Nimble or Not? Pivoting an International School to Embrace Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Practice

Abstract

The increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of international schools presents challenges for students, teachers and administrators. Using a participatory action research (PAR) methodology that included co-practitioner researchers (CPR), the study examines the capacity of five middle school teachers supported by a director of curriculum and instruction in a large SE Asian international school to understand and utilize culturally and linguistically diverse practices to support the learning of increasingly diverse students. In exploring the PAR impact on leadership stances and practice, findings indicate a strong relationship between Bryk's (2015) Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles of collective inquiry using qualitative evidence and the ability of teachers as teams of co-teachers to make positive, iterative changes in their planning and acting for learning. The PAR study underscores the importance of the intrinsic relationship between the quality of planning for learning and the quality of co-teaching partners collectively acting in support of student learning. Further, the evidence confirms that participation as a PAR co-practitioner researcher constituted a rich leadership learning experience for teachers and has the potential to permeate and inform their endeavors as teachers and teacher-leaders. Finally, the results offer cautionary evidence for international schools who are facing similar demographic changes. Evidence points to an increasing need for clarity in school priorities in the expectations for equity in learning. Unless school leadership is fully cognizant of how the institutional culture unwittingly compromises teacher efforts, they may intentionally or unintentionally interrupt teachers' ability to embrace and act on principles of high-quality learning - for themselves and for students.