Internationalism at School Parent Gatherings

☕ It’s a weekday morning coffee meeting for parents at your international school in Asia. 
🔴 What parent nationalities do you see represented?

When Danau Tanu did research at a Jakarta international school, she noticed at parent meetings there was a “visible and audible contrast between the parent group and the larger student body.” She gives an example of a morning coffee meeting where the parent group was made up of “roughly twenty women who were predominantly white, representing only a handful of all parents. The few Asian mothers who were present were usually either married to a Western man (often Anglophone) or fluent in English because they had been educated in an Anglophone country.”

We have noticed this, too. The parents who are more commonly present at optional international school parent events are those with Western cultural capital or fluent English.

We think schools should make plans that help parents from all backgrounds feel included and valued at school events. Then educators can avoid what Tanu says was a significant “level of discomfort [for] some parents… in relation to the dominant school culture.”

We believe schools should strengthen their cross-cultural awareness to make events accessible and enjoyable for all parents. In the comments on Linkedin, we have included one simple idea that can improve attendance and participation of Asian parents at school events.

🔴 How does your school encourage participation from Asian parents?

Danau Tanu’s research was reported in her book, Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging in an International School (2018). Quotations in this post are from page 106 and 107.