Resources – Schools Overseas | Rachel's Learning Village

Overseas Educational Options

There are essentially three different educational options when living overseas: Homeschooling, School, and Boarding School. Homeschooling may be constructed in various ways: Entire curriculum from one source (eg. Abeka), online schooling (eg. Potter) School), skype tutoring (personal tutor), or a program linked to a school. There are many school choices which include the following: National school, international school, Christian school, international Christian school, mission agency school, and, in addition, curriculum choice (primarily British or American). There are many academically sound boarding schools (see below).

There are pros and cons for each of these choices. How does one choose? There are many questions that need to answered to discover the best choice for a child’s education overseas. One question on which to ponder: Would my child be going to college/university and if so, where is that likely to be?

For a more specific discussion contact Rachel’s Learning Village.

Homeschooling

This site offers information regarding homeschooling in different countries around the world.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Europe.htm

Boarding Schools

Thinking of Boarding School! Here is a site that maybe helpful as you consider this option for educating your child overseas. http://www.boarding-school-directory.com/

Education in Africa

Schooling in South Africa

This site gives you a glimpse into schooling in South Africa in general and provides a link to independent schools. http://www.southafrica.info/services/education/edufacts.htm It also shows links to the provincial educational departments.

Here is a small excerpt from the web site regarding homeschooling in South Africa.

Can I home school in SA? There’s a growing worldwide trend towards home schooling and South Africa is no exception, with thousands of families opting to home school their children, for a variety of reasons. Some parents are keen to give their children religious or individualised tuition which they won’t receive at school; others want to avoid the institutional nature of school life.

For those who wish to send their children to private schools but cannot afford to, home schooling is a cheaper alternative. Several home schooling associations are on hand to help those who choose to go this route.

Although home schooling is legal in South Africa, it is not actively encouraged by government: permission must first be sought from provincial authorities, and various requirements must be met.

Some home schooling sites offering assistance, online curricula and contacts include:

Government services provides advice on applying for registration to home-school your child.
Brainline is a distance education school, offerings an international and South African school curriculum custom developed on compact disc and the internet, from Grade 0 to 12, with a full array of services and support.
Clonard Home Education sells textbooks for home schooling.
Footprints On Our Land offers support and advice and sells materials for home-schooling in South Africa.
Love2Learn offers a Christian home-schooling curriculum from Grade 0 through 10 and offering IGCSE As and A levels.

Mission Schools in Africa

Here’s a list–2 in SA (nothing in the Cape).

Africa and the Middle East

American Academy of Cyprus (Egypt)

American Int’l School of Yaounde (Cameroon)

Amicitia American School (Morocco)

Anglican International School (Israel) http://www.aisj.co.il

Bingham Academy (Ethiopia) www.binghamacademy.net

Christian Academy of (Mozambique)

Dakar Academy (Senegal) www.dakar-academy.org

George Washington Academy (Morocco) http://www.gwa.ac.ma/

Haven of Peace Academy (Tanzania)

Hillcrest International School (Nigeria)

International Educational Services (Turkey)

International School Moshi – Arusha (Tanzania)

Klerksdorp Christian Academy (South Africa)

Oasis International School (Turkey)

Education in Asia

Asia Education Resource Consoritum https://www.asiaerc.org/aercj/index.php Joining this group, maybe beneficial for families educating their children overseas in Asia. There is a minimal fee to join. Here is an excerpt from the website home page.

“Membership fees for families: The annual family membership fee is $90 per family or $65 per family for members of sponsoring agencies. This provides families with:

Access to AERC consultants in several Asian countries
Resources located in AERC resource centers in Asia – on a library lending system
Discounts when attending Family Education conferences
Discounts on testing services
Access to the members only section of the website:
Key articles on education and TCK issues
Announcements about conferences and events
Connections to other helpful websites
Information about consultants, resource centers and how to connect with them

Teachers/Tutors Membership: As a support to families, we want to enrich and support teachers that teach in remote locations and unique settings. Therefore, AERC is pleased to invite teachers of one-room schools or homeschooling co-ops to join AERC and receive member benefits. Cost is the same as above for families” (retrieved as of March 21, 2012)

Education in India

Structure of School Education System in India

Pre-Primary School	Primary School	Middle School	Secondary School	Higher Secondary School
Grade LKG & KG	Grade 1 to 5	Grade 6 to 8	Grade 9 and 10	Grade 11 and 12
Age of entry: 4 to 6	Length of program in years: 5	Length of program in years: 3	Length of program in years: 2	Length of program in years: 2
Length of program in years: 2	Age level from: 6 to 11	Age level from: 11 to 14	Age level from: 14 to 16	Age level from: 16 to: 18

http://spice.org/htm/Schooling/Schooling/EducationStructure.htm

Education in Thailand

Educational System in Thailand – this site outlines in chart form and gives a brief summary of the educational system of Thailand https://www.classbase.com/Countries/Thailand/Education-System

The Borgen Project lists 10 facts about Thai education. Borgen started the blog to bring awareness of poverty to the US politicians. https://borgenproject.org/facts-about-education-in-thailand/ (as of 9/11/17)

Life in a Thai School written by Richard Barrow – a very interesting and insightful article into a Thai child’s school life. I was struck by the respect the children showed their parents who brought them to school. There are links to being a teacher at the school. http://www.thaischoollife.com/life-in-a-thai-school/

Respect for Teachers in the Thai School usually at the beginning of the school year. http://www.thaischoollife.com/respect-for-thai-teachers-ceremony/

The School Year and Holidays – this site notes there are different holidays for international and private schools. https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/thailand/family/schooling-education/the-school-year

Christian Schools in Thailand – This site gives a chart of Christian schools in Thailand which are considered private, international schools. The schools utilize an American US curriculum. https://internationalschoolsbangkokthailand.org/christian-schools.html

Homeschooling in Thailand – It is legal to homeschool in Thailand, but papers need to be submitted. https://www.angloinfo.com/how-to/thailand/family/schooling-education/the-school-year

A2Z Homes Cool – This site gives a list of homeschool groups in Thailand. For example, The Bangkok Area Homeschool Group. http://a2zhomeschooling.com/regional/asia_homeschooling/thailand_homeschooling/

Letter written by a missionary mom homeschooling and ministering in Thailand http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/newsletter/issue73b.htm

Education in Tjakistan

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1505/Tajikistan-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html

Tajik education has been multicultural, the languages of education being Tajik in most schools, followed by Uzbek, Russian, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen. The younger population (those below 17 years of age) makes up more than 40 percent of the Tajik population.

The Tajik educational system consists of four levels: preschool, secondary (which also includes primary grades one through nine), specialized secondary and vocational, and university/higher education. Preschool education, which can begin as early as three years, is only partially intended to prepare children for entry into the more formal education system and actually encompasses most of the elements of day care.

Education in Europe

Europe Homeschooling

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/regional/Europe.htm

Scottish Educational System

These websites will help understand the Scottish educational system. http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/17_1.html

For Children – stories and poems read in Scottish brogue – will need to download free MP3 real player http://www.scotsindependent.org/features/scots/children.htm

This is an index of other sites for children’s stories and games related to Scotland. http://www.electricscotland.com/kids/index.htm

UK/US Educational Systems

http://www.britishcouncil.org/usa-education-uk-system-k-12-education.htm

http://www.ahomeeducation.co.uk/advice-about-law-home-schooling.html

Czech Republic

Homeschooling was permitted in 1988.

International Schools in Czech Republic: http://www.english-schools.org/czech/ IB Program

British International School, Prague – uses English National Curriculum http://www.english-schools.org/czech/british-international-school-prague.htm

English International School is a co-educational day-school, founded in 1995 with over 200 students, aged 18 months – 16 years. IGSCEs are offered, and the school planned to launch the IB program in September 2007. http://schoolnet.isp.cz/

International School of Prague (3-19) is a co-educational day school offering an excellent educational program for students k-12. www.isp.cz/

International Montessori School of Prague (IMSP) (18 mos – 12 yrs) “was established as a private school in 2002. In 2005 a second Primary class was added, so now IMSP had 4 classrooms: Toddler, Primary 1 and Primary 2, and Elementary. In 2006 the Primary program extended its afternoon component with Yoga, Music and Movement, Arts and Crafts, and Czech language and culture. The first and only American Montessori Society accredited school in Europe.” http://www.montessori.cz/

Riverside School (3 – 18) “has an international approach to education based on the British National Curriculum and other curricular models which are adapted to facilitate the child’s successful integration into Riverside School and on to their future schooling. It offers high quality education in the English language for children aged 3-18. It serves the community, both local and international, in the context of a cross-cultural environment.“ http://www.riversideschool.cz

English College in Prague (13 -19) “We are a prestigious selective Czech-British secondary school with an international perspective, providing the highest quality education in English. Our students aged 13 – 19 take their IGCSE, International Baccalaureate (IB) and Czech Maturita exams and continue their studies at universities all around the world.” http://www.englishcollege.cz/

An Article

A comparison of schools for children in and outside of Prague

http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/czech-education/international-schools/

The Educational System in Germany

According to the report Comparative Indicators of Education in the United States and other G-8 countries: 2009 prepared in March, 2009 by the IES (Institute of Education Sciences) National Center for Education Statistics,

“Compulsory education ends at age 18 in Germany; age 17 in the United States; age 16 in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom; and age 15 in Italy, Japan, and the Russian Federation” (p. iii summary).

In the German schools there is no reading curriculum after second grade. However, since scores have decreased they are implementing a Pro-Reading program in the hopes of introducing a national, cross-discipline reading curriculum.

According to Schwesig (as cited in Blomberg & Brooks, 2001), the “German school system is highly differentiated” (p.417). Education is compulsory (6-15 years of age) and free for anyone who resides in Germany, but homeschooling is forbidden (Schwesig, as cited in Blomberg & Brooks, 2001).

Cuesta College http://academic.cuesta.edu/intlang/german/education.html This site offers a number of insights into education in German. Here is an excerpt:

Students With Limited German Language Skills

The German constitution guarantees all citizens the right to fully develop their human potential which includes the right to choose one’s occupation and to have access to the appropriate career training. Children whose native language is not German are deemed to have the same rights as native Germans. They are taught together with German-speaking children. In addition they also receive three to five hours of instruction per week in their native language taught by instructors from their native country. The courses cover native language skills, the history, geography and religion of that country. There is also a special program to assist these students in preparing for job-skills training and securing paid internship positions. The students’ native languages are most frequently Turkish, Serbo-Croatian, Italian and Greek. (retrieved on March 20, 2012)

Euro Education http://www.euroeducation.net/prof/germanco.htm This site gives a line by line overview of the German educational system including ages and names for each phase of learning.

The following is an excerpt from the website Oracle Think Quest.

In Germany school, from the age of 6 through 14, is mandatory, and in public state-run school’s, it’s free. The school system in Germany is a little different than it’s American counterpart. All children enter in the same program, but at the age of 10, they go to one of four types of schools. The track that they enter determines which type of school they can next enter, and finally, weather they will go to a university or enter a technical field or trade. The graph below shows the levels and routes of education a German student could go through. Click on one of the sections to find out more about it. In addition to the differences in how the schools are arranged, they also have a different way of marking the start and finish of a students school career (retrieved on March 20, 2012)

.http://library.thinkquest.org/26576/schoolpage.htm The site also gives a clear pictorial presentation of the German educational system.