Head of School Survey Key Findings
There are significantly more male heads than female heads. A head is 3 times more likely to be male than female.
The most represented nationalities are United States of America (51%), United Kingdom (17%), and Canada (13%). Only every 8th head of school is from a Non-Western country.
The head of school is 5.3 times more likely to be white than of any other ethnicity.
Leadership Team Survey Key Findings
Leadership teams consist on average of a similar number of males and females
71% of schools located in Europe have educators in the leadership team from the country where the school is located, while in Latin America is only 57% of schools.
71% of schools located in Europe have educators in the leadership team from the country where the school is located, while in Latin America is only 57% of schools.
On average 3 to 4 nationalities are represented.
The most represented nationalities are United States of America (32%), Canada (15%) and United Kingdom (13%). There are 3 times more leadership team members from Western than from non-Western countries.
Teacher Survey Key Findings
There are on average more female teachers than male teachers. The difference is statistically significant. A teacher is 1.6 times more likely to be female than male.
On average 10 nationalities are represented.
The most represented nationalities are United States of America (30%), Canada (16%) and United Kingdom (12%). There are 2.2 times more teachers from Western than from Non-Western countries.
There is a similar number of white and non-white teachers.
Board Member Survey Key Findings
A board member is 1.5 times more likely to be male than female. The difference is statistically significant.
The most represented nationalities are United States of America (24%), Canada (9%), and United Kingdom (8%).
Nationalities from Western countries (USA, Canada, UK, and Germany) and non Western Countries are equally represented.
On average, 44% of board members are white. For schools located in Asia, the majority of board members are Asian while for schools located in Europe or Africa, the majority of board members are white.
Completion Rate Main Points
Not all respondents answered every question, thus the number of data points available for each analysis varied slightly.
58% of the schools that submitted a complete or partial response are located in Asia, 19% in Europe, and 12% in Africa.
Methodology to Analyze Responses
Removed test responses and outliers
Generated descriptive statistics and response distribution of gender, nationality, and ethnicity for board members, leadership teams, heads of schools, and teachers
Completed test for statistical significance
Links to Original Articles https://www.cois.org/about-cis/perspectives-blog/blog-post/~board/perspectives-blog/post/what-the-data-tells-us-about-diversity-in-international-school-teaching-staff-and-leadership
White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe.
Black: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
Latin/Latinx: Includes all individuals who identify with one or more nationalities or ethnic groups originating in Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures.
Middle Eastern and/or North African: A person having origins in any of the original people of West Asia or North Africa.
Indigenous American: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America).
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Central/East Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Indigenous Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and/or other Pacific Islands.
Multiracial/Biracial – A person of more than one ethnicity.
Research Abstract
This research aimed to look at the intersectional relationship between leadership positions and gender, leadership positions and ethnicity, and leadership positions and gender and ethnicity in traditional American-ethos international schools. The research surveyed international school leaders, which included Heads of School, Principals, and Directors of Studies in the different regional councils and associations of international schools whose memberships include traditional American-ethos international schools. A total of 267 participants responded to the survey. The quantitative data of the study provided information about gender, ethnicity, and gender and ethnicity of the different leadership positions. Additionally, the quantitative and qualitative study design sections of this research provided the discrete categories of gender, ethnicity and leadership positions and whether these identities helped or hindered participants in obtaining a leadership position in international schools.
Link to original research:
Citation:
The Intersection of Gender and Ethnicity and Traditional American-Ethos Type International School Leadership Positions Phan, L. (Author). 1 May 2019
Overview
In fall 2020, the Diversity Collaborative (DC) in conjunction with International Schools Services (ISS), the Center for International Education at George Mason University (GMU), and the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC), conducted a survey of candidates looking for leadership positions in international schools.
The survey was intended to elucidate how candidates’ races, nationalities and genders affected their search for leadership roles and their experiences as international educators.
Link to original article https://www.iss.edu/publications/newslinks/april-2021
Citation: Chiang, Jenny, et al. “NewsLinks.” April 2021 Newslinks, Apr. 2021, www.iss.edu/publications/newslinks/april-2021.
Key Perceptions
Candidates were asked to identify which aspects of their identity, if any, positively and negatively affected both their experience as an international school educator and their search for leadership positions.
The results of this study strongly suggest that we in the international school sector have considerable work to do to create a culture that embraces and supports international school leaders of all races, nationalities and genders.
Key Perceptions
Candidates were asked to identify which aspects of their identity, if any, positively and negatively affected both their experience as an international school educator and their search for leadership positions.
The results of this study strongly suggest that we in the international school sector have considerable work to do to create a culture that embraces and supports international school leaders of all races, nationalities and genders.
Key Perceptions
Candidates were asked to identify which aspects of their identity, if any, positively and negatively affected both their experience as an international school educator and their search for leadership positions.
The results of this study strongly suggest that we in the international school sector have considerable work to do to create a culture that embraces and supports international school leaders of all races, nationalities and genders.
VISION Our vision is of an interconnected international school sector in which educators of all races, nationalities, genders and other identities have equitable access to leadership roles in international schools.
COMMITMENT The first step toward reaching that vision is for recruitment agencies, other educational organizations, international schools, and current international educators in positions of power and influence to commit to fostering and supporting inclusive leadership. Those commitments should reflect a shared understanding of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) principles. They should be aligned and enshrined with their core mission and guiding statements so they do not wane over time, and they should include strategic priorities and goals to measure progress.
REFLECTION In order to know how most effectively to intervene, it is essential to understand the status of leadership at your current locus of control, whether that be at the sector level, the regional level, the school level, the senior staff level, etc. This report documents some broad sector-wide trends. Much more can be done to fully understand the challenges that Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), People of the Global Majority (PGM), female and other international school leaders face both during the recruitment process and as school leaders. The more such feedback can be institutionalized and prioritized the less likely the onus will fall on those groups marginalized by our current systems, including those groups outside the scope of this study who also face systemic oppression.
POLICIES Collectively, international recruitment agencies should work with educators and recruiters expert in anti-biased recruitment to identify those policies that promote equity in recruitment. They should then use their own reach and power and the reach and power of other international school organizations to promulgate those policies across the sector.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Changing habits is not easy, particularly unconscious ones, so enduring change will require training. We recommend working with educators and recruiters steeped in DEIJ issues to develop a recruitment curriculum that helps recruiters recognize and reduce bias and validate candidates’ multiple identities and perspectives during the hiring process. Such a curriculum could be adapted for everyone involved in international school recruitment, including recruiters, school leaders, board members, and search committees, so that the sector adopts more equitable and humanizing hiring practices.
PRACTICES Recruiting agencies should interrogate all of their practices to determine how they are consciously or unconsciously excluding people from leadership positions. Fruitful areas for focus include:
PEOPLE One of the important ways to address traditional blind spots, broaden recruiter perspectives, and ensure that equitable recruitment becomes and remains a commitment is to ensure that recruiters, at both the agency and school level, better reflect the diversity of students who attend international schools. At the same time, organizations that offer mentorship, sponsorship and leadership development programs should be sure that aspiring leaders of all backgrounds are well represented in their programs.
PARTNERSHIPS An effective way to increase the pipeline and retention of diverse leaders is to partner with organizations both within and beyond the international school sector that have strong reputations for nurturing BIPOC and PGM educators, including affinity groups, regional BIPOC support networks, leadership development programs, Black fraternities and sororities, alumni organizations, and schools of education around the world.
ACCOUNTABILITY None of these efforts will endure and lead to transformative change unless strong accountability measures are developed and implemented that monitor both progress and setbacks and elicit feedback from aspiring leaders. At the recruiting agency and school levels, such accountability would include systematically tracking their leadership pipelines, surveying candidates who have applied for positions through their services or at their schools, and monitoring promotion, retention and length of tenure data.
Other organizations, such as accreditation agencies and regional associations should consider how they might use their broad platforms to develop baselines and/or standards for their constituents to assess their policies and practices. While international educators have begun to recognize that racism and misogyny like predatory behaviors harm children, unlike for child protection, there is no centralized organization for reporting such behaviors and seeking legal, mental health and other support.
ADVOCACY In some countries, visa requirements may be an obstacle to equitable hiring. While we recognize that not all restrictions may be removed, we encourage schools and regional associations to work through the appropriate host country diplomatic and ministerial channels to see which restrictions could be eased to help international schools recruit educators who better reflect the diversity of their student communities.
COMMUNICATION Learning and progress foster further learning and progress. To those ends, organizations should publicly share both their successes and their setbacks in their efforts to create a more equitable leadership pipeline so we can learn from each other.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the key findings of this report, we have identified 10 categories of recommendations for how to make the recruitment of education leaders at international schools more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and just and to ensure that all leaders once they are hired thrive and succeed.