International Schools and the Constitution of Global Subjects in the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

This paper analyses the various purposes of schooling to which international schools in the Asia-Pacific region subscribe. Whereas international schools started off as institutions catering to the children of western expatriates, new forms of international schools now exist, in response to a wide range of phenomenon, including globalisation. Using a sample of 100 websites of international school in the Asia-Pacific region, we undertook a critical discourse analysis of their expressed purposes of schooling, with a particular emphasis on the kinds of students/citizens/subjects that the schools purported to produce, and the relationship between these subjectivities and various global issues including peace, cultural diversity and environmental sustainability.