Shifting to a role in teacher education after a lifetime in schools has been an interesting transition. I've been head of four schools over the years and throughout my career have been fully involved in professional development work. It is obvious to any school leader that the better the staff are trained, supported and given a broader understanding of the professional skills required to be a great educator, the more likely is the school to thrive.
It has therefore been a privilege to have joined the Buckingham International School of Education (BISE) as its first CEO and Dean, especially as it seems China is at a landmark stage in its educational history. Since the 19th century international educators have come to China and have supported the indigenous systems by offering alternatives and indeed allowing the permeation of new ideas to integrate alongside traditional Chinese pedagogies.
From the beginning of the 21st century a new phase of international education reasserted itself in China and many schools for foreign passport holders began to crop up. I was privileged to be the headmaster of one of these, Dulwich College Beijing, which was very attractive to returning Chinese parents wanting to ensure an international English language focused education was available to their children.
However, from the second decade of the century, the Chinese market became a little more sophisticated. Not only did returning Chinese realize that their children needed to develop Chinese language skills and we're missing out on the rigours of the Chinese National Curriculum, but also PRC citizens themselves we're hungry to offer an international dimension to their children's educational diet. So, a new generation of bilingual schools that combined the CNC with international pedagogy and content began to spring up. I was again very fortunate to become the first Executive Headmaster of one of the earliest and pathfinding of these schools, YK Pao School in Shanghai.
The staffing balance of these new schools was originally 50% Chinese and 50% internationals, with the Chinese National Curriculum covered by the Chinese staff, and international English language aspects granted to expats. This is an expensive model and complicated to timetable, but when it works well provides an incredibly challenging and stretching curriculum. It produces bilingual, bicultural students with a very significant understanding of both their Homeland of China and its language and culture, but also of the global world into which they will be entering as they transition to higher education and the world of work.
As we move into the third decade of the 21st century we see the scene shifting again. This is particularly so with the exacerbating effects of COVID-19. The market is changing as increasingly large numbers of Chinese begin to consider keeping their children in China, at least for longer before they study overseas, thus demanding more international style provision in China. The growing number of bilingual schools and school groups demands more quality expat teachers than the market can sustain (even more so as entering China is so tricky at present). In addition, the cost of staffing for these bilingual schools is becoming prohibitively high on a 50/50 basis. Quite rightly parity of remuneration between Chinese and expats is becoming an increasingly realistic and necessary target for many school owners and the market for highly qualified, well-trained Chinese teachers who can deliver bilingually is growing, hence they can demand quite significant salaries.
It is not surprisingly therefore that many of the new bilingual schools which have recently opened or will open in the near future, seek to employ fewer expats and more Chinese staff. These Chinese staff need to be well qualified and hence BISE is offering high-quality British Initial Teacher Training products that will fill this vacuum. We currently offer an iPGCE (International Post Graduate Certificate in Education), taught and delivered in English. This is the same course that is being provided to the many trainees in the UK. But from 2021 we will also be offering a bilingual version of this IPGCE, so Chinese teachers can be trained in their own language in the various strategies and philosophies that underpin international education.
One of the biggest hurdles for many of the Chinese graduates who would wish to teach in bilingual schools is that their English level (an English iPGCE requires an IELTS score of 6.5 or better) makes the accessing of the course very difficult. By offering it in Chinese, many teachers can develop international pedagogies which they will take into their own Chinese language classrooms as well as when delivering international curricula like the IGCSE, the A level, and the IBD as Chinese citizens in bilingual settings. This scenario is becoming increasingly common and BISE is very well positioned to be serving this growing market.
Nothing stands still in China. Things move fast. The changing market in education and the sophistication of the Chinese parents, influenced significantly by international geopolitics and ongoing global pandemic, mean we must remain flexible and adaptable as teacher trainers, as well as teachers and school leaders. My role as the Dean and CEO of BISE is to support schools and school groups in providing the quality of teaching that young people deserve and require. If we can be of any service to you, please be in contact.