EXPLORING THE SCHOOL OF LIFE & INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS
Why should schools prioritise international mindedness? What is mastery grading? Could green schools be the future? Ledetta Asfa-Wossen looks at the main education themes at World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) 2019.
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n an increasingly globalised world, schools are being required to more accurately represent a world that students will come to live and work in. One of the ways to ensure a safe, open, productive, inclusive and culturally diverse learning
environment is through ‘international mindedness’, argued one international school in Doha at WISE 2019. “As student communities in education settings of all varieties
grow more diverse, issues of cultural inclusion, among others, have gained prominence,” said Lana Al-Aghbar, principal at the American School of Doha (ASD).
INTERNATIONAL MINDEDNESS In an interactive workshop titled: International Mindedness for Cultural Inclusion educators from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and beyond were invited to sit in groups and evaluate what it means to be internationally minded. Participants were asked to engage with ways of advancing
cultural inclusion in schools. While others reflected on their beliefs, values, skills and aptitudes to assess their disposition toward international mindedness and its effectiveness in advancing cultural inclusion. Zoe Gare, a counsellor at ASD, also shared some research on neurological behaviours that found that the feeling of exclusion can often resemble physical pain.
CULTURAL INCLUSION Ms Al-Aghbar went on to discuss the change of mindset over time when it comes to cultural inclusion policy in international schools, from tolerance all the way to acceptance, respect and appreciation. The workshop asked educators in focus groups: what is cultural
inclusion? Educators from schools across the globe were tasked with exercises on what that means to them, how they challenge assumptions and form world views, and how to be aware of and tackle any potential bias and unconscious bias in a classroom setting. The interactive session assisted educators from schools in rural
China to India, Qatar and South Africa on how to recognise unique needs in international students and encourage collaboration and inclusive learning. Grouping and avoiding ‘bubbles’ in international schools was
another topic of discussion to help students to learn more openly from each other’s unique cultural and global experiences, and ensure they receive equal levels of support. The session also explored the idea that languages are ‘carriers of culture’ – carrying the behaviour of a society and its local customs. Ms Al-Aghbar stressed the role of schools to encourage students
to preserve their native language and also master that of their new home, as well as English. “Understanding a culture requires direct access to its language because of the interrelatedness of language and culture,” she said.
© WISE Education
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