TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION AND THE AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS SECTOR A report on the nature, levels and models of offshore schools sector engagement Peter Burgess July 2016 Acknowledgements The International Education Association of Australian (IEAA) would like to thank all those individuals and organisations that contributed their time to support this research project. Your contribution has been invaluable. Note This research paper was commissioned for IEAA’s Transnational Education Forum, Monday 11–Tuesday 12 July 2016. The aim of this report is to produce a preliminary analysis of the TNE schools sector. What follows is not an academic research paper, but a report to support debate and discussion. Further research is recommended subject to feedback received during the forum. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 4 2. AIM AND SCOPE 5 3. METHODOLOGY 5 4. CURRENT SITUATION 6 5. SECTOR VALUE 9 6. INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS OPERATING IN FOREIGN ENVIRONMENTS 10 7. MODELS OF ENGAGEMENT 11 8. APPROVALS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE OF THE SCHOOL SECTOR 13 9. CASE STUDY EXAMPLE: THE CANADA MODEL 16 10. THE NEXT STEPS 17 11. CONCLUDING REMARKS 18 APPENDIX 1: AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL SECTOR TNE ENGAGEMENT 19 APPENDIX 2: INTERNATIONAL PROCESSES 23 APPENDIX 3: EXAMPLE OF CHARACTERISTICS OF CANADIAN OFFSHORE PARTNERS 29 REFERENCES 31 1. INTRODUCTION In 1986, the Western Australian State Government first began marketing its school curriculum under license/franchise agreements offshore. Other states/territories then followed over subsequent years. However, in the 30 years that the Australian schools sector has been engaged in transnational education (TNE), there is very little data available to realistically assess the merit, extent, reach or returns that the licensing/franchising of Australian school sector curriculum overseas actually presents to the Australian school sector – not to mention the wider Australian community, the students, the offshore partner schools or the various host countries. It is this lack of data that may have contributed to the Australian TNE schools sector being largely overlooked in terms of public diplomacy, undervalued as a contributor to Australia’s international export and transnational education agendas and perhaps not fully appreciated as a contributor to the internationalisation process. In 2005, Ministers of Education and Training across Australia agreed to the Transnational Quality Strategy (TQS)1 to preserve and protect Australia’s reputation as a provider of quality education and training when those services are delivered offshore. Then in March 2008, Fiona Buffinton, Chief Executive Officer of Australian Education International (AEI), launched a framework designed to support Australian school sector international engagement2. While the AEI report clearly focuses on international student considerations, the framework did place emphasis on strengthening strategic partnerships, building an international profile of Australian schooling, supporting a sustainable international school sector, and working to ensure a quality international school experience. To achieve these goals, AEI agreed to work with key stakeholders to: ■ raise the profile of the schools sector and increase engagement; ■ cooperate with the states and the school sector on the collection of relevant data; ■ identify world best practice in school education and international engagement; ■ undertake school sector specific research and analysis; ■ advance the outcomes of the Study in Australia brand evaluation, with particular attention to the need for school sector generic promotion; ■ encourage schools to develop strategic partnerships and linkages, including across sectors; and ■ seek to showcase the quality of the Australian school education system to foreign government officials3. While clearly focussed towards the strategic impact and prospective benefits of international student engagement by the schools sector, the AEI report does refer to data limitations associated with activities that include offshore provision, including the sale of Australian curriculum. The AEI framework also refers to the need for a sharper national focus on encouraging and supporting a greater offshore presence through international schools, partnerships and the provision of a nationally branded, end-of-school Australian Certificate of Education qualification. In addition, AEI identifies a need for state/territory governments to strive towards policy coherence, to adopt integrated whole of government strategies, to support cross-sectoral engagement (along with a number of other support measures), and to overcome the identified barriers to growth within the sector4. Whether or not any of these framework measures were implemented, and whether they proved to be effective, remains to be seen. Many of the measures identified by the AEI in 2008 do seem to remain relevant to the TNE school sector today. 1 MCEETA (2005), Joint Ministers’ Communique on TNE Total Quality Strategy. Nineteenth mceetya meeting (Higher Education Ministers) 17 November 2005, Available at www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/MC19_joint_communique.pdf (Accessed 12 May 2016) 2 Australian Education International (2008), Framework for International Engagement by the Australian Schools Sector 2008–11, p.3, Available at https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Research/Publications/Documents/ StrategicFrameworkInternationalEngagement.pdf (Accessed om 21 May 2016) 3 AEI (2008) 4 Strategic Framework for International Engagement by the Australian Schools Sector 2008–11, p.24, Available at https://internationaleducation.gov.au/Research/Publications/Documents/StrategicFrameworkInternationalEngagement.pdf (Accessed 21 May 2016) IEAA RESEARCH REPORT: TNE AND THE AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS SECTOR 4 2. AIM AND SCOPE In the IEAA project brief which guides this research, it was noted that Australian high school qualifications have been delivered overseas since the early 1980s. Although they seem to be increasing in popularity in China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South-East Asia and Pacific countries, there is very little available data on transnational education in the Australian schools sector. The scope of this research project is to provide a benchmark report on aspects of TNE engagement in the schools sector, giving consideration to the following: ■ What school qualifications are being delivered via TNE outside Australia? By whom? Which states/territories are involved? ■ Where are these qualifications being delivered? ■ What are the student and graduate numbers? ■ What are the models of engagement? (e.g. curriculum provision, branch campus, partnered arrangements, pathway arrangements) ■ What are the quality assurance (QA) frameworks in place? ■ What kind of in-country regulatory environments do these programs operate in? ■ What is the global competitive environment for these qualifications? The aim of this report is to produce a preliminary analysis of the TNE schools sector. The report is intended to support debate and discussion around the need for better understanding, appreciation and inclusion of the sector’s education significance to Australia and in those countries where Australian curriculum can be found. Findings from the report will be presented at IEAA’s TNE Forum in Melbourne (11–12 July 2016). 3. METHODOLOGY The methodology used in this preliminary TNE schools research project was intentionally designed to be simple, yet functional, taking in to account project time constraints for completion. The data collection methods included the use of face-to-face interviews with representatives selected from three active State Government Board of Studies Authorities, together with the past principal of the Australian International School, Singapore and the past president of the Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals. Desktop research involved: ■ collecting relevant online data from all Australian state/territory government agencies ■ a review of school sector publications across a range of countries relevant to transnational education delivery (which also included a focus on international school activities and growth of this part of the sector), and ■ a review of Australian school promotional materials and a range of foreign school websites to confirm the nature and level of engagement with Australia. IEAA RESEARCH REPORT: TNE AND THE AUSTRALIAN SCHOOLS SECTOR 5 4. CURRENT SITUATION Definition It is sensible to commence by clarifying definitions and terminology accepted for use in this study. The precise nomenclature for TNE activities varies. Knight5 defines TNE as the mobility of education programs and providers between countries which, she suggests, has changed dramatically in both scope and scale over the past decade. New providers, partnerships, modes of delivery, and regulations are emerging. At the British Council’s Going Global conference in Cape Town in May 2016, Knight6 also makes reference to a proliferation of TNE terms that often create confusion as to how they are interpreted and used. In the same paper, Knight makes reference to the four accepted generic and interchangeable terms that include TNE, cross border, offshore and borderless education. When considering Australian school sector TNE activity, it can be broadly defined as activity involving the delivery of Australian registered school curriculum in overseas markets which can occur through a public, international, private or government/state/provincial school. In her paper entitled ‘What Makes a School International?, Nagrath7 states that in order to be