have something to fall back on and it feels very different to that first experience of lockdown. Students have adapted quickly and immediately, but there is a general sense that the challenges moving forward are going to be more challenging than that first adjustment. On the horizon are some of those future challenges where we see seismic changes in international education.”
FACING THE FUTURE – THE IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCE To manage this uncertainty and the challenges ahead, many international school leaders are working with agility and collaborating in new and innovative ways to build resilience. “Traditionally, big schools have supported smaller, more niche schools, but now we are seeing that in reverse,” said David Willows. “Because of the particular experiences those schools
have faced, we can learn a lot from their agility and adaptability and style of leadership. It is much easier for small schools in some respects to adapt, but they have their own pressures.” For David Willows, author Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s
concept of antifragility is relevant for international schools. “There are some organisations and physical structures that get stronger through stress. Some schools are coming out of this stronger. It’ll be curious to see what are the conditions that make some schools antifragile and able to flex those muscles and come out with a stronger community and a greater sense of positioning for the next era of education.” “Absolutely some schools have become stronger,”
agreed Jitin Sethi. “If schools are able to do that, then they are demonstrating their offering is robust.” This idea of building strength through change is
relevant when it comes to successfully adapting to emerging technology for classroom-based and remote learning – one of the future challenges. “In the last few months schools have been working really hard with teachers in terms of how they have migrated to distance learning to actual online product,” said Ashwin Assomull. “We have seen some sharing of best practice and
lots of banding together with private schools sharing with state schools. Lots of articles have been written and teachers are exchanging notes and collaborating to come up with solutions. The focus has now shifted from the online experience to the more social and emotional aspects of school and how we can continue that.”
FACING THE CHALLENGES AND SHARING SUCCESS School leaders have faced massive and unprecedented challenges over the past 12 months, but there are many successes to celebrate as schools continue to adapt. “I suspect if you ask all headteachers if they are proud of what they have achieved, they are proud of how their communities have supported students’ learning, are connecting socially and the wider focus on wellbeing and physical exercise,” said Jonathan Taylor. “The international schools we speak to are very
dynamic and we can all learn from each other during the pandemic,” concluded Fiona Murchie. “They are clearly doing a great job. I think there are going to be lots of positives coming out of it and we’ll be drilling down into these with shorter sessions in the coming weeks to keep these conversations going.
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