Dr Conrad Hughes, Principal, International School of Geneva
Chair: Mark Mason, Professor and Head, Department of International Education
Dr Hughes will introduce this seminar by fleshing out what we mean by ‘international schools’ and why we are focussing on private international schools and not on national education systems with international streams within them. Both of these models are fast-growing sectors of the education industry.
He will then consider three examples as illustrations of a global trend, the widening social divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’: the rapid expansion of private schools in China; the galloping increase of international private schools in India; and the dramatic increase in private international school enrolment in the United Arab Emirates.
Dr Hughes will then develop an argument to suggest a sustainable pathway for the booming industry of private schools and international private schools so that the socioeconomic gap is not widened to the point of no return. This will be illustrated with some examples of projects aimed at increasing access to private school and private international school standards of curriculum and pedagogy.