We all -- students and teachers alike -- long to belong.

Douglas Beam from Global Online Academy joined us to share his insights on the importance of working to build a sense of belonging for students in our schools. He also discussed his doctoral work on gender and sexual minorities in international schools.

Douglas has been a teacher and leader in schools in Europe, Asia, and North America and currently works at GOA as the Associate Director of Member School Engagement. He has taught or coordinated programs in elementary, middle, and high school and at the graduate level. As a school leader, he has had several roles, including head of the department, grade level coordinator, IB Middle Years Programme coordinator, and GOA site director. His leadership has focused on collaborative program building, curriculum development, school policy, and pastoral care. Douglas is passionate about making schools where all students feel a sense of belonging. He earned a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) from the University of New England, where his dissertation focused on a sense of belonging in international schools for gender and sexual minority students. Douglas lives in Ohio with his husband and their twin boys.

Our Guiding Question was, “What does it mean to experience a sense of belonging in an international school environment, and how can we, as teachers, best support our students in developing theirs?”

Here are some of the topics covered:

• A definition of belonging
• Factors that nurture belonging
• Ways students in elementary, middle, and high school would describe their sense of belonging.
• How an identity as an international student differs from an identity as a student in a person’s home country.
• The positive and negative “forces” affecting international students as they develop their identities.
• School leaders and teachers can implement programs and strategies to improve the environments inside as well as outside the classroom to support student well-being in terms of feeling supported and connected to others.
• And we heard a few highlights from Douglas’ dissertation on gender and sexual minorities in our schools.

The show was recorded on February 16, 2024.

Douglas’ Contact Information: LinkedIn Douglas Beam

Categories: School Life | Transitions

Resources Mentioned in the Episode:

Douglas’ Doctoral Thesis on Belonging in International Schools

The Global Online Academy (GOA)

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

It is such a treat to reconnect with a former student and to discover where their life has led them. In this episode, we reconnected with Claire Gaul, a student from our Saudi days. Claire and her husband, Jamel, teach at their third international post, a school in China. They shared so many great insights that you might have to listen to the episode twice to take them all in!

Claire is originally from California, and Jamel was raised in Alsace in a Tunisian/Algerian family. They enjoy traveling, grilling, and being outdoors. They have 9-year-old twins (Luke and Leia) who are in 4th grade. Luke loves animals, electronics, mixed tapes, and researching how to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. Leia loves reading, cats, macaroons, and drawing comics.

The guiding question for this episode was, “What are some common experiences for international teaching families?”

Jamel and Claire covered many topics, including:

• Teachers should be ready for their preconceptions and generalizations regarding host countries to be mistaken.
• Consider healthcare and how well the school can support your children, especially if there are special needs.
• Infrastructure, including transportation, government services, and ease of travel should also be considered.
• Benefits for kids include smaller classes, the potential for more individualized support, co-curricular programming, diversity of friends, exposure to new languages, and growing social and geopolitical awareness.
• Benefits for parents include working with teachers from other cultures and connecting with other expats, who may also be parents.
• Struggles can come from language barriers, differences in cultural understanding, feelings of loss with respect to the previous location.
• Part of what makes the new school and community work comes from parental modeling of positive attitudes and commitment to personal growth.
• Claire and Jamel offered recruiting strategies for couples with children.
• One recommendation is to balance career opportunities with schools that meet your children’s needs while keeping your options wide open. Also, be prepared for some schools on your wish list not to be the best fit for your family.

This episode was recorded on December 9, 2023.

Contact Information: Claire on LinkedIn and Jamel on LinkedIn

Resources Mentioned in the Episode: IB Diploma Programme Design Technology Teachers Facebook Group

Categories: School Life | Recruiting | Transitions | Finances | Travel | Family

Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information or to subscribe to our newsletter!

Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com

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Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.

Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Can you feel the energy in the air? This was a zinger of an episode!

Kam Chohan, the Executive Director of the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS), joined us for this episode.

With a background in education and leadership, Kam Chohan is a learning leader who brings insight, wisdom, and compassion to the role. She demonstrates the ability to build meaningful, lasting relationships that contribute to personal and organizational development and improvement.

Kam is a passionate educator and has enjoyed lecturing in mathematics and business in previous roles. As an example of her commitment to student learning, Kam worked with the UK Government’s Behaviour Insights Team to apply the Nudge Theory to improve student outcomes on a national level. This highlights her innovative approach to education and her commitment to making a positive impact.

Kam received the 1885 NEASC Award for Exemplary Service to Education in December 2022. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of education, further confirming Kam’s dedication and excellence in her work.

Kam is committed to social justice and equity through diversity, inclusion, and intercultural understanding in international education.

Our Guiding Question was, “What does the ECIS organization do, and how can educators access its services?”

Kam covered many topics, including:

• ECIS started off by supporting schools in Europe but has now expanded to schools around the world
• ECIS’s professional learning opportunities and outreach have grown tenfold in the past four years
• Inclusion is at the core of Kam’s work, working with “thought partners” to support learning
• Special interest groups (e.g., PE, math, library) connect to share best practices
• The mission is to make the world a better place while preparing tomorrow’s leaders to do the same
• Child Protection and DEIJ are key PD programs
• ECIS has Middle Leader training offerings
• ECIS aims to approach recruiting with new eyes, questioning previous practices by bringing in more diversity of hires, including local educators
• ECIS seeks to bring in student voices
• Some trends Kam sees include: helping school communities with well-being and balance; the growth of AI and how to bring in ethics in approaching it; ongoing work with curriculum.

The show was recorded on January 9, 2024.

Kam’s Contact Information: LinkedIn

Categories: School Life | Recruiting | Professional Learning | DEIJ | Child Protection

Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information or to subscribe to our newsletter!

Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.

Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.