essentials

Education Market Association

Summer 2016

1 6
2 0 of the
State ation
E duc k e t
M a r r t
Rep o
 Intenational Business

International Opportunities
Expanding for U.S. Education Suppliers
BY DIANE GLASS a place at a reputable university,
The International School Consultancy primarily in the United States or the
United Kingdom.

T
he insatiable appetite for English-medium, Western-style Countries leading the market
education for children continues to expand around the The United Arab Emirates
world. The 2016 Global Report on the English-medium (UAE) and China lead the world in
K-12 international schools market just published by The Interna- terms of number of international
schools; UAE has 548 schools and
tional School Consultancy (ISC Research) indicates that the num-
China has 547. The UAE and Saudi
ber of international schools in many countries is rising rapidly. This Arabia have the highest number
offers extensive opportunities for education suppliers looking for of students; 564,200 and 265,400
market expansion and diversification. High quality, cutting-edge respectively.
In several countries where gov-
resources, services and supplies are not only valued, they are
ernment policies restricting local
sought after as K-12 international schools strive to set themselves children from attending interna-
apart within an increasingly competitive market. tional schools have been relaxed
or removed altogether, this has
resulted in a dramatic increase in
demand for school places. This has
The 2016 ISC Research Global Demand for Western education been particularly notable in Viet-
Report published in June states that The number of students study- nam, Malaysia and South Korea. In
the number of English-medium K-12 ing at international schools in Malaysia, where some schools are
schools (which includes American their home countries continues to currently experiencing a significant
schools overseas, International Bac- increase. This means that more loss of expatriate children because
calaureate schools and US indepen- families are selecting a fee-paying of the oil and gas crisis, high de-
dent schools abroad) has increased international school in preference mand from local families for school
by 41.5% in the past five years to a to the local national school. The places has helped to keep enrol-
current total of 8,257. The number main reasons for this choice are to ment high.
of students attending international enable children to learn in the lan- In China where, by law, local
schools is now over 4.3 million; a guage of English, to obtain globally children are not allowed to attend
45.9% growth in just five years. Asia recognised qualifications (predomi- foreign-owned international schools,
(including Western Asia; the Middle nantly SATs, ACT, AP, International new types of international schools are
East) has seen the greatest increase Baccalaureate Diploma Program, now emerging, catering specifically for
in students during this time with a or Britain’s A levels), and to follow Chinese nationals. Current interna-
55.7% growth. Asia now has 54% of a Western-style of learning. This tional school growth in China is being
all international schools (4,448) and learning experience provides the fuelled entirely by the local market and
60% of all students (2.55 million). most reliable pathway to gaining producing an unprecedented increase

16 essentials | summer 2016

essentials | www.edmarket.org 17
 Intenational Business
in the number of Chinese-owned
private bilingual schools following US
and British-oriented curricula or the
International Baccalaureate (IB) and
working towards respected Western
examinations.
Enrollment in Latin America is
also on the rise, led by Brazil, Ar-
gentina and Mexico. Many schools
are adopting a bilingual approach
(where English is one of the lan-
guages of learning) and offering
an international curriculum (most
often the IB) in response to de-
mand from local families. The vast
majority of the students at these
schools are heading directly to U.S.
universities.
A healthy market for
education suppliers
The average annual tuition fee
at international schools globally
has dropped for the fourth year in
succession to an average of $9,330.
According to the ISC Research
Global Report, this is 0.2% lower
18 essentials | summer 2016
The future continues to look
extremely good for the international
school sector, and for future
investment within the market.
than in 2011. However, total annu-
al fee income for the K-12 interna-
tional schools market has increased
by 45.9% over the last five years to
$39 billion as a result of the huge
market expansion, making this a
significant and healthy market for
education suppliers.
The future continues to look
extremely good for the interna-
tional school sector, and for future
investment within the market. ISC
Research forecasts that by 2026, the
K-12 international school market
will reach 16,000 schools teaching
8.75 million students, and generat-
ing a total fee income of $89 billion.
Meeting the needs of
international schools
Education suppliers already
working within this market say
many international schools want
quality resources, services and
products in order to provide a high
standard of teaching and learn-
ing, as well as learning-focused
environment, to attract discerning
families.
Education technology is one
sector that has recently expe-
rienced particularly significant
growth. “We are seeing an in-
creasing number of international
schools looking for edtech solu-
tions to inspire student learning,
make lessons more engaging, and
to streamline their curriculum
planning, internal systems and
approaches to assessment,” says
Dylan Jones, Senior Internation-
al Strategy Consultant at Follett
which supplies e-books and digital
resources as well as more tradition-
al materials to many international
schools.
Christopher Bradford, Head of
BrainPOP in the UK which pro-
duces cross-curricular learning an-
imations to help teachers bring the
curriculum to life, says there are
a huge number of forward-think-
ing international school teachers
and leaders who are looking for
creative ways to deliver engaging
learning and are welcoming the
very latest in edtech provision.
“International schools have great
budget autonomy and decision
freedom, they are actively interest-
ed in quality education supplies, it’s
a rapidly expanding market that has
given us a chance to diversify,” he
says.
will mostly have English-speaking
leaders and teachers, not all admin-
istration staff will be English-speak-
ing; some office staff may be local.
So take time to get to know the
international schools you want to
work with so that you know how
best to communicate with them.
• Get face-to-face when you can.
International schools can sometimes
feel isolated from education suppliers
and value the chance for personal
communication at conferences and
school visits.

Looking overseas? Advice for DIANE GLASS is Director for Business at The International
education suppliers School Consultancy. More data, trends and intelligence
Developing internationally is on the world’s international schools market are available
not an easy solution; there are in the new 2016 ISC Research Global Market Report. Also,
many pitfalls. It requires long-term current data on international schools is available from The
commitment, market understanding International School Consultancy through ISC Online which
and sufficient infrastructure within enables education suppliers to identify, search, filter and
your organisation to dedicate staff connect directly with the right international schools for
and resources to your international their business. For more information about developing

?
efforts. Practical advice for U.S. internationally, contact Diane at dg@isc-r.com or visit www.
iscresearch.com
education suppliers considering
international development includes:
• Start by working with U.S.-ori-
ented international schools; those
that are comfortable and familiar
with your brand, learning focus, or
origination.
• Research in detail any supply
and delivery logistics you may face,
including any country-specific
restrictions, so that you know what
Do You Have Your Copy
is possible before you begin any
marketing.
• Target your initial efforts. The
world is a big place and in order
to provide a responsive, sustain-
able service, you may wish to
target your initial efforts within
very specific regions. Think about CELEBRATING 100 YEARS

regions that you might be able to

visit easily or that are accessible Order your member copy
by telephone or Skype during your of the 2016 Membership
working hours — remember the Directory today — available
difference between time zones for
in print and online.
ease of communication.
• There are some regions in the EBRATIN

world that are more highly populat- EDmarket

EL
Visit the EDmarket Store to
C

Membership Directory
ed with international schools than 2016 login and access valuable
10
others. There are several cities with
0 YEARS
information about fellow
over 50 international schools, some Education Market
with over 100 schools. Dubai alone Association members.
has 254 K-12 international schools!
• Although international schools

essentials | www.edmarket.org 19