By definition, international schools are the schools that aim at promoting education that is of international standards. There are many ways of promoting and establishing international standard of education. Sometimes, the schools adopt the strategy of implementing the international syllabi. For that purpose, many sets of standard that are well known globally are available for schools of different levels. Among these, the most commonly followed curriculum is of Cambridge and of Baccalaureate. Another way of adopting an international standard of education is to follow syllabus that is distinguished from the curricula of other national schools. In addition to this, there are also some standards defined for international schools and these are also accepted globally.
Certain criteria have been introduced and put forward by the international organizations such as those related to school management and librarianship. The most important criterion that defines the international school is that its students can be transferred for the purpose of education to any other international school, be it local or abroad, having the same standards of education. Another distinguished feature of these schools is that they can usually attract more students to enroll in comparison to other schools. In most cases, the number of students in these schools is higher than that of the national or state owned schools. The number of students in a school is a sure indicator of the standard of international schools. The greater the number of students in a school the higher the standard will be.
Usually, international schools cater the students whose nationalities are different from that of the host country. There are many curricula options followed by these international schools. Some of these schools follow the education system of Cambridge while others follow that of Oxford. Students who come from different countries and speak different languages gather together in these schools. As a result, accreditation of these schools of international standards is formed. The syllabi are set in such a way that it should be easy for the students of other nationalities to cope with the studies in case of changing schools. Usually, the accreditation of these schools is from CIS, Western Association of Schools and Colleges or some other internationally recognized associations.
Most of the time, the English language is used as a medium of instruction and teaching in the international schools. This is because English is an international language and is commonly used in most countries, easy to communicate and understand. That is why the enrollment of students is made on random basis. Like the inclusion of students belonging to various nationalities, teachers belonging to multiple nationalities are also appointed. Coming from an international ground, it makes it easier for teachers to read the students and help them to understand different concepts of international education. In the same way, subjects are selected and made compulsory for students on the base that they are helpful for them in practical life.
The concept of international schools was founded in 19th century. These school systems were started in countries where foreigners made up a significant portion of the population such as Turkey, Japan and Switzerland. These schools were set up in order to entertain and provide education to the children of foreigners like ambassadors, international business owners and multinational entrepreneur. There are many advantages of studying in international schools. This schooling is very useful in a way that it allows the students to become internationally recognized citizens and they can also get employment in various countries on the basis of their internationally recognized qualification.
Most commonly, international schools are originated in countries like the United States and United Kingdom. That is why the syllabus is also originated from these countries. Development and evolution of these schools suggests the existence of the world as a global village. Due to this, it has been proven that education at national level is not enough to cope with the international standards and needs.