Why I built a global international school music teacher community

Over the last couple of years Music Teachers In International Schools (MTIIS) has become the global community and international school-specific professional learning space for the world's international school music teachers. It's been a cool journey so far! Last year, a few of us got together to develop a list of community principles for MTIIS.

This article is based on community principle number 3:

Principle #3 - We should actively pursue connections with others, both locally and globally, to create bridges within a global music education community. This builds collegiality and professional learning, and reduces the impacts of geographic and curricular isolation.

As a Head of Music in an international school in Malaysia I was lucky to have a nice international school music teacher community around me. It was led by teachers and was connected to the Association of International Malaysian Schools (AIMS) . It was brilliant. We met regularly, created a number of collaborative music events for our students, and had plenty of fun! For me, this AIMS group provided such an incredible space for connection. There are similar communities around the place, such as the Bangkok Music Teacher Network.

I'd love to know if other such groups exist in other cities around the world? (Def get in touch if you know of a group in your city/country/region)

International schools are, by their very nature, competitive institutions. They are businesses that need to sell their educational "offer" to the parents of children looking to secure upward social mobility. Whether they are for/not-for profit doesn't really matter - they all need students in their halls to pay the bills. And it's ok. Some of our individual philosophical foundations about the purpose of education may be confronted by this, but the reality is that privatised education is the backbone of international schooling. Schools may need to compete for "clients" but this doesn't mean we have to compete as music educators. Steering clear of other educators in our neighbouring international schools exacerbates the curricular and geographic isolation that many speak of in our community.

The cool part is that music education, and arts education in general, is an incredible space for teachers to connect and build cultures of collaboration. Plus, since international schooling is a unique space for music education (i.e. focus on culturally diverse music, context-specific music, and music technology integration, plus more) there is a real need to join forces with like-minded legends.

So, let's explore Principle #3 a little more. Firstly, what is this geographic and curricular isolation stuff you speak of, Chris?

Geographic isolation:

Problem:

International schools are often islands unto themselves. In some cities there are literally hundreds of international schools and in others there is one or two. In our community surveys, and during podcast interviews, MTIIS members regularly cite geographic isolation as one of the biggest downsides of teaching music in an international school. People feel out-of-touch, on their own, helpless. For those who have moved from their home country to work in an international school, this can be even more pronounced. They miss the local networks they used to have, their university connections and their years of established contacts in the industry 'back home'.

Solutions:

1) Connect with other international school music teachers online via Linkedin.

Honestly, I used to think Linkedin was super weird, a place for self-promotion and spammy inboxes. But, I've found it to be a legit way to genuinely connect with other individuals in this community. There are so many people doing great stuff that I won't name specific names here. I regularly like/repost these people's work, so keep an eye out for those!

2) Hire locally.

A diverse music teaching team in an international school is so important. Local staff provide the necessary connection to the music community in your context. As the old saying goes: "an international school full of Australians (like me!) hardly an international school makes" ??.

If your international school staffing policy discriminates against hiring local staff via reduced wages or benefits, please point your school to the work of the International School Anti-Discrimination Task Force .

?? I know, some of these discriminatory policies are government-mandated. Often there is very little you can do. But hey, it's worth a try! It's also great to know that you're not alone and there are many international school music teachers like you who want this to change.

Curricular isolation:

Problem:

Music teachers often get shoved towards the back corner of a school.

It makes sense...music departments can be LOUD! It's probably a good thing to be a little isolated. But, often the music curriculum is isolated in an international school context too. In fact, in most of the Western world the subject of music tends to become isolated due to dominant neoliberal economic/political perspectives that influence the prioritisation of certain school subjects for their 'value' to society. By value, of course, I mean fiscal. From a neoliberal perspective, value is rarely ascribed to anything that is not easily quantifiable. i.e. if you don't have the 'numbers' or if there isn't a clear pathway to making money, then forget it. Remember, many parents choose international schooling for their children because they are looking to a) sustain their social/economic capital or, b) find upward social mobility. They're making an investment and they want to see the numbers and the pathways.

So, music education often gets shoved over a bit. It's not the end of the world...it's just a current reality.

Solutions:

1) Advocate

One option is to jump on the bandwagon and quantify everything you do to 'advocate' for your subject. This can work but it can also be exhausting and usually involves lots of high-stakes testing, summative assessment and (probably) some number-fudging to keep everyone happy. Once you've got the numbers, you then have to try to justify why those numbers matter the same, or more, than other subjects. You get involved in curriculum hierarchy debates and your life becomes a 'battle' for your subject. Yay!

2) Shift in focus

Another option is to tap into the ideas around MTIIS community principle #2:

Principle #2 - We can leverage our role as the artistic face of the school (in collaboration with the other Artforms) to reflect the historical place of Music as the expressive heart of community.

We are all putting on epic concerts, shows and events at our international schools. We see it in the photos and videos that flood Linkedin. As I write this article (Dec, 2023) I am seeing literally hundreds of Winter concert posts with students performing and celebrating their place in community. This is absolutely gold (and insanely tiring for the international school music teacher community!), but it is not the focus of this principle.

The principle suggests that we should look to find ways for students to use curricular music to express what it means to be part of both the school and wider community. I've spoken with many international school music teachers through the MTIIS podcast who have followed this route.

In Episode 26, Megan Highfill states that, "in the international world we have so many students that have multiple identities and personal preferences that are influenced by the communities they've lived in and their families...". She then goes on to explain an approach she's trying in elementary music where students bring ideas from home to inform the songs, games and performances that will take place throughout the term. Using the power of the arts to help students express their multiple overlapping identities in your international school could be where it's at.

In Episode 9, Alison Armstrong reflects on how her experience in multiple international school contexts taught her to, "be a curator of musical experiences, a librarian of musical experiences...finding out through the students what their musical preferences were (and) giving them the opportunity to play the pieces they'd always wanted to play".

But how can I build an expressive community in the curriculum when I'm only there for two years, or my students are so transient? True, this is one of the biggest challenges for international school music programs.

As Alison states, "sometimes you'll have a student who will be with you for only a year. Does that mean you should dismiss them? No, you still want to give them a rich experience. So, developing experiences where they can take part, where they can have an access point and exposure to musical cultures...that's really where I'm coming from".

Dr Jennifer Walden is one of a handful of individuals in our community who has completed her PhD looking at music education in international schools. In Episode 3 , Jennifer outlines her approach to teaching music with a focus on culturally diverse music and student-led initiatives. In the interview she reiterates that, "I have never not been supported (with her program) and I've not cared how silly, fun, whatever, I have to be in the classroom...you know, if the kids wanna be nutso over something, you can just be nutso with them".

And this is may be the key here -> allowing student's interests to flourish by using the "curator of musical experiences" approach as described by Alison Armstrong . Maybe this will allow the expressive heart of the school to flourish in the curriculum?

This idea ties in with the seminal work of Lucy Green and her model of informal learning, which suggests that teachers can facilitate experiences by, "using music that pupils choose, like and identify with; learning by listening and copying recordings; learning with friends; engaging in personal, often haphazard learning without structured guidance, and integrating listening, performing, improvising and composing in all aspects of the learning process (Green, 2004, pp. 23). This approach has been implemented widely and with much success in terms of engagement and perception of curricular music in schools. See the various evaluation and research studies here on the Musical Futures International website .

Yes Chris, but what about IGCSE exams and stuff? Don't we need to make sure our students get good marks in these exams to keep our programs running and parents happy?

Well, firstly...these high stakes examination formats are not going to last forever. There have already been changes announced to the Cambridge IGCSE Music Exam from 2026 onwards , which opens the door to a much more culturally-situated and expressive community within the formal curriculum. The IBDP shifted a couple of years back and, although quite scary at first, is now helping teachers to facilitate learning experiences that are both personal and collaborative, as well as deeply expressive. It's only a matter of time before the A Levels start to shift as well. The formal curriculum at the 'top-levels' of schooling is slowly changing to allow for this expressive heart to come through.

It's no accident that this shift seems to be being led in the international school context. Several groups are driving this change. International schools are spaces where innovation, new ideas and changes can often happen with more fluidity. Less state control and more autonomy often breeds innovation. Some notable groups working in this space are:

The Global Citizen Diploma : with a tag line of "my story is more than numbers", this organisation is shaping the future of a new type of end-of-school assessment framework for schools.

The Coalition To Honour All Learning : is a federation of schools across the world that aims to influence the discussion on school leaving certificates. Have a quick look at their website to learn more.

Rethinking Assessment : an organisation aimed at providing workable solutions, practical ideas and approaches to make assessment fairer, broader and more equitable.

There's a lot more to this discussion. This is just a start. Curricular isolation is a complex and multi-faceted concept, but hopefully this gives you some ideas.

So, what's next?

The MTIIS podcast is an exciting space for exploring ideas around international school music education. For those who've listened to an episode or two: I hope you've found it as interesting and insightful as a listener as I have as the interviewer. I've certainly learnt so much!

2024 will see the podcast continue in a similar vein. The goal is to continue 'building bridges within a global music education community' and create a space for you to learn and flourish through these conversations.

We have also been building out international school-specific professional learning opportunities for you. Our goal is to provide relevant international school music PD experiences in your region. International schools are different and our programs are different...our PD should be contextually-situated too.

That's why we have two core experiences for you:

The Big Gig

https://mtiis.co/tbghome/

World Music Pedagogy

https://mtiis.co/wmphome/

We hope to see you at one of these experiences in 2024! There's lots more to come.

So, to finish up, thank you to those who have connected with MTIIS so far. For those who are hearing about it for the first time - welcome!