International mindedness of native students as a function of the type of school attended and gender

Abstract

English

The international mindedness of native Qatari students attending public, magnet and international schools was examined on three domains: awareness of other cultures, universal affiliation and cultural tolerance. The findings showed that although Qatari students scored high on international mindedness in general, no significant differences were detected between the groups attributable to type of school, with the exception that students attending international schools scored higher than their cohorts on awareness of other cultures. Female students scored significantly higher than their male peers on all three domains of international mindedness. The results were discussed in terms of the influence international schools exert on international mindedness of students.

French

La sensibilité internationale d'élèves qataris autochtones scolarisés dans des établissements scolaires publiques, des établissements du programme 'Magnet' et des écoles internationales a été examinée sur trois aspects: la sensibilisation à d'autres cultures, l'affiliation universelle et la tolérance culturelle. Les résultats indiquent que bien que les élèves qataris obtenaient en général des scores élevés en matière de sensibilité internationale, aucune différence significative attribuable au type d'établissement scolaire fréquenté n'a été détectée, à la seule exception près que les élèves des écoles internationales obtenaient des scores plus élevés en matière de sensibilisation à d'autres cultures. L'étude a également révélé que les jeunes filles obtenaient des scores bien plus élevés que leurs condisciples masculins dans les trois domaines de la sensibilité internationale examinés. Les résultats ont été discutés en termes d'influence exercée par les écoles internationales sur la sensibilité internationale des élèves.

Spanish

Se evaluó la mentalidad internacional de los estudiantes cataríes que asisten a colegios públicos, magnet schools y colegios internacionales en relación con tres aspectos: sensibilidad hacia otras culturas, afiliación universal y tolerancia a las diferencias culturales. Los estudiantes cataríes lograron buenos resultados en cuanto a mentalidad internacional en general, pero no se detectaron diferencias importantes entre los tres grupos que se pudieran atribuir a los distintos tipos de colegio. Sin embargo, los estudiantes de los colegios internacionales obtuvieron mejores resultados que los de los otros dos grupos en cuanto a sensibilidad hacia otras culturas. Las alumnas lograron mejores resultados que los alumnos en los tres aspectos mencionados. Los resultados se analizaron en relación con la influencia que ejercen los colegios internacionales en la mentalidad internacional de los estudiantes.

Keywords

international mindedness international schools Qatar

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

ALLAN, M. (2002) ‘Cultural borderlands: cultural dissonance in the international school’ . International School Journal 21(2): 48-56 .

AL-MISNAD, S.A. (1998) ‘The effect of university education on students’ attitude toward modernization at University of Qatar’ . The Educational Research Center Journal 13: 13-49 (in Arabic).

BARTLETT, K. (1993) ‘Internationalism: getting beneath the surface Part 1: Internationalism? It’s about thinking’ . International Schools Journal 26, 35-38 .

BURLEIGH, J.C. (1994) ‘What works: a study of multicultural education in an international school setting Part 2’ . International Schools Journal 27, 46-51 .

EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS (2003) International Schools Directory (2004-2005). Petersfield, Hants: European Council of International Schools .

HAMOUD, F. (2003) ‘Diversification of values among the youth’ . Journal of Social Affairs 20: 234-280 (in Arabic).

HAYDEN, M.C. AND THOMPSON, J.J. (1996) ‘Potential difference: The driving force for international education’ . International Schools Journal 16(1): 46-57 .

HAYDEN, M.C. AND THOMPSON, J.J. (2000) ‘International education: flying flags or raising standards?’ . International Schools Journal 19(2): 48-56 .

HAYDEN, M.C. , RANCIC, B. AND THOMPSON, J.J. (2000) ‘Being international: Student and teacher perception from international schools’ . Oxford Review of Education 26(1): 107-123 .

10.

HAYDEN, M.C. , THOMPSON, J.J. AND WILLIAMS G. (2003) ‘Student perceptions of international education: a comparison by course of study student taken’ . Journal of Research in International Education 2(2), 205-232 .

11.

HILL, I. (2000) ‘Trends in international education: internationally-minded schools’ . International Schools Journal 20(1): 24-37 .

12.

HINRICHS, J. (2003) ‘A comparison of level of international understanding among students of the International Baccalaureate diploma and Advanced Placement programs in the USA’ . Journal of Research in International Education 2(5): 331-348 .

13.

JONIETZ, P.L. AND HARRIS, N.D.C. , eds (1991) World Yearbook of Education 1991: International Schools and International Education. London: Kogan Page .

14.

ROBERTS, B. (2003) ‘What should international education be? From emerging theory to practice’ . International Schools Journal 22(2): 69-79 .

15.

SAMPSON, D. AND SMITH, H.C. (1957) ‘A scale to measure world-minded attitudes’ . Journal of Social Psychology 45: 99-106 .

16.

STOLL, L. AND FINK, D. (1996) Changing our Schools. Milton Keynes: Open University Press .

17.

WALKER, G. (1995) ‘To educate the nations - the Harry Ree Lecture. Settle High School, Yorkshire, UK’, in G. Walker (ed.) (1999) Variations on an International Theme: A Collection of Essays. Geneva: The Foundation of the International School of Geneva .

18.

WALKER, G. (2000) ‘One way streets of our culture’ . International Schools Journal 19(2): 11-19 .

19.

WATERSON, M. AND HAYDEN, M.C. (1999) ‘International education and its contribution to the development of student attitudes’ . International Schools Journal 18(2): 17-27 .

20.

YAMATO, Y. and BRAY, M. (2002) ‘Education and socio-political change: the continued growth and evolution of the international schools sector in Hong Kong’ . Asia Pacific Education Review 31: 24-36 .