts.

Hammer et al. (2003) argued that acquiring intercultural competence is a developmental process involving the individual moving from an ethnocentric worldview, where interactions are viewed from the perspective of the person’s own cultural values and norms, to an ethno-relative worldview, where a person is able to view interactions through the cultural lens of the other and adjust their behaviour accordingly. Based on this model, Hammer et al. (2003) developed the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a tool for measuring an individual’s current level of intercultural competence. Helping teachers become aware of their own level of intercultural development and plan steps for further growth could be a challenging and useful feature of a preparation programme for prospective international Christian educators.

An alternative approach to developing cross-cultural relationships is that of cultural humility. The idea overlaps considerably with that of intercultural competence, yet presents a change in nuance that is significant. Developed in the health sciences, this concept is a reaction to the notion of ‘competence’, which implies the possibility of arriving at a mastery level of skill where no further development is required (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015; Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998). On the contrary, understanding and meeting the needs of clients from different cultural backgrounds is best served by an attitude that there is always more to learn and greater sensitivity to be developed. This requires an on-going posture of humility. It is not difficult to see how this idea could apply to the teacher-student relationship as much as to the healthcare provider-patient relationship. Writing from a Christian missions perspective, McCullough (2017) outlined six dimensions of Global Humility, and argued that it is an essential quality for cross-cultural workers to develop. As humility is a virtue constantly commended in Scripture and modelled ultimately by Jesus himself (Phil 2:5–8, New International Version), this is an approach to cross-cultural relationships that Christian teachers can embrace wholeheartedly.

Teachers who are seeking to develop higher levels of cultural sensitivity would likely find it helpful to have a framework and vocabulary to think about and articulate cultural differences. The ‘Dimensions of National Cultures’ developed by Hofstede et al. (2010) for the international business community could provide this. The dimensions are a series of six continuums that each describe an important area on which cultures vary, such as attitudes towards authority or uncertainty. The further apart that two cultures are on any continuum, the more likely it is that misunderstanding or miscommunication will occur in interactions between people of those cultures. A similar eight-scale model was developed by Meyer (2014). Writing from a mission perspective, Elmer (2002) also discusses a series of cultural differences, which overlaps with the dimensions proposed by Hofstede et al. (2010), that impact Christian witness. Similar cultural differences are discussed by Lanier (2000). Teachers preparing to serve in international Christian schools could use either of these models as a framework for understanding the differences between their own culture and their intended host culture, or the culture(s) of their soon-to-be colleagues and students.

The distinctive character of Christian education and the integration of faith and learning

Roy (2008) drew attention to the need for Christian educators to know what makes a Christian school distinctive from other types of schools, to be able to articulate that distinction clearly, and to act consistently in line with it. One approach to identifying how Christian faith impacts the philosophy and practice of education is that of Graham (2003), who outlined a series of areas, such as the purpose of education, the role of the teacher and the nature of the learning process, in which an understanding of the grace and truth of God leads a Christian teacher to view education differently. A similar framework of topics was used by Kaufmann (2008) and MacCullough (2013). Kaufmann (2008) wrote especially for Christian teachers in Europe who, like many in Australia, undertook their teacher training in a secular university. Kauffman’s clear and concise treatment of these topics could form a springboard for exploring the distinctive character of Christian education during a PFO programme.

Beckwith and Moreland (2009) argued that sound integration of faith and academic learning is necessary for genuine discipleship and spiritual growth of students. MacCullough (2016) advocated an ‘integrating core’ approach to this task, viewing Scripture as the source of ultimate truth that holds all other learning together as a whole. Lessons therefore involve activities that are designed to help students identify where the content they are interacting with connects to, and where it is distinguished from, a biblical worldview. This is a challenge for many teachers. In a literature search and survey of teachers regarding professional development practices, Swaner and Reel (2016: 28) identified ‘biblical worldview’ as a topic that teachers desired to have more professional development focused on.

Meeting the needs of Third Culture Kids

One of the distinguishing features of international Christian schools is that most of the students are TCKs. That is, they are growing up in a cultural world that is neither that indicated by their passport nor that of their host country or countries, but rather a mixture of them all. Pollock and Van Reken (2009) identified the defining realities of the TCK’s world as crossing multiple cultural worlds and high mobility. Teachers who understand the implications of these realities can play a significant role in helping TCKs maximise the benefits of their growing up experience as well as successfully managing the difficulties. Zilber (2004) suggested that exploring the metaphors TCKs themselves use to describe their experience may provide insights that are valuable for teachers in international schools.

In an in-depth study of the lives of 11 former international school students, Fail et al. (2004) found that a TCK’s sense of identity is challenged with each move they make. They tend to find a sense of belonging with other TCKs, and to define themselves relationally rather than geographically or ethnically (also Pollock and Van Reken, 2009). Meeting other TCKs normalises their experience of high mobility and crossing cultural worlds. Being the place where many TCKs meet each other and spend time together, international schools therefore become significant in their identity development. Grimshaw and Sears (2008) suggest that TCKs frequently question their own identity and seek ways of providing continuity to their life story through the changes. In exploring the identity development of female TCKs, Walters and Auton-Cuff (2009) found that the disruptions associated with a highly mobile lifestyle had limited the energy that these young women had to engage in regular developmental tasks. However, a strong sense of spirituality provided some stability for those who possessed it. Developing an awareness of the issues surrounding the identity development of TCKs, including the interaction of these issues with spiritual formation, would be valuable for teachers preparing to serve in an international Christian school.

Although TCKs do connect well on some level with other TCKs, the repeated loss of friends associated with their highly mobile lifestyle can lead TCKs to exhibit a wariness towards forming deeper friendships (Pollock and Van Reken, 2009). To protect themselves from the constant cycle of grief that repeated transition involves, TCKs tend to avoid becoming attached. Using an autobiographical approach involving visual and verbal responses from participants, Lijadi and van Schalkwyk (2014) found that the TCKs they interviewed formed strong relationships within their families, but had difficulty developing deep friendships at school and saw themselves as outsiders. Teachers of TCKs need to be aware of this dynamic and become skilled at building trust with and between students in their classroom.

In establishing the qualities that are most important for teachers to possess if they are to be effective in teaching TCKs, it is useful to hear the voice of TCKs themselves. Linton (2015) conducted semi-structured interviews with a group of former international Christian school students living in the United States. In reflecting on their experiences, these students identified the teachers most valued by them as being highly competent professionally, able to build multiple meaningful relationships, and possessing a level of spiritual maturity that made them able to model an adult Christian life.

Methodology

The study being reported here utilised a phenomenological approach to research. The objective was to gain rich insight into the experience of transition into teaching in an international Christian school that could inform the development of an effective pre-field orientation programme. Creswell (2006: 60) suggested that a phenomenological study is useful in establishing an understanding of ‘common experiences in order to develop practices or policies’.

The phenomenon of transition to an international Christian school was investigated using a case study approach. As a case study approach seeks ‘holistic description and explanation’ (Berg, 2007: 284), it is possible for the researcher to uncover ‘nuances, patterns and more latent elements’ than if more quantitative methods such as surveys were used (see also Punch, 2009). In this study, in-depth understanding of the transition experiences of a small number of teachers was sought in order to generate insight that could be used to help a much broader group of teachers who are about to experience a similar transition.

Rather than study only one individual case, this study used the approach referred to by Punch (2009: 119) as a ‘collective case study’. Two cases were compared. Firstly, insight was sought from American teachers who participated in a PFO programme designed specifically to meet the needs of teachers before making the transition to an international Christian school. Secondly, insight was sought from Australian teachers who have experienced the transition to serving in an international Christian school without participating in such a PFO programme. The data, generated through semi-structured interviews, were then analysed through a process of coding and categories so that emerging themes from the two cases could be compared.

Purposive sampling for the two case studies was used, as participants were selected because of their experience with the research topic (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016; Punch, 2009). Each participant had taught in an international Christian school outside of their country of origin for at least 1 year. The participants in both cases were former and current colleagues of the researcher, and others referred to the researcher by those colleagues. Effort was made to recruit teachers of both genders, from a variety of international Christian schools and with varying lengths of experience in order to provide a variety of perspectives.

Eleven participants, seven female and four male, were interviewed. Six participants were Australians who had not participated in a PFO programme specifically designed for teachers before making the transition to an international Christian school, and five were Americans who had participated in a PFO programme. Each of the participants had served between 1 and 6 years in an international Christian school in places ranging from West Africa, South-East Asia, Western Europe, Central Europe and South Asia. A pseudonym was adopted for each participant to protect confidentiality.

The interview questions (included as Appendix 1) were designed to be as open-ended as possible, and to avoid suggesting topics for the interviewee to share about so that the interviewee would raise topics and share experiences that they felt were most significant (Sohn et al., 2017). Most of the interviews were carried out online using Skype, as geographic distance between the researcher and most participants made face-to-face interviewing impossible. The researcher took notes during the interviews as well as audio recording. Following each interview, the researcher listened to the recording twice, adding more to the notes taken during the interview and highlighting themes or ideas that were repeated or seemed to be significant. These notes were then used to type up a summary of the interview, which was then sent by email to the participant for member checking. Each participant was invited to clarify or correct any misunderstandings, and to offer further insights that they had not thought to mention during the interview.

A tentative, handwritten, list of important themes that emerged from the interviews was kept, added to and refined as the interviewing process continued. This was the initial stage of data analysis, consistent with the qualitative research process where data collection and data analysis are concurrent activities (Creswell, 2014). Smith et al. (2009: 27) referred to this as the ‘hermeneutic circle’, allowing the researcher to understand parts in light of the whole, and vice versa.

Following the completion of interviewing, the list of emerging themes was finalised and a separate document created for each theme. Each interview recording was then listened to again, and direct quotes related to each theme recorded on the relevant document, so that the data were then categorised by these emerging themes. Some pieces of data were found to fit into more than one theme. Each document then represented a summary of what the participants had to say about that topic in their own words. This process allowed the emerging themes to be refined into a set of six major themes that were further broken down into sub-themes. A summary of the major themes and sub-themes, with brief notes outlining the researcher’s understanding of each theme, was compiled and sent to each participant for further member checking.

Results: Common themes emerging from the experiences of teachers

Each of the eleven research participants had their own unique story of transition to an international Christian school. However, each participant’s story had at least some features that overlapped with the stories of other participants. From these areas of overlap and intersection, common themes were identified that were discussed by most, if not all, research participants.

An underlying experience of stress

It was impossible to miss the experience of stress expressed by all of the participants, both those who had attended PFO and those who had not, at some point in the interview. Although only three participants used the words ‘stressed’ or ‘stressful’, the words ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘overwhelming’ were used by seven out of the eleven participants to describe aspects of their transition experience. Some participants used imagery to describe this overwhelming experience: ‘Like drinking out of a fire hose’ was used by one participant (Lucy) to describe her experience of PFO, and by another participant (Dan) to describe his experience of arrival in his place of service; and from another participant: ‘We were just trying to keep our head above water and not drown’ (Jill). Although stress was experienced and expressed differently by each participant, it was a theme that pervaded each interview even when it was not being discussed directly.

Managing expectations

Encountering unanticipated expectations from others, or things in their new situation that were not as they had expected, was a topic discussed at length by participants in both cases. The areas that appeared to involve the most difficult expectations for participants related to:

Workload: The number and/or the complexity of tasks that they were required to take on was greater than anticipated. ‘There was just so much more than I was expecting and the work load was just so much more than what I was anticipating’ (Sarah).

School procedures and practices: Some participants found that the expectations they held regarding how the school would be organised and operated were inaccurate.

Relationships with colleagues: Five of the six Australian participants found it harder to relate to their American colleagues than they were expecting.

Expectations of self: Some participants found they needed to adjust the expectations they had of themselves during their transition.

Cultural sensitivity

All of the participants discussed issues relating to cultural sensitivity and learning to live and work in a different, multicultural, setting. Different participants emphasised different aspects of this topic.

Seven participants discussed the need to develop cultural sensitivity in the classroom in order to effectively teach TCKs. The participants who had attended a PFO programme found the training they received there about teaching TCKs to be very valuable to them, and the participants who had not received this training expressed a need for it:

It’s one thing to be told, or to read, that the kids will have taken on different aspects of the culture they’re living in, but they’ll also have some of the culture of their parents … so it’s one thing to know that, it’s another thing to know what that looks like … how that can play out in the classroom … (Sarah)

The need for cultural sensitivity was discussed by some participants in the context of building relationships with their professional colleagues from different cultural backgrounds. The Australian participants discussed this topic in much greater detail than the American participants, and seemed to have been impacted by it more:

So there was a whole bunch of communication and authority questions … all that power distance type of cultural stuff that I kinda got into trouble with in different ways … in general, Americans I found were harder to work with. (Andrea)

Only one participant discussed the issue of cultural sensitivity in the context of developing relationships with members of the host culture community. However, it is noted here because this participant saw it as critical to the role of teachers in international Christian schools:

While you’re in an international school, you’re not just serving the kids at that school, you are actually having interactions with nationals that affects how they view Christians. Missionaries come with ‘I have the Gospel, I have something to offer’ whereas, really, when you’re entering a new culture and you don’t understand it you can be offensive on so many levels that you’re the stopper to the Gospel! You need to understand that you don’t understand and you need to be humble. That was said a lot at PFO. (Jenny)

This participant valued the training in cultural sensitivity provided to her during PFO, recognising the additional struggles experienced by those who had not had such training: ‘It’s just a steeper curve with more painful lessons’ (Jenny).

Informants and mentors

All of the participants from both cases expressed appreciation for those people who provided advice, encouragement and support to them during their transition. These people acted as informants and mentors for the participants:

But the people that helped take care of me in those first few months, and those first few weeks: very crucial to my own transition. They shaped my transition. (Lucy)

Some informants and mentors were introduced to participants during PFO, and others on location in their place of service. In some cases, they provided opportunity for the new teacher to ask questions ahead of arriving in their place of service. In contrast, some participants found that they did not have the access to informants and mentors that they would have liked, and this negatively impacted their transition experience.

Understanding transition

Four of the five participants who had attended a PFO programme highlighted the training they had received there about the process of transition as being significant for them. In particular, participants appreciated the time spent during PFO discussing the transition model developed by Pollock and Van Reken (2009):

We have the transition model still on the refrigerator, even now. We don’t have to look at it as often now but we still kinda take a peek at it … practical tools that provided a framework for making transition and getting started a little easier. (Dan)

The transition model helped these participants to make sense of what they were already experiencing by the time they attended PFO, and it continued to be relevant after their arrival in their place of service.

Educational philosophy

Facing challenges to their own philosophical approach to education, and the practical implications of this, was an issue raised by all of the Australian participants. These challenges became significant for the Australian participants in the area of instructional and assessment practices, and contributed to the difficulties they faced in establishing relationships with colleagues:

It’s a different way to when, in Australia, we get a syllabus and we read what we have to cover and then we go away and we programme. Australian teachers … get taught how to programme, and so then having a resource that we have to … like, that is the programme … how would you bring your programming skills to this context? (Jill)

Discussion: Causes of stress and factors promoting growth during transition

Through the process of data analysis, it was recognised that the research participants tended to direct the discussion of their transition experience to two very practical issues that provide significant insight into the research question:

The factors that caused them significant stress during transition, and

The factors that helped, or could have helped, them to grow through the experience.

The two issues were not focused on by participants separately or sequentially, but the discussion moved back and forth between the two. This was the pattern for both American and Australian participants.

That the experience of transition involved stress appeared to be taken for granted by the participants. Perhaps because they were aware that the researcher had also experienced transition, they did not seem to feel the need to explain or describe the stress, but rather tended to direct the discussion to the two issues mentioned above.

Factors causing stress during transition to an international Christian school

All things new and unfamiliar

The research participants commented on a wide range of new realities that they had to learn to live with on arrival in their place of service. Even if no one thing was overly stressful on its own, the participants found it stressful to be facing a large number of new things simultaneously:

A lot to look out for, a lot of new sights and sounds and things … it was just a lot to get used to in the first few months … you’ve got a lot coming at you. (Gary)

Unmet expectations

Teachers have both conscious and unconscious expectations about what their new life and role will be like when they arrive in their place of service, and inevitably some of these expectations turn out to be false. These unmet expectations (as described above) added to the new teacher’s sense of unfamiliarity with their environment, and in some cases led to feelings of frustration or regret.

Cultural differences

Many of the new things that teachers arriving to serve in an international Christian school encounter arise out of differences between the culture of their country of origin and the culture of the new place. The participants found that the ‘new culture’ actually consisted of two distinct cultures: the culture of the international Christian school itself, and the host culture within which the school is situated. Adjusting to both of these cultures was a cause of stress.

Student diversity

Most of the participants expressed an appreciation for the students that they taught, and a desire to be able to serve their students effectively; however, teaching TCKs was a challenge that caused stress. This stress particularly resulted from having to cater for the needs of students who had limited English language ability, or who had educational ‘gaps’ because of their mobility from one school system to another.

Factors that promote growth through the stress of transition

Understand the nature of cross-cultural transition

The teachers who had been shown a model of transition during PFO found that this was a useful tool for understanding their emotions and setting reasonable expectations, and therefore managing their stress, during transition.

Connect with informants and mentors

Informants and mentors provided opportunity for participants to ask questions, and gave comfort and encouragement during stressful times through listening and prayer. Participants who did not have this opportunity expressed a desire for it:

It would have been helpful to have talked with an Aussie teacher who had worked there before … [I would say to a new teacher] Even before you go, get as much information as you can, being provided with ‘these are the questions you need to ask, these are conversations you need to have’. (Sarah)

Discover the needs and characteristics of TCKs

Participants who had attended PFO found that being informed about some of the unique challenges and opportunities associated with teaching TCKs helped teachers to be prepared for them, rather than being taken by surprise:

Understanding the blending of worlds that takes place with TCKs, the characteristics and some of those generalities … we found that just immensely useful and practical. (Dan)

Learn language to express cultural difference

Having vocabulary to express cultural differences helped some teachers manage the stress associated with transition by providing a tool for them to identify, think through and discuss these differences.

Develop a humble intentionality

Participants found that developing an approach to their new life and work situation that combined humility in relationships with an intentionality when it came to making decisions enabled them to more effectively handle the challenges they faced.

Recommendations: A PFO programme for Australian teachers

The findings of this study suggest that some of the training and preparation needs of prospective international Christian school teachers from Australia could be addressed by the establishment of a PFO programme. Based on the common themes emphasised by the participants, the factors they identified as having caused them stress during transition, and the factors that they identified as being helpful for promoting growth, some suggestions can be made as to the topics that would be beneficial to include in a PFO programme designed for Australian teachers.

Life in cross-cultural transition

Since the American participants who had attended a PFO programme found the model of transition (Pollock and Van Reken, 2009) that they had been introduced to there to be helpful, it seems reasonable to suggest that being introduced to this model prior to arriving in their place of service would also be helpful to Australian teachers making similar transitions. A PFO programme could provide an opportunity for exploration and reflection based on the insights contained in the model.

Conversations to have ahead of time

The participants identified unmet expectations as a significant cause of stress during transition, and the opportunity to connect with informants and mentors to ask questions ahead of time as a significant help in growing through this stress. While it would not be possible for a PFO programme to provide informants and mentors with the specific contextual knowledge for each new teacher, there are two ways that a PFO programme could potentially assist in this process.

First, a PFO programme could provide access to some mentors who could give general advice about transition, cultural sensitivity and teaching TCKs. Australian teachers with experience in making the transition to an international Christian school could be invited to share their stories. These teachers may be able to act as informants for some of the new teachers, if they have experience in the location where the new teacher is intending to serve.

Second, a PFO programme could include presenting new teachers with a list of topics that they are encouraged to have intentional conversations about with someone as early in the transition process as possible. It is difficult for a teacher transitioning to an international Christian school for the first time to know what questions they need to ask ahead of time. Having a list of topics given to them would help them make the most of any opportunities they have to connect with informants and mentors.

TCKs in the classroom

The nature and characteristics of TCKs, and how they can impact learning in the classroom, could be addressed during a PFO programme. Prospective new Australian teachers could be provided with articles (such as those cited in the literature review above) or links to websites dedicated to TCKs to read ahead of time, so that the material could be discussed during the PFO programme. Teachers with experience teaching TCKs could be invited to provide their insights.

Building cross-cultural relationships

The six cultural dimensions identified by Hofstede et al. (2010), or the eight scales described by Meyer (2014), could be introduced during a PFO programme to provide a framework and common vocabulary for teachers to explore the complexities of building cross-cultural relationships in the classroom, the staff room and the host community. Activities could be developed that engage the new teachers in investigating the culture of their intended place of service and articulating what they believe will be the most significant cultural differences between this culture and their own. As the Australian participants identified relationships with American colleagues as being particularly challenging, this vocabulary could also be used to engage in a discussion about the differences between Australian and American culture.

Curriculum, instruction and assessment in an international context

The Australian participants in this study found adjustment to the curriculum, instructional and assessment practices in an international Christian school surprising and challenging. In order to prepare Australian teachers for this reality, a PFO programme could include some time to discuss the differences between a ‘typical’ approach to things like the purpose of a syllabus, the role of a textbook and the quantity of assessment in an Australian school, and a ‘typical’ approach to these things in an international Christian school. Having been provided with this information, teachers could be encouraged to identify which differences are the most problematic for them, and plan ways of working through them.

The humble and intentional teacher

The insights of the participants in this study suggest that the information and the development of specific skills outlined here will likely be helpful, and also pointed to the importance of developing a spiritual life and character marked by humility and intentionality. This could be presented as an inspiring and foundational theme throughout the PFO programme. If it was introduced at the beginning, participants could reflect on how these ideas guide their application of each of the other topics as they are presented. A journal could be provided to participants to encourage this reflection.

Conclusion

The perspectives shared by the eleven participants in this study who have served in an international Christian school have provided valuable insight into the experience of transition. The experiences of the American participants suggest that such preparation has high value, as the PFO programme provided them with some of the factors that enabled them to grow through the stress of transition. The experiences of the participants also provided insight into the content and structure of a PFO programme that could be developed to meet the needs of Australian teachers making the transition to an international Christian school in the future. Such preparation could lead to a more effective transition experience for these teachers, enabling them to better serve their school and its students.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Roslyn Barnes

Appendix 1: Interview schedule

References

Beckwith

Moreland

(2009) A call to integration and the Christian worldview integration series. In: Spears

Looms

(eds) Education for Human Flourishing. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 9–27.

Berg

(2007) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Creswell

(2006) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design (2nd edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Creswell

(2014) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (Kindle edn). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Cushner

(2015) The challenge of nurturing intercultural competence in young people. International Schools Journal 34(2): 8–16.

Elmer

(2002) Cross-Cultural Connections: Stepping Out and Fitting in Around the World. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.

Fail

Thompson

Walker

(2004) Belonging, identity and Third Culture Kids: Life histories of former international school students. Journal of Research in International Education 3(3): 319–338, https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240904047358.

Fisher-Borne

Cain

Martin

(2015) From mastery to accountability: Cultural humility as an alternative to cultural competence. Social Work Education 34(2): 165–181, https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.977244.

Graham

(2003) Teaching Redemptively: Bringing Grace and Truth into Your Classroom. Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.

10.

Grimshaw

Sears

(2008) ‘ Where am I from?’ ‘Where do I belong?’ The negotiation and maintenance of identity by international school students. Journal of Research in International Education 7(3): 259–278, https://doi.org/10.1177/1475240908096483.

11.

Hammer MR, Bennett MJ and Wiseman R (2003) Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 27: 421–443.

12.

Hofstede

Minkov

(2010) Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind (Kindle edn). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

13.

Kaufmann

(2008) First the Foundation: A Primer for Christian School Education. Budapest, Hungary: Association of Christian Schools International Europe Region.

14.

Koteskey

(2015) Missionary Transitions. [eBook]. Available at: http://www.missionarycare.com/e-books.html (accessed 3 June 2018).

15.

Lanier

(2000) Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures (Kindle edn). Hagerstown, MD: McDougal Publishing.

16.

Lijadi

van Schalkwyk

(2014) Narratives of Third Culture Kids: Commitment and reticence in social relationships. The Qualitative Report 19(49): 1–18.

17.

Linton

(2015) International Christian schoolteachers’ traits, characteristics, and qualities valued by Third Culture Kids. Journal of Research on Christian Education 24: 190–211, https://doi.org/10.1080/10656219.2015.1102665.

18.

MacCullough

(2013) By Design: Developing a Philosophy of Education Informed by a Christian Worldview (Kindle edn). Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.

19.

MacCullough

(2016) Undivided: Developing a Worldview Approach to Biblical Integration (Kindle edn). Colorado Springs, CO: Purposeful Design Publications.

20.

McCullough

(2017) Global Humility: Attitudes for Mission (Kindle edn). Welwyn Garden City, UK: Malcolm Down Publishing.

21.

Merriam

Tisdell

(2016) Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (Kindle edn). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

22.

Meyer

(2014) The Culture Map: Decoding How People Think, Lead and Get Things Done Across Cultures (Kindle edn). New York, NY: Public Affairs.

23.

Pollock

Van Reken

(2009) Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds (Kindle edn). Boston, MA: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

24.

Punch

(2009) Introduction to Research Methods in Education. London, UK: SAGE.

25.

Roy

(2008) Christian schools: A world of difference. TEACH Journal of Christian Education 2(1): 38–44.

26.

Smith

Flowers

Larkin

(2009) Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

27.

Sohn

Thomas

Greenberg

, et al. (2017) Hearing the voices of students and teachers: A phenomenological approach to educational research. Qualitative Research in Education 6(2): 121–148, https://doi.org/10.17583/qre.2017.2374.

28.

Swaner

Reel

(2016) Effective PD for Christian school leaders and teachers. Christian School Education 20(2): 27–29.

29.

Tervalon

Murray-Garcia

(1998) Cultural humility versus cultural competence: A critical distinction in defining physician training outcomes in multicultural education. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 9(2): 117–125, https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2010.0233.

30.

Walters

Auton-Cuff

(2009) A story to tell: The identity development of women growing up as Third Culture Kids. Mental Health, Religion & Culture 12(7): 755–772, https://doi.org/10.1080/13674670903029153.

31.

Zilber

(2004) Mobility in metaphor: Colourful descriptions of Third Culture Kids. International Schools Journal 23(2): 17–21.