Spotlight On: Global Education

26 July 2019

This article first appeared in Queenwood News Weekly 26 July 2019

In the last week I have had the pleasure of presenting at the biennial conference of the World Leading Schools Association, which Queenwood joined last year. Its member schools include names that would be familiar to many of you due to their profile in Australia, the UK and USA. The Association was founded as a network linking China and the UK so these countries are particularly strongly represented, but its reach is now truly global. It was fascinating to hear from and share experiences with Heads of schools from China, Japan, Korea, India, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil, the Czech Republic - and the list goes on. Whilst each school and country has unique challenges, it was very evident that we have far more in common than otherwise.

The vision of WLSA is to create a community of schools which ‘advocate for the development of open-minded, resilient and responsible global leaders who can re-shape how we want to live and work with each other in the world‘. It resonates with the increasing emphasis on ‘global education’ – a rather fuzzy term that encompasses concerns for social justice and human rights, cultural awareness and connection, diversity, and collaborative solutions to global problems such as climate change. In essence, global education means full intellectual, cultural, social and moral engagement with humanity.

Another way of describing this approach is ‘international mindedness’ – a somewhat awkward phrase used within the IB to sum up the global education features of its mission. This has been part of a Queenwood education for many years and it is often identified by Queenwood parents as of great importance to them – as both a matter of conviction and, often, personal experience, since many of our families have extensive experience living overseas and engaging with other cultures, and have diverse cultural heritage.

Global education is far more than simply learning a language or visiting a country. A key aspect is having the opportunity to make personal connections with people of diverse background, language, culture and experience. Here, our association with WLSA has already been invaluable, providing both staff and students with valuable opportunities.

In July last year, two Year 11 students attended a WLSA student leadership conference in Jeju, South Korea. They not only enjoyed the conference, they also made a network of friends from over a dozen countries. These friendships have influenced their perspective on the world and also given them a global network on which to draw in coming years. There will be an opportunity each year for Queenwood students to participate in the associated Cross-Cultural Leadership Program online, and for selected participants to attend the culminating global conference. The 2020 WLSA student conference will be in Toronto, Canada.

In February this year, Mrs Thompson, IB Coordinator, visited a WLSA school, Westville Boys’ High School in Durban, South Africa. She spent two weeks observing lessons and sharing educational practice with fellow visitors. As I write, one Year 11 student is currently completing a two-week WLSA internship with a globally recognised company in Shanghai – not only giving her experience working in a Chinese professional environment but also connecting her with like-minded students from across the world.

Early next year we will be hosting students from top schools in China for a short-term exchange, and we are well advanced in our discussions with a North American school to establish another exchange for senior students, adding to our existing exchange program (which includes one other current WLSA school, Cheltenham Ladies’ College).

These opportunities through WLSA have all come on top of our commitment, through the curriculum and beyond it, to the principles of global education. There will be more developments over time but this week has made clear the rich experiences on offer for the students and staff at Queenwood.

Ms Elizabeth Stone
Principal