Connecting Classrooms has a whole-school approach that benefits everyone in the school community and helps schools to fulfil their objectives.
Learners of all ages and abilities benefit from direct interaction with their international peers. Working together on joint projects improves communication and ICT skills, encourages language learning, and deepens their understanding of other societies and cultures – as well as their own. It can also have a positive impact on motivation and achievement.
Teachers and school leaders gain from experiencing educational practice in different countries, sharing good practice with national and international counterparts, and benchmarking against standards in other countries. International linking enriches the curriculum and helps educators to meet the objectives of core educational strategies and priorities. In England, for example, an international partnership can help satisfy objectives for community cohesion, or language learning.
Schools extend their community of learning beyond the school gates by engaging parents and building connections with local businesses and community groups. Business leaders are often keen to support local schools that are working internationally, and may offer resources, staff time, advice, sponsorship, work experience or placements.
Local authorities and federations of schools* are able to work strategically with district education offices and ministries of education in other countries to address the needs and concerns in their area and the schools under their control. In so doing, they help to deliver government strategies in the UK for world-class schools and international education, at a local level. Furthermore, Connecting Classrooms partnerships widen participation within schools, raise standards, build social cohesion and help local authorities and federations to meet other strategic goals for education and children’s services.
Communities benefit from greater social cohesion because young people not only develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of cultures and societies in other countries, they also gain a better understanding of different cultural backgrounds within their own communities.
*Update, July 2011: Please note that for the current application round for schools in the UK we are piloting a new approach to the management and development of Connecting Classrooms partnerships, in which we are no longer asking for a local authority, federation or other organisation to support or co-ordinate clusters of schools in the UK. This practice still applies to all Connecting Classrooms partnerships that are already operating.
Connecting Classrooms meets UK educational priorities and curriculum aims - For schools in the UK, Connecting Classrooms has been carefully designed to enable schools to use their international partnerships to achieve goals within core educational strategies as well as national strategies for internationalising education. We have also consulted closely with the UK curriculum authorities to ensure that the learning outcomes for students are in line with curriculum objectives, so that the work carried out within a partnership can easily and effectively be integrated into the curriculum.
Connecting Classrooms has the support of national governments - We have developed Connecting Classrooms (in most participating countries) in consultation with national education ministries, local education authorities or districts, and educational bodies such as curriculum authorities. Participants can be assured that the commitment within their school or local authority/federation/district to working internationally is recognised and endorsed at ministry level.
Connecting Classrooms offers more than an international link - Schools not only work together on curriculum-relevant projects, they also benefit from professional development opportunities for teachers and school leaders, and become eligible to earn International School Award accreditation.
Connecting Classrooms provides flexibility to meet local educational needs and objectives - such as social cohesion, or specialised language learning – through further partnership opportunities. By involving local authorities, federations districts and other co-ordinating bodies in each participating country, the programme ensures that partnerships have a broader strategic relevance and address concerns and priorities that are shared locally. Connecting Classrooms also offers a variety of themes for joint curriculum projects to suit the interests and priorities of schools in all countries.
Connecting Classrooms schools work with other schools nationally, as well as internationally - Partnerships are formed of clusters of schools in different countries working together. This means that schools link not only with international counterparts, but also with schools in their own country. A cluster might comprise a combination of secondary schools, primary schools and special schools; or schools with different faith bases; or, in India, for example, state and public schools might work together.
Connecting Classrooms is a truly reciprocal global partnership programme for schools - Mutuality is one of the guiding principles of Connecting Classrooms. All schools within a partnership have access to the same opportunities and funding, and work on projects that meet their own curriculum objectives as well as those of their partners.
For real life accounts of how Connecting Classrooms is having an impact in schools and communities around the world, read our selection of short case studies.
