Photo by eastenhuh, Flickr

Students in B.C. are gearing up for school. Other students in countries like China and Korea are also preparing to head back to school to study a curriculum identical to that of B.C. students, but without the expense or inconvenience of travelling to Canada.

Offshore School Programs offer students abroad the opportunity to study under a B.C. curriculum with English as the language of instruction. There are currently 37 certified B.C. offshore schools in China, Egypt, Korea, Thailand, Qatar and Colombia. The B.C. Ministry of Education states that the offshore schools program helps build strong international relationships that help develop cultural, economic and research opportunities.

Home advantage, international insight

A teacher teaching children at a B.C. offshore school. | Photo courtesy of yewenyi, Flickr

For Chris Ge, being educated at a B.C. offshore school helped him better understand both Western and Chinese culture. He was one of the first students to graduate from Maple Leaf International School in 1999 in Dalian, China, where he spent four years at boarding school. His parents originally sent him there so he could learn English, and then move abroad for university. Many of his classmates, he suggests, went to the school for similar reasons.

Larry Simpson, principal of BIS Canada in Seongnam, South Korea, says that their school started so families wouldn’t have to be separated. He adds that many South Korean students are sent overseas to receive an English education, which, according to research by Leah Petersen and Jeeson Park-Saltzmanon, can wreak havoc on a family and raise challenges like discrimination, cultural conflict, and an unclear sense of identity.

“[Here] the family wouldn’t have to be broken up and most students would remain Korean and they would have the support of their family and culture as you’re dealing with this very strange curriculum,” says Simpson.

George Watson, superintendent of Maple Leaf Educational Systems, says that they offer students an opportunity to study and graduate from a B.C. curriculum and most of their graduates enroll in Canadian universities.

“This is a direct economic boost to the provincial economy and has many long term advantages as well,” Watson says.

Larry Simpson, principal of BIS Canada. | Photo courtesy of BIS Canada

Life at a B.C. Offshore School

At BIS Canada, students are expected to speak English once they enter the school gates, and there’s more of an emphasis toward inquiry-based learning.

Similarly, Ge and his classmates had to speak English during classes, but would revert to speaking Mandarin during their free time or at the dormitories. He recalls that the transition was difficult in the beginning, but he adjusted quickly after his first year at Maple Leaf.

“We just spend more time studying English, while we’re studying the academic coursework,” he says.

Simpson says that children are quite flexible.

“We often tell our parents, your children understand this system much better than you. They’re able to bridge the gap better than you can, and much better than we can as well,” he says.

At Maple Leaf, Watson says students are not immersed in Canadian culture, but over time develop an understanding of the Western education system and have confidence to think for themselves.

Life after B.C. offshore school

At first, Ge didn’t feel he was immersed in Canadian culture while he was at Maple Leaf. But when he first came to Canada for university, he realized that he had an advantage compared to other Chinese students who had just come to Canada and hadn’t gone to an international school.

“I think they would have a leg up on their peers,” says Simpson, when talking about BIS students. He believes his students remain rooted in Korean culture, even though they’ve received a Western education. That experience is different from ‘in-between’ kids who have spent a number of years abroad. In their mind, Simpson says, they’re Canadian, yet their parents are still deeply rooted in Korea.

Ge doesn’t have the confusion in-between kids do. He still feels Chinese first, but also understands the Western culture. He’s able to navigate between cultures with ease. When he worked for Dell in China, he was able to mediate problems in his department and communicate with both his Chinese and Western colleagues.

“It never happened to me, the question whether they think me more Chinese or more Western,” Ge recounts. “When I speak to Chinese people, like my Chinese friends…they thought of me as a Chinese. But when I deal with my boss, with foreigners, I do speak their way.”

In Korea, Simpson explains that big organizations like Samsung, Hyundai and LG look for people who have a foreign education because they seem to have a bit more creativity. So, he believes the real advantage students receive is a lesson in how to become global citizens.

When he first started studying at Maple Leaf, Ge thought that he was merely learning English at the school.

“But now, I do feel that the culture is the most important thing I learned from being in an international school,” he says.

For Ge, his high school years shaped his value system and allowed him to understand Western culture while retaining his Chinese identity.