Every family wants to find the right school for their child whether they stay at home or live abroad. However, if you make the decision to move abroad for a few years and eventually plan to move back home or even to another destination you need to consider a lot more factors to make this a smooth transition for your child.
There are two overall categories that you should consider: academic performance and social well-being and belonging of your child.
Academic Performance
This of course depends on the age of your children. If you have young children who either attend kindergarten, pre-school and even primary school, you have a lot of freedom as long as you make sure that they know their mother tongue, because that will be the language that your child will need to use once you repatriate. Otherwise, you are free to choose any curriculum and your child will grow up bilingual. If your child is able to write, read and understand basic mathematical concepts, you should be fine. There are of course exceptions depending on the country you want to move next, so it is always wise to double check with local school authorities in case they need to see any proof for a specific subject on your child`s report card.
Starting in middle school, it will get harder to ensure that your child can easily go back to the school system back home because of different requirements. From the outside it may look like that schools are teaching pretty much the same subjects, yet the way subjects are being taught can differ widely. For the first few years three subjects will play a special role: their mother tongue, Mathematics and any other language that may be required by your school back home or even another school abroad. Why?
First, their mother tongue. This might be obvious. If you want to go back home, your children need to be fluent in their mother tongue on a high level, yet they often speak another language at school and lose their mother tongue, and they may not know important aspects of grammar, orthography and writing techniques. If you don´t speak the language, you cannot participate in any subject that is being taught.
Second, Mathematics. In Mathematics concepts build upon each other. If you don´t understand addition, you won´t understand multiplication. If you don´t understand multiplication, you won´t understand fractions and so on. But those concepts are being taught and also tested on various levels in different countries. Some countries will use multiple choice questions to test your child´s knowledge, while other countries expect your child to solve long equations. So make sure that your child can participate in Mathematics once you move back.
Third, any other languages. Language skills build upon one another. If your home country requires your child to take another language ensure that it will be taught as close to what is required back at home.
If your child is older, you need to understand what type of certification is required for university admission, especially if your child plans to pursue higher education. The best way to ensure this is to consult local school authorities and the admissions office to verify the specific requirements for university entry.
One final point to consider is if the new school abroad is familiar with children who do not speak the local language. Remember, without knowing the language your child will have a hard time to learn anything in any other subject. Some schools offer special classes for new students or it might be wise to invest in a tutor to support your child in learning the new language and you can do that even before you start your assignment.
Social well-being and belonging
A school abroad usually plays a bigger role in an expat child´s life. It is emotionally challenging for a child to leave a familiar school behind and to dare to walk through some new school doors, not knowing anyone and often not understanding anything. A welcoming face, open students, kind teachers and a supportive word from a principal can make all the difference especially on those first days but also throughout their whole school career. After leaving friends and family behind, your child's social life will largely revolve around school.
This of course comes down to a feeling and you might be wise to listen to your gut. Do you feel welcome, do you feel wanted and do you feel that the school administrators care for your child`s needs. A good indicator is how other expat children thrive in this school. Are they integrated or are they by themselves. Of course you can ask other expat parents, especially those who have repatriated and read school reports to get some feedback.
Social well-being may be even more important than academic standards. You can always hire a tutor to help your child catch up with their work or repeat a year back home, but if your child doesn’t feel welcome, isn’t treated with dignity and respect, and doesn’t find belonging, it can have a much larger impact on their life. However, if they are supported, find belonging, and are taught values that matter to you, your child can have an amazing experience abroad, one that you wouldn’t trade for the world.
COACHING because finding the right school for your child can make or break your time abroad.
There are of course other factors that play into making the right decision:
Cost and affordability
Curriculum and accreditation
Commute to the school
After school activities
Parent involvement
Discipline and behavior policies
Student-teacher ratio
So take your time, if possible visit the school with your whole family before, ask other expats, listen to your gut and maybe most importantly if you get the feeling that this school isn´t right for your child, leave and pick another school that better suits your child.
Happy child abroad, happy life abroad!
CHOOSING THE RGIHT SCHOOL IS ABOUT FINDING A PLACE WHERE A CHILD´S MIND, HEART, AND SPIRIT CAN GROW.
- Unknown -
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