In 2020, in the shadow of terrible events, the trauma faced by students who are not white, male, cis-gender, etc. gained important voices. Let’s be clear, there’s a lot of work to be done, and we wrote about some of the work can take place right now in your school based on data and research.
Our very first recommendation was to prioritize hiring more BIPOC staff. The benefits of representation for our students of color are multi-faceted and the research supports schools in these efforts. Currently, the data suggests our education system is staffed and led by predominantly white educators.
However, this data is inadequate. We’ve been missing that in International Schools, our data may be different. We leaned on the research in the USA, but what if International School data is better? What if it’s worse? Following the Learn-Disrupt-Rebuild model, we need a source of data that is representative of the schools we serve.
In 2019, Dr. Alan Phan released a dissertation after several years of work that addressed this issue specifically. He surveyed individuals on The PTC‘s list-serve, individuals who are likely leaders – or aspiring leaders – in international schools. His data asked about the intersection of their gender, ethnicity, and role as well as their perception on whether their gender or ethnicity has aided, or hindered their role. In 2020, the ISS Diversity Collaborative’s Data Committee completed a survey asking similar questions of prospective leadership candidates. The findings were released in the April 2021 ISS NewsLink.
These data sets, and a third being completed right now by the ISS Diversity Collaborative, can be used to shine a light on diversity in International Schools. It gives us access to data sets we previously did not have. By asking similar questions, we can triangulate the results for even stronger conclusions. We can be more honest with ourselves and not hide behind the common excuse, “that research is from the US and international schools are different.”
We dug into the data ourselves and found several key findings that we should acknowledge, discuss, and use to inform our decisions going forward:
There Are Gaps In Representation
Both sets of research suggest that predominantly white-Americans hold, or are seeking leadership positions in international schools. Further, Dr. Phan’s research suggests that predominantly white men hold Head of School positions. Dr. Phan’s research also suggests that there are clear leadership pathways for women: to principal positions in lower ages and curriculum leadership roles.
Women, People of Color, and Residents of Certain Countries Perceive That Their Identity Hinders Recruitment and Treatment
Both sets of research identified that women perceive their gender-identity hinders them during the hiring process and treatment within schools. The data shows, with statistical significance, that there is a difference of proportions. The ISS research also shows that people who identify as non-white and individuals from countries outside of the US/Canada/UK/Australia disproportionally perceive that their identity has impacted their recruitment and treatment.
More studies are continuing at this moment and will build to this knowledge base. At VisualizeYourLearning, we have aggregated the two studies mentioned into a Diversity in International Schools Data Dashboard for you to explore the results yourself. We will continue to add studies, data, and design elements to contribute to the conversation.
Access the data dashboard here, share your findings, and lets build the International Schools that every student deserves.