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INTERCOM 11
INTERNATIONAL INTO NATIONAL DOES GO
A personal view by Bora Rancic
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What exactly constitutes British society and culture? This question sprang
to mind on encountering the article on 'Globalisation
and International Education' by Jim Cambridge in Intercom 10 which
contrasted the educational views of Professor George Walker, Director
General of the International Baccalaureate Organisation and Visiting Professor
at the University of Bath, and Dr Nick Tate of the Qualifications and
Curriculum Authority. Professor Walker had commented that, in a world
in which national as well as international schools are increasingly operating
in an international environment, the IB is no longer seen as the preserve
of the latter. By contrast, Dr Tate had felt that the IB is inappropriate
for widespread adoption in maintained schools in England and Wales because
it is an international qualification not devised with (British) society
and culture in mind. He argued that in the IB Diploma Programme programme,
for instance, English is very much about world literature. Presumably
Dr Tate fears that the widespread adoption of the IB in English and Welsh
maintained schools could lead to the creation of generations of young
people without a clear sense of what it means to be British.
'Cultural heritage' view of curriculum
This view fails to take into account, I believe, the perception held
by many of Britain as a plural, multicultural society in which its members
simultaneously belong to the national culture and to a variety of subcultures.
A 'cultural heritage' view of curriculum, where the choice of texts is
limited to the finest in the language, as prescribed by the great and
the good of the national culture, does not serve the best interests of
all students, particularly those who choose to identify more strongly
with a particular subculture. Similarly, it fails to take account of the
fundamental principles underpinning the IBO.
Fundamental Principles
Whilst the IB offers an international curriculum, this does not mean
that it is designed to eradicate a student's sense of national and personal
identity. On the contrary, as the former IBO Director General Roger Peel
emphasised, 'the honesty of the IB stems from the fact that we require
all students to relate first to their own national identity - their own
language, literature and cultural heritage ... this process requires a
high level of first language competence, and being able to speak a second
language competently enables not only face to face communication with
people across national and cultural barriers, but also access to the accumulated
records of a culture'.
Thus Groups 1 and 2 (Languages) are at the heart of the IB Diploma. Dr
Tate's comment that IB English is about world literature fails to recognise
the way in which the IB Diploma languages programme is designed to meet
the needs of students all around the world. Given that 67 of the 165 texts/writers
on the Prescribed Book List are 'British', and would not appear incongruous
on even the most traditional University degree programme, and given that
the remainder represent the greatest names in world literature, it is
difficult to understand how the IB programme could not be considered appropriate
for students in the maintained sector of England and Wales.
Notwithstanding the fact that IB languages A2, B and ab initio are as
appropriate for students in British state schools as they are for their
counterparts in international schools, the A1 programme allows students
to relate not only to their own culture and language, thus reinforcing
personal and national identity, but also to other cultures and languages.
Thus it facilitates the promotion of an international perspective, a key
educational goal in a world that is becoming ever more globalised and
interdependent.
Living and working in a globalised world
As Jim Cambridge notes, it is a misconception to think of globalisation
'as a single discrete phenomenon', but few would doubt that the world
is becoming an ever more interconnected place. Spending at least part
of one's life on an assignment in a foreign country will soon exceed the
probability, a century ago, of ever stepping out of the town where one
was born. As interconnection speeds up, more and more people will be faced
with the challenge of living and working in a foreign culture. In this
context, whatever usefulness ethnocentrism might once have yielded will
be redundant. Some might argue that innate human acculturation skills
will enable those faced with cross-cultural challenges to adapt to and
successfully complete their overseas assignments, but the reality is different.
Many consider would argue that intercultural sensitivity is not natural
and that respect for lifestyles other than one's own is not the norm.
In the light of this, it is no surprise that the difficulty of successfully
meeting the international managerial challenge is reflected by an observation
that only about 20% of international workers perform highly effectively
and that 15-40% of American business personnel return home before their
contracts run their full course. Furthermore, one study has found that
nearly ten per cent of employees returning from overseas postings left
their companies within two years, at an estimated cost of £1.2 billion
annually. One may speculate that ethnocentrism, where people make judgements
about culturally diverse others using the standards with which they are
familiar from their own socialisation, is a root cause for the failure
of so many people to successfully negotiate cross-cultural experiences,
and to complete professional assignments.
Ethnorelativism
Which brings us back to Dr Nick Tate and Professor George Walker, for
when the latter talks about convincing those who are not international
of the importance of this kind of education he is really talking about
an education that will develop life long learners who have a high degree
of international understanding and a consciousness of the shared humanity
that binds all people together. In other words, learners who are able
to take an ethnorelativist, rather than an ethnocentric, view of the world.
There is a growing belief that a useful approach to the understanding
of international education lies in the concept of 'crossing frontiers'.
'Crossing Borders' is the sub-title of Fennes & Hapgood's book on
Intercultural Learning In The Classroom. This implies a movement away
from ethnocentrism towards ethnorelativism, for which the design of the
IB English A1 programme allows. Those people who fear that the adoption
of the IB into a national system might lead to a wholesale loss of personal
and national identity may be unaware of recent research which suggests
that the development of a national and international identity are not
mutually exclusive. Cynthia Wong contends that when one gains international
understanding in an international education, one also tends to appreciate
one's roots more. This view is supported by my own research; being international
does not mean giving up one's strongly held beliefs and drifting into
a kind of 'international normlessness'.
The Imperative of International Education
Despite the enthusiasm shown in some UK quarters for the IB, notably
by the Secretary of State for Education himself (TES March 10 2000), there
are no plans to replace A Levels, in the short term at least. The newly
revised A Levels requiring students to take at least 4 subjects in the
first year before cutting back to 3 in the second, are to be introduced
this year. Thus, the imperative of international education in the UK,
which surely must begin with internationalising the curriculum, remains
unrecognised. The new A Levels may provide more breadth but there is nothing
to suggest that they will provide the kind of intercultural literacy encouraged
by the IB Diploma.
A broad, national/ international course, such as English A1 outlined above,
coupled with the academic rigour of Theory of Knowledge and the Extended
Essay, and the cross-cultural experiences possible in CAS allow for the
development of the perspectives of young adults away from ethnocentrism
towards ethnorelativism in a way that the traditional A Level, and now
the new A Level, do not. Finally, the IB Diploma leaves students better
equipped to operate in a world becoming ever more globalised and interdependent.
Unfortunately, it will remain the preserve of the few, until our educational
leaders realise that international into national does go.
Bora Rancic has been a teacher of English
since 1978. He taught A Level in London and Barbados before moving
to the Solomon Islands where, as Form 6 Tutor, he worked on the
establishment of the Pacific Senior Schools Certificate and the
National Form 7 examinations. More recently, he was a full time
Masters student at the University of Bath where he developed a research
interest in student perceptions of international education. He has
since been Head of English at an international school in Bahrain
where he taught IB English Language A1 and A2, and is currently
employed by the Centre For British Teachers in Brunei where he teaches
senior English at SOAS College.
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