School Guide

International schools - understanding the difference between American, Canadian and British schools

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Dec 22, 2016

Not all international schools follow the same curriculum and with thousands of international schools located around the world, there are a variety of systems designed to meet the needs of both the locals and expatriates. 

 

Some of the more popular international systems in Malaysia are the American, Canadian, British and the more generic "international schools" that follow one of these systems or a combination of a few in their curriculum.

See: International schools in Malaysia based on Curriculum

American schools 

American schools, located in capital cities around the world, were originally created to service the educational needs of American citizens working abroad at the embassies or in private companies overseas.

American international schools are designed to provide a core curriculum that prepares students to enter schools, colleges, and universities in the United States.

There are currently 197 American overseas schools in 138 countries that are directly or indirectly assisted by the U.S. State Department to promote an American-style programme.

In addition, there are hundreds of other American schools around the world that are not assisted or do not have endorsement by the US Dept of State. The majority of these schools are private, non-profit institutions with considerable parental involvement in their governance. All offer instruction in the English language and there are usually American-trained teachers represented on the faculty.

 

Schools in Malaysia offering the American Curriculum 

1. The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL)

 

2. Dalat International School

 

3. International School of Kelantan

 

4. Mont'Kiara International School (MKIS) 

 

5. Raffles American School

 

Canadian schools 

Similar to the American schools abroad, there are many elementary and secondary schools around the world that offer the curriculum of one of Canada's provinces. For example, there are schools with accreditation from Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Alberta, etc. At these schools, mostly Canadian teachers and staff utilize Canadian educational materials providing the children of Canadian expats and locals alike an excellent quality of education, in dozens of schools in over 30 locations throughout the world.

Schools in Malaysia offering the Canadian Curriculum

1. Sunway International School

 

British schools 

The old expression that the sun never sets on the British Empire is still true if one looks at the number and location of British schools around the world. There are more than 2,200 British schools in every corner of the world contributing to the large number of international schools worldwide.

While many of these schools follow the British national curriculum there is wide variance in their structure and quality. This is because British schools outside the UK are private entities with no governmental monitoring of their programs. This is where COBIS comes in.

COBIS (Council of British International Schools), is a membership association of British schools of quality and is a member of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) of the United Kingdom. COBIS provides accountability for the British schools abroad by working with the British Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) to accredit British schools all around the world.

British schools either embodies the IGCSE  or the IB programme.

 

Schools in Malaysia offering the British Curriculum 

1. Alice Smith School

 

2. ELC international schools

 

3. Garden International School

 

4. Sri KDU International School

 

5. Seven Skies International School (SSI)

 

6. Idrissi International School

 

7. St Joseph's Institution

 

8. UCSI International School

 

To discover more International schools in Malaysia offering the British curriculum, click here.