International Schools as Incubators for Innovation

Every year， a consortium of international think tanks compiles a “Global Innovation Index” in which nations are ranked on 88 indices of “productive creativity.” This year， neither of the world’s two largest economies， has made it into the top five. Dropping to No.6， the U.S. has been surpassed by five other western nations （Switzerland， the U.K， Netherlands， Finland and Sweden.） At the 29th， China still trails its major Asian rivals including Singapore， Japan and South Korea.

According to the study’s authors， the major determinant of a nation’s innovation capability is the quality of its human capital. While factors such as technology and financial capital influence the innovation process， they correlate directly with the human factor. The takeaway： nurturing human capital through education “at all levels and in all sections of society\" matters most.

Just as the Soviet launch of Sputnik in 1957 catalyzed a transformation in American science education， so policymakers in both the U.S. and China are now calling for an “innovation-centric” education overhaul to ensure global competitiveness. For the past decade， both countries have been scrambling for solutions， often searching outside their national boundaries and even to one another. As Americans are jettisoning their science and math curriculum in favor of more rigorous Asian imports ， across China， clones of American kindergartens are rapidly supplanting traditional Chinese primary schools.

To date， there is scant evidence that national policy， imitation and transplantation are making schools in either the U.S. or China better at nurturing innovation. In the U.S.， scores on the well-respected Torrance Creativity Inventory have been falling steadily since 1990， most dramatically for primary school students for whom STEM curricula have been enriched. As recent PISA results attest， billion dollar investments in STEM education at the secondary level have failed to raise American students’ aptitude for the scientific fields where most innovation is bred. Conversely， although Chinese students top the international achievement charts in scientific fields， interesting surveys suggest that aptitude does not translate into the motivation and enthusiasm that spark innovation. Moreover， according to a Duke University research team， while Chinese and Indian universities produce vastly more engineers than their U.S. counterparts， employers tend to rate these newly-minted Asian engineers deficient in independence and productivity， key drivers of innovation.

One Innovator’s Education

If innovation can’t be imitated， transplanted or legislated， how does it happen？ We can approach this question historically by considering the educational experience of two of the world’s most acclaimed innovators， Sun Yat Sen and Bill Gates， Biographers of Sun Yat Sen， arguably China’s greatest political innovator， cite the profound influence of his secondary education at the Punahoa School， an independent college-preparatory high school located at the juncture of East and West in a then independent Hawaii . The school's educational philosophy encouraged students to become well-rounded， independent-minded scholars， as they pursued a rigorous curriculum that combined mathematics， natural science， and the humanities. But even more influential than curriculum or mission was the school’s outstanding international faculty， epitomized by Francis Damon， a Cantonese speaker who taught Greek and Latin. Impressed by Sun’s quick intelligence and idealism， Damon became Sun’s mentor and lifelong supporter. A century later， Punahoa teachers would likewise inspire another future political leader， the young Barack Obama.

The Punahoa School of Sun Yat Sen’s era was itself a tribute to innovation. Unlike the colonial schools established by Anglicans， which simply replicated British education， Punahoa’s visionary founders vowed never to “slavishly copy American or British colleges， German gymnasia， or any foreign models.” At the same time， they pledged an openness to “profit from the experience of each.” Perhaps， then， it’s no coincidence that Sun Yat Sen’s innovative vision for a modern China encompassed enlightened principles drawn from Confucian as well as Western traditions.

For the past five years， I’ve had the privilege of helping Chinese secondary schools establish and strengthen their international programs. This experience has convinced me that even more than the Punahoa School of Sun’s era， international schools are uniquely poised to foster the next generation of Chinese innovators. But I’ve also observed that this transformative power will not come through the acquisition of western assets - be they curricula， textbooks， technologies or English teachers. Rather， it is by transforming themselves into crucibles of cross-cultural innovation that international schools will inspire innovation in their students.

Creating the Crucible of Cross-Cultural Innovation： Begin with Teachers

1.Hire foreign teachers capable of teaching in content areas beyond English.

2.Pair foreign teachers and bilingual Chinese teachers to create and co-teach new courses

3.Incent foreign teachers to learn Mandarin and increase their understanding of Chinese cultural and educational norms.

4.Broaden the perspectives of Chinese teachers by providing opportunities for them to spend a year studying or teaching abroad.

5.Involve teams of foreign and Chinese English teachers in the recruitment and training of new teachers.