“International” label for quality education: Less than meets the eye

There seems to be a paradox when we – with the benefit of hindsight – trace the use of the notion of international (in its original sense) such as in international schools.

In one sense, the schools – initially established for meeting the educational needs of children of expatriates working in Indonesia and attended exclusively by these children – have been inclusive as they open their doors to students of different nationalities (including Indonesian), ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.

The reason was a very pragmatic one – to develop cross-cultural understanding and awareness among students of diverse cultures. In another sense, the schools have been very exclusive because they segregate students according to socio-economic class; only the well-off can afford to study there, while the unfortunate remains marginalized.

Interestingly, many local schools here, in an apparent effort to pursue quality education, have adopted the name “international” especially in their curricula and assessment system. More recently, international standard pilot project schools have been established and endorsed by the local government to pave the way for local schools to gain the status of being of an international standard.

Other schools (mostly private ones) maintain the label “national”, but add the word “plus” to indicate the use of the English language as a medium of instruction in schools. Thus, the notion of” international” in international schools has undergone an expansion of sorts. It is this expanded sense that often baffles the public and stirs unrelenting debates among educationists.

With foresight, despite the lack of consensus as to what constitutes “international”, the brand international standard continues to be used with the hope that quality education will be attained.

If it is indeed quality education that is pursued through such labeling as international curriculum, or international standard assessment system, then there’s more to these labels than meets the eye.

The writer is an associate professor at Atma Jaya Catholic University. He is also chief-editor of Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and can be contacted at setiono.sugiharto@atmajaya.ac.id.