Date

October 1991 – April 1993

Coordination and participants

The project was coordinated by Nishimachi International School, Japan and International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan with teachers participating from 13 other international schools in Japan.

Objectives

• to create a working definition of the process of internationalizing the curriculum
• to expand the global perspectives and intercultural competencies of students by providing them with a more inclusive international K-12 curriculum
• to increase the exposure of non-host country teachers in international schools to multicultural and intercultural education by providing training and resources
• to develop cross-cultural curricula by establishing a network to share methods and materials

Training approach

A leadership seminar (May 1992 in Tanazawa, Japan) with the main objectives for participants to:

• analyse current curricula and teaching methods in the light of recent international research on cultural diversity, global awareness, cultural thinking, cooperative learning, and plural ways of knowing, teaching and learning
• prepare teachers to hold year-long monthly study circles/seminars with other teachers to create a more multicultural and gender fair curriculum
• exchange ideas and plans for classroom and teacher seminar use by (1) meeting teachers engaged in similar projects to gain insights and successful strategies, (2) engaging in group exercises and discussions which serve as classroom and seminar examples, and (3) view materials such as articles, books, and videos
• The themes, approaches, and materials were selected according to the specific needs and interests of each school’s population with cross grade and discipline application.

Outcomes

• Ten schools formed teacher development seminars each with between 10-35 participants, and discussed a variety of themes depending on their school’s needs
• A survey on teacher’s conceptions of internationalization
• Emerging definitions of the process of internationalization
• Recommendations of further actions
• Each school contributed towards the production of a manual on “Internationalising the Curriculum” distributed to international schools.

My role

I was co-director of the leadership seminar and co-editor of the Internationalising the Curriculum publication.