What Would I Like to Research?

Looking into my topic for the MEd action research project.

Research Question/Topic

For the purposes of this project I would like to focus on the concept of international mindedness at my school.  The question I would like to investigate is:

To what extend is international mindedness present in the day-to-day experiences of students in our school?

Rational for the Question/Topic

From the above question I would like to unpack not only if it is present, but in want ways is it present, and how can it become a centrepiece for our school's learning experience for everyone.  

As someone who has worked at this school for almost 9 years and has two young boys in the school it is important to me that the education we offer is one that will prepare our (my) kids for the world that awaits them.  In a world where the International Baccalaureate (IB) seems to be growing in popularity resulting in an increased awareness of international mindedness I have become more and more concerned with how were are educating our kids in an ever-shrinking world.  Research has shown that there is an increasing need for global competence & intercultural awareness.  The IB asserts that this came be achieved through the teaching and learning experiences anchored in the concept of international mindedness.  If this is true, which I believe it is, then the importance of investigating the extend at which we are achieving this goal is of great importance.  It is also important that we find new and innovative ways to grow the educational experiences of our students in order to further achieve the goal of developing internationally minded citizens in our school. 

The Context for the Research

Gyeonggi Suwon International School is a JK-12 international school located in Suwon, South Korea that offers the IB Primary Years Program (IBPYP), IB Middle Years Program (IBMYP), and IB Diploma Program (IBDP).  GSIS is a not-for-profit school that has approximately 425 students from 24 different countries.  By Korean law, only 30% of students enrolled in each grade can be Korean passport holders.  This means that while a walk through the school might appear to show a high percentage of local students, they come from different countries and have diverse cultural backgrounds.