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The word International weaves a charm around many a parent. India houses quite a few reputed international schools, which form nurturing grounds for students to perform well in the emerging global scenario. While the medium of education in all these schools is English, they follow different examination systems and boards.
Most of the international schools opt for IGCSE ( International General Certificate of Secondary Education) till the X and then for the IB diploma in the XI and XII. Very few schools adopt the primary years programme (PYP), followed by the middle years programme, because the std X exams are not available in this system. Some opt for a PYP, followed by IGCSE, followed by the IB. Anyhow, the IGCSE, or for that matter the CIE (Cambridge International Examinations), is considered a better alternative.
International schools are mostly private in nature and cater to the upwardly mobile, who can afford the steep tuition fees. The demography of the classroom is very diverse which gives an advantage to the children. Some real good international schools make the effort of recruiting teachers from abroad to add value to the system.
Since most Indian parents are overwhelmed when their child returns home with accented English, many schools try to rope in native English speakers as well. Many schools labelled “International”, “American”, “British”, etc, are not always international in nature. Sometimes only the name of the school includes the word ‘International’. Although most of these schools try to provide an alternate method of teaching, which is more international in style, the student body is not as diverse as you would find in genuine international schools.
International school curriculum enables better linguistic abilities, encourages diverse thinking styles and allows children to compose their own answers. The choice of subjects is varied and there is no straight-jacketed approach to the teaching-learning process.
Projects are assigned and the children are encouraged to use the library to a large extent rather than focus on text books. The teacher functions as a motivator and an enabler. Unfortunately most of the teacher training colleges and B.Ed curriculum do not train teachers in this direction.
No matter how challenging the curriculum is and or how good the methodology is, lack of good trained teachers to execute this approach can be a major hindrance.
Hence many schools adopt best practices from all boards and have an eclectic approach till the 7th. Then they opt for ICSE/IGCSE till the X and IGCSE/ IB in XI and XII. Curriculum is a tool in the hands of a good teacher; to nurture the potential and bring out the best in children no matter which board.