Conference Agenda

In the liberal world order, democracy constitutes as an important prerequisite for sustainable development, for security and peace, and for the protection of universal human rights. Therefore, democracy promotion is a central element of the foreign policy of almost all OECD countries, including the Federal Republic of Germany. (Leininger 2015: 509) As indicated in the “Konzeption 2000” (see AA 2000), not only Germany’s Security and Economic Foreign Policy, but also its cultural and educational engagement abroad, the “Auswärtige Kultur und Bildungspolitik” (AKBP), aims to provide important impetus for stabilization, democratic development and the opening up of civil society. (AA 2011: 5)

Various actors are involved in implementing this policy goal. These include the German Schools Abroad (DAS), which hitherto have received only little attention in research, although the large network of 140 DAS is the oldest of its kind. (Adick 2014: 109; Mägdefrau/Wolff 2018; Herzner 2019: 25) In particular, § 8 of the “Gesetz über die Förderung deutscher Auslandsschulen” (Law on the Promotion of German Schools Abroad) requires that the DAS, funded by the German foreign office, need to take into account the democratic values of Germany. (Herzner 2019: 19) The DAS quality framework likewise demands that the DASs’ educational work imparts democratic values and promotes democratic action.” (translated by the author; ZfA 2018: 13)

Offering education that goes far beyond the teaching of the German language and seeking to realize the goals of the AKBP, namely the promotion of democracy, the DAS are unique in their nature. (Klingebiel 2018: 230) However, the DAS face particular challenges, as a large proportion of them are located in non-democratic countries. (Chahin-Dörflinger 2016: 8) For example, DAS in non-democratic countries have to deal with the discrepancies between the schooling and learning culture of the DAS and the formal education system of the host country, they are characterized by a highly selective student body and strong homogenization efforts while having to integrate into two cultures, and their potential to promote democracy must also be evaluated in light of the DAS' colonial past. (cf. Scheunpflug 2014: 31ff.; Eschborn et al. 2011: 7f.)

For the purposes of exploring the field of democracy promotion and education at DAS in non-democratic contexts, I examined the following questions in the framework of a single-case study of the German School in Nairobi (DSN), Kenya: 1. Which significance does democracy education and its aspects as indicated on the Degede (2017) catalogue on “Characteristics of democratic schools” have at the DSN? 2. How do these aspects of democracy education relate to the specific conditions of the non-democratic host country Kenya? 3. Based on the case study, what general "fields of action" for democracy education in the DAS can be identified?

In my presentation, I will first give an overview of the role of democracy promotion in the AKBP and present the state of research on system and typology of the DAS. I will then introduce the theoretical background which consists of, firstly, the discourse on the role of education in external democracy promotion led by mainly political scientists (Finkel 2003; Bush 2015), secondly, the role of schools in transition and transformation research and theory (Henze 2003; Merkel et al. 2019) and thirdly, theories of democratic pedagogy (Dewey 1916 [2016]; Freire 1971). After outlining the research method (qualitative content analyses of documents and expert interviews) and describing the case of the DSN and Kenya, I will present the main results and discuss with regard to their practical implications and theoretical added value.

Due to the world attention following Finland’s PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) success, Finland’s education export efforts accelerated over the past decades (Schatzh et al., 2017). One branch of education export activity are Finnish International Schools which have emerged in varied locations around the world, including: Vietnam, Qatar, Oman, Maldives and India. These schools are unique cultural and social mix, as they draw from the Finnish education system in various ways. However, each of these schools also teach through their local curriculum and employ local teaching staff. Also common to these schools is that they are fee-paying schools.

Finland International Schools are part of rapidly growing international school sector (Hayden, 2011) with four-fold increase from 1700 international schools up and running in year 2000 (ISC, 2015) to 7014 international schools operating in year 2014 (ICEF Monitor, 2014 as cited in Bunnell et al, 2016). The desire for the Finnish education is a new variation on the long trend of international or global curriculum represented most notably in the International Baccalaureate. The curriculum, pedagogy, networks and culture of the international school intends to provide its students with the skills to participate and move across an interconnected global world, through resources of international networks, connections, and transnational social capital, as well as the curriculum and examination processes (Howard & Maxwell, 2021a; 2021b). However, the epistemological roots of these curricula and ways of learning remain rooted in a European and Western orientation and knowledge base, displaying the continuance of a post-colonialist approach (Spivak, 2008).

The origins of the International school sector is undeniably anglo-centric, and English language is used extensively as the language of curriculum, teaching and learning in the international school sector (Bunnell, 2016; Bunnell et al, 2016). The language dimension is interesting also in relation to the Finnish international schools, as these schools use English as lingua franca, sandwiched between the local language spoken by the local teachers, students, and parents, and Finnish spoken by the Finnish teachers working in these schools. As such language creates a double layer of imported (colonial) influences: the first layer being the Finnish education system, and the second the English language in communities where English may not be the spoken language in the locality.

Based on online material from three different Finnish international schools operating in different countries in Asia this article examines how these schools conceptualise and articulate their “Finnishness” in their online publications. The following research questions guide this study:

According to the schools’ promotional material available to the public:

Q1 What do these schools deem as “Finnish” in the education they offer?

Q2 Who are the clientele of Finnish International schools?

In our quest to understand how these schools communicate their Finnishness to their local clientele we draw on postcolonial theory. More specifically Bhabha’s concept of the third space and cultural hybridity (1994) allows us to explore how a curriculum and pedagogical approaches travel from a western “high achieving” country context to majority world countries and the ways in which curriculum and pedagogy occupy a space that is a hybrid of Finnish culture and that of local culture.

In order to cope with complex social and economic transformation, both locally and globally, innovation and pedagogical change are necessary (Sancho-Gil et al., 2020). Along these lines, the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals highlight the importance of quality education across the globe. The application of technologies, methodologies and classroom dynamics focused on creative teaching (Jeffrey, 2006) allow for the design of collaborative and participatory proposals to favour these aspects (Vigo Arrazola, 2021). In this sense, interdisciplinarity facilitates the creation of didactic proposals in relation to the life and context of the students.

In the same way, in the processes of change and pedagogical innovation, it is necessary to generate scenarios that invite students to freely create activities that are relevant to students and that meet their interests and needs (Jeffrey, 2006). Educational contexts should promote a diversity of possibilities for expression and participation, give voice to and recognise the differences and identities of all people (Blasco-Serrano et al., 2019; Slee and Allan, 2001).

When these activities are accompanied by a participatory and collaborative methodology, with the possibility of decision-making in relation to the students' reality, where the teacher acts as a guide, the motivation and self-control of students' learning can increase significantly. A context of collaboration and exchange, and the joint creation of knowledge favours the reinforcement of people's personal and socio-cultural identity (Blasco-Serrano et al., 2019; García and Delgado, 2017; Vigo Arrazola, 2021). Along the same lines, it promotes respect for the rest of the members of the group (Dieste et al., 2019), as well as the feeling of belonging to the group. Dialogue and communication give children the opportunity to express their ideas and creativity, to engage in their learning and to achieve the proposed objectives (Freire, 1975). Thus, critical education, which seeks to educate citizens with the capacity for social and political participation through digital media, is a challenge.

This critical and reflective education becomes even more necessary in complex and vulnerable socio-political contexts in different territories of the planet, as is the case of the Sahrawi refugee camps. Since 1975, the Sahrawi population has been refugees in the Tindouf camps. After almost 50 years, they have created an education system that has succeeded in making almost the entire population literate, but which is still anchored in a rote and authoritarian teaching system. Methodologies that are decontextualised and removed from the lives and interests of students are causing high failure and dropout rates. These problems are of great concern to education policymakers and teachers in refugee camp schools. Consequently, this research, contextualised in the schools of the Sahrawi camps in Tindouf (Algeria) and framed within the Transforming Schools Project, focuses on the application of teaching innovation processes, with a focus on student-centred methodologies, to improve and transform educational processes in interaction with the immediate environment, taking advantage of the resources that offer the possibility of evolving, of transforming reality and the context (Sancho-Gil et al., 2020).

Therefore, the objective of this study is to improve the teaching competence of teachers in the Primary Schools of two schools in the camps, based on the critical analysis and reflection of their needs and their educational practices, in order to promote critical thinking and the capacity for reflection in their students. At the same time, we are trying to contribute to reducing school dropout and school failure rates.