Internationalism and Interculturalism Policy
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP, INTERNATIONALISM & INTERCULTURAL LEARNING POLICY
SCHOOL AIMS:
- To promote a culture of excellence in teaching and learning.
- To provide a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects the international nature of the DBIS student community.
- To encourage internationalism, providing students with the skills, dispositions, and knowledge to participate in an increasingly interconnected world.
- To ensure a supportive, happy and secure environment for learning.
- To develop leadership skills and a sense of service to others through a range of extra-curricular opportunities locally and internationally.
- To encourage the physical and emotional wellbeing of each individual.
- To use innovative pedagogy and technology to achieve high-quality learning.
- To work in partnership with parents, alumni and the local and wider community in the ongoing development of the school.
- To foster a learning community where every student, teacher, staff member, parent and DBIS alumni has an ongoing passion for learning.
RATIONALE:
At Discovery Bay International School, we are an international community school that derives strength from its individual members, immediate locality, and the wider area. We value our role at the heart of Discovery Bay and our place in Hong Kong. We reach out from this position of strength to connect with Asia and the global community, building strong networks with other learning communities and preparing our students for life in diverse international environments.
We believe that internationalism begins and develops from a strong sense of self-identity. To this end, we encourage our students to celebrate their individuality and to be proud of who they are as young people.
We want our students to explore, develop and express their values and opinions while listening to, and showing respect for, the ideas of others. We wish to see DBIS students from different backgrounds interacting, learning from each other and growing together.
It is also essential for our students to develop a deep understanding of their place within our host communities, Hong Kong and China; to appreciate our diverse peoples, heritage, culture, beliefs, and traditions. We encourage our students to connect and engage proactively with these communities as they provide a unique context for their individual and collective development.
PURPOSES:
From this foundation, we hope to see our students learn to embody our Learning Principles (2022), specifically:
- Connected - take an active part in the world around them… develop an international mindset… a strong sense of self
- Intentional - every experience as an opportunity to learn… creativity and independence
- Enriched - raises aspirations… stimulation of children’s curiosity.
- Personalised - Every DBIS learner is valued as an individual.
- Relational - strong and meaningful relationships…nurture positive environments where all our students feel safe, belonging and happy.
DEFINITION OF A DBIS GLOBAL CITIZEN
DBIS Global Citizens are aware of their place in the world and take an active role in their community. They work with others to build a more peaceful, sustainable, and equitable planet and respect and value diversity while working towards social justice. A DBIS Global Citizen is willing to act to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place.
DEVELOPING A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF INTERCULTURALISM
By learning from experts, such as Dr Eeqbal Hassim from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne (2017 and 2022) and Chris Green, CIS (CIS Global Citizenship and Intercultural Learning Foundation Workshop), we have reviewed our policy and our approach to Global Citizenship and Intercultural Learning and with stakeholders across the school, have reevaluated our shared understanding of these concepts and how they relate to our community.
As an outcome of the various parent and teacher collaborative sessions, we were able to define the concept of culture as it relates to DBIS and to establish what we hope to achieve through intercultural learning at our school.
In 2017, we defined culture as shared patterns, systems of thinking and being, not just ethnic, racial, linguistic, national and religious. We agreed that intercultural learning is not surface, piecemeal education about a selection of ‘cultures’ (what ‘cultures’ do, how and why), rather, intercultural learning is learning that has constructive and intentional outcomes which focus on what happens when cultural perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds meet, not cultures as discrete entities.
During the 2022-23 review, we have reevaluated our provision using the CIS Coverage Continua with a view to assessing the depth, breadth and access of our student's learning experiences. We have used the Practice Continua as a guide to inform the quality of our development of Global Citizenship and Intercultural Learning competencies.
Our teaching is underpinned by up-to-date reading and research, with our Embedding Internationalism Document 2022 being integral to this and a reflection of 3 foundational sources of information:
- UNESCO Pillars of Learning
- Oxfam Global Citizenship
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
As we advance our journey of Global Citizenship, Internationalism and Intercultural Learning, and in building on the evaluative work undertaken during 2022-23, we will seek to update key documentation (Embedding Internationalism - Global Citizenship, Internationalism & Intercultural Learning at DBIS Booklet) to reflect this.
Anti-Racist Practices
Anti-Racist education is a key aspect of global citizenship, this is also a key aspect of the SDGs Sustainability Goals. Quality Global Citizenship education supports learners to:
- Be aware of the wider world and their own role as a world citizen
- Respect and value diversity
- Develop an understanding of how the world works
- Participate in the community at a range of levels, from the local to the global
- Work with others to make the world a more equitable and sustainable place
- Take responsibility for their actions (adapted from Oxfam principles)
Anti-racist education fosters a safe and inclusive learning environment, free from racial inequality and racism. It empowers learners to:
- Understand their own rights and the rights of others, both locally and globally.
- Develop an understanding of their own and others' values, beliefs, and cultures.
- Understand the harmful consequences of racism and actively challenge it wherever it occurs.
Liz Pemberton’s 4 E’s of Anti-Racist Practice
Embrace all children’s racial, cultural and religious backgrounds, especially when they differ from your own.
Embed a culture of belonging and value amongst practitioners and children.
Ensure that your practice is culturally sensitive and places the child as the expert of their cultural, racial and religious identity.
Extend learning opportunities for the child by showing interest, expanding conversations and using diverse resources.
The 4 E's of Anti-Racist Practice will be implemented in our school to create an anti-racist learning environment for all.
CONCLUSION:
To support our students in being Global Citizens at DBIS and remaining internationally minded, we provide a wide range of Extracurricular Activities that are accessible to all and complement our formal curriculum. This programme is reviewed annually to ensure that our provision continues to reflect our student's interests, such as the Eco Club (Early Years), United National Global Goals Club (Primary), progressing to the Model United Nations (Secondary).
At DBIS, we recognise and value the diverse nationalities and cultures within our student body and school community. We are committed to promoting internationalism and interculturalism through various initiatives, programs, and curriculum integration while fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment that celebrates diversity, cultivates cultural awareness, and prepares our students to be global citizens. In alignment with this, we strive to create a safe and inclusive learning environment, free from racial inequality and racism, in order to empower our students to challenge racism in all its forms.
Created: 18.11.17
Last Reviewed: 01.09.23
Approved: 22.09.23