Transience - the Ends and Beginnings of our International Communities 'Don’t hurry the journey at all. Better if it lasts for years, so you’re old by the time you reach the island' C P Cavafy, Ithaca

A few thoughts on the flux of our school communities (and my own journey to new pastures in the next school year).

open.substack.com/pub/simonjdp...

Thanks - These are great (and a really good accompainment to the podcast).

POLICY TRANSFER AND ISOMORPHISM: A CASE STUDY OF THE ENGLAND-CHINA MATHS TEACHER EXCHANGE Global policy transfer has become increasingly popular in recent years, and one recent example of such policy transfer is the England–China Teacher Exchange, which was initiated in 2014 with the ex...

I think there's lots of answers to that (also the PISA stats for China are not really comparable as only looking at Shanghai/BJ). Sorry to have missed it - family in town(!).

I've also written about this (and cited Yong Zhao) - www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...

The Metaphor of the City ‘City of the world! (for all peoples are here; All the lands of the earth make contributions here)’ Walt Whitman

I've been searching in my book project on British Schools in East Asia for an appropriate metaphor for how we build vibrant communities at the centre of our schools.

This is the best I've found.

simonjdprobert.substack.com/p/the-metaph...

Really enjoyed talking about some of my research around leadership in international schools with @21cl.bsky.social learning earlier this week. If you missed it you can catch the discussion here: www.21clconf.org/presentation...

'Resonance' - a word for the Year of the Snake 'Experiencing resonance transforms us, and it is precisely this transformation that makes us feel alive', Hartmut Rosa

What does the word ‘resonance’ mean to you?

@efraimlerner.bsky.social and I have been playing around with this word for a little while. And I just love this reflection from @simonjdprobert.bsky.social

open.substack.com/pub/simonjdp...

Thanks for the post Shane - and let me know what you think of Hartmut Rosa..(!).

#92 Bourdieu in Schools w/ Dr Alexander Gardener-McTaggart - The Infinite Learners Podcast  Dr Alexander Gardener-McTaggart simplifies the work of Pierre Bourdieu by discussing how educators can recognise, use and apply Bourdieu's concepts of 'habitus', 'field' and 'distinction' in our...

I really enjoyed this episode of the infinite learners podcast with on all things school culture and the challenges of working in international schools. Also some useful perspectives on Bourdieu for anyone out there doing research into the sector.
www.buzzsprout.com/1161533/epis...

Great visual from @strickomaster.bsky.social Is Leadership a Race for reflecting on where we are as leaders and where we want to get to. Going straight into our leadership twilight for next week.

Agreed - some great stuff on coaching. I think this may be the best post I have read on the broad (and at time nebulous) area of coaching: www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/blogs/carneg...

Best episode of an educational podcast I've heard in a while. @samfr.bsky.social firing on all cylinders. Though I hope the answer to making KS3 more focussed is not more standardized testing.

Food, Flags, Festivals (and Fun..) – Reflections on how we articulate Internationalism as Schools 'Whilst the rituals may be the tip of the cultural iceberg, they cannot be the iceberg itself'

A few brief reflections on how we conceptualise internationalism through the many Fs (food, flags, festivals...) as International Schools.

open.substack.com/pub/simonjdp...

First time speaking in Mandarin on an education panel at a Yuanbo event for internationally orientated schools (国际特色) in central Shanghai. Struck by an increasing emphasis on wellbeing and holistic education in the bilingual sector here.

For me a critical element of evidence based practice is ways experience resonates with the research (and the time for reflection when it does not...)

A few thoughts on a long standing area of reflection - ways we conceptualise and understand internationalism in International schools (do let me know what you think..) open.substack.com/pub/simonjdpro…

Nice decorations. Similar to what we are doing in Shanghai for our students (also they are all wearing traditional dress and making moon cakes..)

Monkey Island on what must have been one of the first Toshiba laptops (my dad worked in the industry).

Good few days on our group Aspiring Heads course. I'd recommend Steve Munby imperfect leadership - rule number one - Ask for help when you need it (!).

And the Sony Walkman - first moment it was possible to play the soundtrack to your own life as you walked to school. Rocked up feeling like I owned the place which lasted at least until period one - Physics.

Not heard that one before - I've always used the suitcase curriculum which gets hauled from classroom to classroom over the years with no sense of the learners it is being delivered to.

I think we need balance - it's not necessarily one size fits all but there are core principles which should inform our approaches to learning (particularly if we are to avoid the ever-present faddishness which is a feature of education)

Philosophically (for me at least) I think it's where the unquestionable principles are (ie learning is a science) but also ongoing reflection around the role of lived experience in engaging with and around academic research.

I guess my point is that the quality of PGCEs (and what is/isn't a focus) is variable. But thanks - just reading about John H Flavell's 1976 research.

I think a reliance on what was done on a PGCE is a danger. Back when I did my PGCE 15 years ago none of the research around meta cognition was on the curriculum. It is critical we ensure contemporary research informs what goes on in schools (as a senior leader this is always a priority..)

Also that academia is an echo chamber - it feels like academics spend more time talking to each other rather than the profession (at least that's been my experience during my doctorate). As teacher researchers we have an outsized impact (as long as we can find the time...)

'We Don't Really Drink Tea Do We?' - Identity through an International Lens ‘Who are We? What will become of Us?'(Shirley and Hargreaves, 2024)

A short post on Identity and Schools, inspired by Dennis Shirley and Andy Hargreaves excellent, 'The Age of Identity'.

open.substack.com/pub/simonjdp...

'Over the past two years some 36,200 working-age secondary-school teachers quit the profession, the highest rate since records began in 2010' I wonder how many moved to Int Schools www.economist.com/britain/2024...

Schools are social places and relationships are everything. On a staff and student level.

The longer I've been in education the more convinced I am that small steps are more sustainable and in turn have more impact. Our inset builds on last year and is aligned with our 3 tear strategic plan.

Nice(!). Certainly a different pace to teaching in the UK.