Monday 30 September 2019

International Schools In Chennai - Leadership Practices In International Schools

It is estimated by the International School Consultancy in October 2017, there are 9,200 international schools and over 5 million students studying in these schools with staff strength of 463,000 around the globe. The increases in the number are driven by the rise of International Baccalaureate schools both in the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Despite the growth in the school number, research leadership in these schools is yet to make an impact.

Some of the key features of leadership practice as seen in international schools located in various regions are discussed. The discussion is on the perspectives of leadership and its practices in schools. In case of International Baccalaureate schools in Southeast and East Asia a range of leadership strategies are adopted to address the challenges in implementing innovative curricula like International Baccalaureate programmes. Some of the leadership strategies used by International Baccalaureate schools in Asia is the five disconnection points namely intellectual, instrumental, professional, communicative disconnections and cultural. The actions are addressed through two faces of distributed leaderships; one is the distributed leadership and teacher leadership.

International mindedness is the most significant goal in the formal curriculum in many international schools and it suggests the most difficult goals for school leaders. The leaders engage authentically in the International Mindedness in international schools. The leaders enact IM authentically and the discussion moved onto the emerging literature and ethical leadership.

The complexity of leadership challenges affects international schools in Chennai conceptually and empirically. There is a pattern set between leadership practices and academic achievement confirming the research carried out in non-IB schools in different school systems. The IB exam scores are associated with Strategic Resourcing and Encouraging Teacher Learning and Development. On the contrary monitoring classroom teaching and curriculum has a negative effect on the IB exam scores. The common features of learning affect the status of both international and local schools.

Wednesday 11 September 2019

Pre School Chennai – Importance of early education

Early childhood is the most critical part of the a child’s life. The foundation laid at this age is crucial for holistic development of their life. It is at this point of time children develop cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills essential for their success. The early years are largely spent with family and community. The Census data 2011 reveals 164.48 million children are between the age of 0-6 years in India. 

The government has devised educational policies to provide quality pre school programmes. Article 21A provides right to free and compulsory education between the age of 6 and 14 years. Article 45 urges the states to provide free education upto 6 years. Meanwhile, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2010 provides right to quality elementary education. 

The National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Policy was devised in 2013 and the policy framework includes National Curriculum Framework and Quality Standards for ECCE. The policy brings all children under the age of 6 years to universal access to quality education. Around 1.4 million anganwadi centers cater to 38 million children through the Integrated Child Development Services Programme supported by the nodal department of The Ministry of Women and Child Development. 

Despite the steps taken by the government the number of children enrolled for preschools is less. In the case of elementary education, the number is on the rise, though dropout rates are a major concern. Evaluation reveals that the literacy skills are low in primary grades. All this points to the urgency get children school ready through quality ECE programme. 

Research reveals that early education has long term effects on the child and their future social and economic adjustment. Pre schools in Chennai understand that it can further be passed on to the future generation. Evidences are clear that Early Childhood Education programme change the development projection of a child and make them school friendly.

Tuesday 27 August 2019

Boarding School Application – What makes them special?

Students of modern India face immense challenges when it comes to realizing their goals. Formulating educational strategies to meet the demands of the global scene can help the student to stay ahead of the race. Boarding schools offer residential programs emerging as a preferred destination to parents and students. Today boarding school applications are in great demand, here are some of the reasons to prove it.

Inculcating human values: Education and values go hand in hand. The aim of residential schools is to impart quality education without compromising on human values. Preparing human beings to become self sufficient and sagacious is the ultimate goal of any education system. But not all schools are able to accomplish this fact. Only a focused and valued based curriculum can help achieve this goal. Reputed boarding schools follow this path to glory.

Role of teachers: Boarding schools do not limit the interaction of the students with the teachers to the classroom, they go beyond it. At the boarding school, children are given access to teachers even after school hours helping them to concentrate of their goals fulltime. Weak students are given special coaching to improve their performance in the coming examinations. 

Discipline: Parents send their children to boarding school to inculcate discipline. The attitude of the children changes at the boarding school as they learn the value of time and responsibility. Residential schools work on strict timelines and students follow timetables, be it academic or non-academic activities.

Extracurricular activities: The school infrastructure like laboratories, library, playground, sport facilities are used by the students any time at the boarding school, making them confident and competitive. It is here they foster friendships and carrying it all their life.

Family issues: Children at the boarding school forget about their family issues and develop a strong bond among co-students and teachers. They live in a multi-cultural environment making them a versatile personality.

Tuesday 6 August 2019

Best boarding school – Building resilience

Best Boarding schools offer 360 degree experience giving the child the advantage of experiencing independence with responsibility. Boarding schools are no more disciplinary dorms. Today, more and more children are embracing boarding school as they want to write their success chapter. Boarding school teaches your child to handle life with patience and perseverance. The boarders cultivate child skills in and out of their classrooms. Resilience is an important attribute necessary for every child. It gives them the ability to bounce back from setbacks and try again to reach the pinnacle of success. 

Boarding schools is a place where friendships are made for life. They learn to understand their schedule of learning and co-habiting with friends. The students learn to adjust by making small compromises and shifts to make the environment friendly and lively. 
Boarding school provides a world of experience ranging from academics, extracurricular, community living, social responsibility and reality. Many alumni from boarding schools make it to the top leadership positions across the globe. The reason being they are engaged in the community by design and experience firsthand how their own decision can impact the lives of their own and others.
Boarding schools help students to push boundaries. They are presented with a host of opportunities and test and learn how to overcome them independently. The supportive environment in the campus gives them the confidence to compete any situation. Every day is a new day where the students learn new things. This experience is valued for life and come handy in solving complex situations in life.

Living away from home and loved ones is a biggest challenge faced by boarding school students. But this challenge is overcome by finding substitutes in the form of friends and teachers. The boarding school offers a bouquet of experience that is hard to find by day scholars. 

Wednesday 31 July 2019

Matric School Chennai – Moving Towards Problem Solving Approach

Reforms in the education system is crucial for the upliftment society. Parents aspire for professional courses, the society aims at socially conscious citizen whereas the industries are looking for skills. Tough task lies in the hands of the educationalists to design a curriculum to meet the requirements of all the heterogeneous society. The Government of Tamilnadu has a vision plan for the students. They have initiated reforms in the educational system by launching the new curriculum followed by Matric schools in Chennai.

The new curriculum comes with a host of challenges like rote learning supported by predictable examination model, poor analytical skills and relying on theory than practical approach. Moreover, it is felt that the syllabus is disconnected from the real life scenario. All this with the lack of vernacular language fluency has become a challenge for the government curriculum.

The introduction of National Level Entrance Tests (NEET) has triggered a major reform in the Tamil Nadu textbooks. Though, one cannot ignore the concerns of the demand to updating the curriculum to meet the dynamics of the national level tests. Finally, Tamil Nadu has began the process of redesigning the textbooks and contents. Traditionally, textbooks were a warehouse of knowledge where the student will not require any additional reference material or supplementary resource. But the new textbooks has changed this scenario. 

New textbooks have a pinch of technology and features like inforgraphs, case studies, reference book names, web links, concept maps, information and communications technology. They also add mobile apps and web resources. 

The examination pattern of national level tests shows an unusual trend. For this purpose the higher secondary curriculum was reoriented with few structural changed. The students lose out in physics and chemistry due to the conventional approach as they rely on theory ignoring the problem solving approach. The new textbooks have filled this gap by redesigning to give importance to problem solving. 

Thursday 11 July 2019

Rising Popularity Of International Schools In Chennai

The rise of international schools in Chennai is tremendous. Two decades ago, only 1000 international schools with English medium instruction was available worldwide, says ISC Research. Thhe students of these schools were primarily children from expat families, diplomats, NGO staffs, journalists, technicians and corporate employees. Today, it is alarming to note that there are over 8,000 international schools serving over 4.5 million students. The percentage of students from the host country is about 80%. This goes to prove the popularity of international schools among the locals. It is predicted by the ISC that in the coming 10 years the international schools will be double more than 16,000 schools with over 8.75 million students. 

Top international schools are special with their unique characteristic. The school is made up of students from different linguistic and cultural background. Over 80 countries have adopted the curriculum and this gives a diverse blend. The students are considerate making the classroom interesting and non-issue.

There are a host of extracurricular activities offered with infrastructural facilities like playground, swimming pool, badminton court and more. Some schools also offer spots like fencing, etc. 

International schools have beautiful gardens to encourage living close to nature. The students can take time off at the garden to refresh their mind. 

The school kitchen practices different cuisine giving the students an opportunity to taste diverse food. Since students are from diverse community offering food of their choice would bring them close to their home.

Teachers plan their lessons to make it inspirational to their students. The students are selected with care as they fit with the school’s vision and mission. The teachers use different resources to reach their point to the students. Materials and equipment can make this task easier. Students connect with the teachers to explore new venues to grow and excel.

The international schools inspire students and teachers to work towards building a harmonious society.

Thursday 20 June 2019

Best Boarding School – The Ideal Choice For Your Child

Boarding schools are often treated as punishment for students who are naught and cannot be controlled at home. Many feel that boarding school is a place where the happiness, innocence and curiosity is compromised. These are traditional thoughts about residential schools. Best boarding schools are a seen as a multicultural environment where students learn, play, are socially responsible, cherish lifelong friendship, have access to school infrastructure round the clock and get help from teachers. This is a place where the students develop their personality.

Nuclear family and double income household has given rise to residential schools. Parents work late and do not have time to care for their children. Parents want their children to be watched and cared while they are away and residential schools is the best way to satisfy both the needs of the parents and the children. 

Parents who travel regularly or get transferred periodically find residential schools a great option. The boarding space gives the students stability and continuity to enjoy their learning seamlessly.

Absence of reputed schools in their home district also forces parents to send their children to residential schools. Lack of proper infrastructure and latest technological aids are also instrumental in parents choosing boarding schools in cities. 

Apart from the above reasons, some parents send their wards to boarding schools to keep up the family tradition. In some families you find generations passing out from the same school or college. 

There is no doubt that students at boarding schools are independent and well groomed. Boarding schools apart from academics give importance to extracurricular activities like sports, art, drama, debates among other.

Residential schools mostly follow international curriculum giving the children an edge over others. Students at international residential schools get ready to pursue their higher education abroad in reputed universities and colleges.