Journal of Research in International Education

This article defines how the message systems of international schools and the mechanisms of learning and control can be located in a trajectory from colonialism to global civil society. A discussion of Bernstein's message systems introduces how practice in international schools can be defined. The practice of international schools is framed theoretically by taking colonial, post-colonial, globalization and global civil reform perspectives of international education. The `International Education Matrix' emerges as a taxonomy for schools enacting international education. Ideologically international education, it is argued, espouses global civil society yet in practice this is not necessarily the case.

Is the short-term study abroad experience, particularly when undertaken with a self-contained group of international students such as on a `semester abroad programme' accredited by a US university, little more than glorified tourism? This study investigates some of the ways in which a group of American students developed their understanding of British culture, not just by studying it together with their peers, but also by living in the country for a semester. The results suggest that these students learned both within and out of the classroom; they were not simply adding information during the semester, but also reflecting about their own views and attitudes, such that the study abroad experience was not, for most of them, simply about the passive reception of pre-packaged tourist images; it changed their views of Britain, of America and of themselves.

Using data provided by the Council of International Schools and a literature review to contextualize the subject, this article examines the topic of international school finance. It is suggested that postgraduate programmes are not doing enough to supply financial training for teachers turned administrators, and that a lack of understanding of school finance could be leading to at least four serious and fundamental misconceptions of the nature of international school finance. Administrators are encouraged to develop financial competencies to ensure key decisions are not delegated to non-educators.

This article explores the response to cultural diversity and international mindedness at international schools in Malaysia and Brunei. It shows that the curriculum at these schools is set within a liberal-humanist framework, which some might suggest facilitates the project of `Westernization'. It argues, however, that under the (local) circumstances in which the schools are set, this liberal-humanist framing, despite its limitations, is perhaps the most effective approach to the achievement of international mindedness.

The purpose of the study described in this paper was to identify those factors which affect Year 9 students at Sha Tin College, Hong Kong, as they make option choices at the end of Key Stage 3 (Year 9: age 14). The main focus of the investigation was how these factors influence the selection or rejection of the four subjects offered under the heading of Design and Technology. In particular, the effects of attitude, gender and ethnicity were considered. The subjects responded to a questionnaire, and 10 per cent of the sample were interviewed. Responses were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics and results were then used to make recommendations about how the uptake of Design and Technology could be improved in the selected school.

During the past decade, tertiary education providers in the English-speaking Western world have enjoyed the significant economic and societal benefits that result from a substantial level of participation by students originating from the People's Republic of China. However, a sharp decline in student numbers between 2003 and 2007 has prompted many institutions to question the extent to which their educational products and services are appropriate to the needs of this important market segment. This paper examines the experiences of 160 Chinese students at a New Zealand tertiary institution, and concludes that their impressions of quality are formed by a range of contributing service dimensions that incorporate both `hard' and `soft' elements. Analysis of the scope, scale and importance of these dimensions indicates that, while programme content and tuition quality remain vitally important to Chinese students, institutional performance could benefit from a greater degree of emphasis on the students' interpersonal experiences while studying abroad.