We are excited to share the results of groundbreaking research conducted by the Council of International Schools (CIS) in collaboration with the Jacobs Foundation, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER UK), and the Klingenstein Center at Teachers College, Columbia University. This research explores how pedagogy is influenced in an international school context, focusing on how schools make decisions about learning and teaching, and how they evaluate the impact of these decisions.
To disseminate our findings and assist schools in evaluating their own practices, we are proud to introduce the CIS Pedagogy Playbook. The Pedagogy Playbook is designed for leaders who are ready to evaluate their effectiveness in managing pedagogical decisions, helping them to make evidence-based changes that balance the school’s vision, community voices, and learner needs. This tool will guide educators as they assess their priorities for learning, make informed decisions about teaching, and incorporate the voices and needs of learners and the community into this process.
International schools around the world are recognized for leading educational practice. Many operate outside of national education systems as independent entities, providing space for innovation and change. As we considered the varying amounts of independence in these school communities, we’re excited to publish a publicly-accessible tool for all school leaders to guide their decision-making in alignment with priorities for learning.
During our research, we consulted over 400 school leaders, 550 teachers, 400 parents, and 500 students from 140 CIS member schools across 56 countries on six continents. Our research, which began in 2022, was driven by these guiding questions:
- How do schools select, adopt, plan, implement, and evaluate pedagogies?
- What factors lead to changes in practice (cultural, historical, curricular, contextual)?
- How and where do schools access evidence to make decisions?
- How do perspectives between community members align and diverge within a school?
This new online resource is publicly accessible at www.cois.org/pedagogy-playbook and aims to support schools worldwide as they lead pedagogical change in their communities.