China: The Under-Researched Nexus of Activity

Abstract

In recent years there has been a significant shift in the international school market in China, from educating predominantly the children of expatriates to educating Chinese nationals. This article will examine the problems such schools face in terms of putting together an international curriculum, not least in terms of the complex web of stakeholders often involved in such schools, and also the need to comply with local curriculum standards. Examining the notion of the ‘glocal’, and intercultural communicative competence as a means of bridging the divide between local and global curriculum themes, this article will consider ways of reducing the impact of these issues on curriculum planning, proposing a model moving forward, and arguing that these schools represent a new paradigm in the evolution of international education in China.

Diluting, decoupling, and dovetailing: Considering new metaphors for understanding the changing international school landscape in China

“…Sancho (2016: 478), meanwhile, describes how in India a ‘new class’ is buying into ‘private English-speaking international schools’, especially in ‘second tier cities’ where such schools offer ‘a new arena for the wealthiest to reinstate their class privileges and distinguish themselves from the expanding middle classes’. The emergence and importance of the CIS and non-traditional international schooling in China has recently started to garner much academic interest (see, eg, Poole, 2021; Probert, 2022; Wright and Mulvey, 2022; Wright et al, 2022; Wu and Koh, 2022a), and presents an interesting contemporary line of academic inquiry.…”

Nationalising the international in China: A phenomenological study on the purpose of international schooling in an era of regulation

“…Accordingly, our analysis does not just draw on teachers’ experiences in order to examine schools’ reactions to regulation, but also seeks to explore teachers’ understandings of international schooling and, by digging into them, consider the scope and nature of regulation on their very subjectivities. More generally, we add to the growing literature on international schooling in China, which can be divided into three main categories: teacher‐focused (Bunnell & Poole, 2022; Harrison et al., 2023; Kostogriz et al., 2022; Kostogriz & Bonar, 2019; Poole, 2021; Poole, 2022); student and parent‐focused (Ma & Wright, 2021, 2022; Woods & Kong, 2020; Wright & Mulvey, 2022; Wright, Ma, & Auld, 2022; Young, 2018); and industry‐policy focused (Deng et al., 2023; Jin, 2022; Jin & Chen, 2023; Probert, 2022; Wright, Lin, & Lu, 2022; Wu & Koh, 2023).…”