In my previous article, I detailed my deliberations related to pursuing a doctoral degree. Below is my proposed research plan for the doctoral programs that I applied to.

Topic

Student enrollment before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic at large international schools in East Asia, with a particular focus on Hong Kong.                                            

Significance of research & topic

 Globally, there are approximately 12,373 K-12 international schools as of July 2021, the majority of which being in Asia (ISC Research, 2021a; ISC Research, 2021b). The number of K-12 international schools has grown from 7,655 schools in 2011, a growth of 62% (ISC Research, 2021a). The total number of international school students is expected to grow from 5.6 million in July 2021 (ISC, 2021c) to 8.7 million by 2027 (Machin, 2017), continuing to grow to 11 million by 2030 (Merriman, 2020). A current shortcoming in the scholarship rests in diagnosing how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted, is impacting, and will impact this trend.

Since 2016, I have had the opportunity to work as an educator at two international schools in Asia. My first opportunity was in Bangkok from 2016-19. Since 2019, I have been working in Hong Kong, where I have experienced the entire COVID-19 pandemic. I am currently witnessing the problems that international schools are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic firsthand. International schools, like mine, are in need of assistance in order to navigate crises like the COVID-19 pandemic in the future.

My proposed research focuses on enrollment data from international schools in Hong Kong and the surrounding area in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, very little academic literature relating to international schools, enrollment, and the crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic exist. This gap in the literature is a problem that I can begin to solve through my rigorous and immersive research, applying it to my real-world experience as an international school educator. By synthesizing enrollment data, my research will examine the causation of the results and implications for the future of international schools in Hong Kong and East Asia. In addition, my research will examine suggestions for how international educators, leaders, and schools can prepare for and respond to future crises. This research will also serve as a building block for future study on the topic of international schools and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research question

How has the student enrollment of large international schools in Hong Kong and the surrounding area, grown, declined, or stagnated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic? Where is it heading in the future?

Literature overview

Research related to previous international crises and the impact on countries and education systems has been conducted. Scholars have considered the impact of both the 1998-99 Asian crisis and the 2008 global financial crisis on Brazil, Columbia, Chile, and Mexico (Corbo & Schmidt-Hebbel, 2011; Torche, 2010). Macrander (2017) examined the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on international student recruitment to American institutions. Rowley (2020) conducted research about how crises, such as pandemics, relate to higher education.

A body of literature published during the COVID-19 pandemic explained trends in American education prior to COVID-19 such as an increase in private school enrollment (Shannon-Baker, et al., 2020). This enrollment is expected to continue increasing if American public schools cannot meet student needs due to the pandemic (Squire, 2020). Similarly, literature exists on the topic of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on American private and public schools. Squire (2020) studied how private schools in America have struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whalen (2020) detailed how teachers in America were unprepared for the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Around the globe, research exists about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected private secondary education in different countries. Wodon (2020) wrote about how Catholic schools in Sub-Saharan Africa expected enrollment to be lower for the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is another report about how private education institutions in Chile must re-enroll students, even if their families have not paid all of their fees due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Mena Report, 2020).

A high proportion of the academic literature related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been focused on higher (post-secondary) education (Liao et al., 2020; Marginson, 2020; Rowley, 2020; Xiong et al., 2020). Literature by Salvador-Carulla et al. (2020) outlined that many countries had varied responses and levels of success in battling the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on this notion, Xiong et al. (2020) claims that, in the near future, choices in international education will be affected by the countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, some research exists in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and international schools. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international schools continued to grow during the year 2021 (ISC Research, 2021c). Before, studies by Machin (2017) and Merriman (2020) told us to expect growth in the international school market. Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to determine if that pattern holds. If it does, why? If it does not, why?

 The problem is that there is a vacuum in the literature related to student enrollment at international schools in Hong Kong and the region of East Asia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. My proposed research is well positioned to fill this vacuum by beginning to equip educators to understand their experiences in the pandemic and prepare for crises in the future. My study will give educators a lens through which they might understand international education in Hong Kong and beyond, the business of international schools, and how international schools can prepare for and respond to large scale crises in the future.

Proposed methodology

A quantitative research methodology will be used for this study. The methodology will be delivered in the form of a survey of enrollment data from before, during, and after the pandemic (if this coincides with my research period). The quantitative survey will be administered both via email and video conferencing app (Zoom). The proposed participants will be large, English speaking, kindergarten to grade 12, international schools, with a population of 1,000 students or greater, located in East Asia, with a particular focus on Hong Kong.

Your previous work in the field

Throughout my career as an international school educator, the leadership, systems, and resilience of international schools has been something that I have studied at a micro level. Soon, I hope to study these subjects at a macro level in order to grow my personal understanding and contribute to the field of international education. I am willing to use my expertise in and access to international schools in Hong Kong and the East Asian region in order to create a building block for future research on the topic of international school enrollment and the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

Corbo, V., & Schmidt-Hebbel, K. (2011). The international crisis and Latin America: Growth effects and development strategies. CASE Network Studies & Analyses.

ISC Research. (2021a). Data on international schools. ISC Research. https://iscresearch.com/data/

ISC Research. (2021b). Services for schools. ISC Research. https://iscresearch.com/for-schools

ISC Research. (2021c). New school year begins with the international school sector looking stronger than ever. ISC Research. https://iscresearch.com/new-school-year-trends/     

Liao, W., Prejean, E., & Parker, C. (2020). Relying on Agile Management to Develop an International Exchange and Dual Degree Program and Navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Research and Review, 9(2), 1–19.

Machin, D. (2017). The great Asian international school gold rush: An economic analysis. Journal of Research in International Education, 16(2), 131-146.                     

Macrander, A. (2017). An international solution to a national crisis: Trends in student mobility to the United States post 2008. International Journal of Educational Research, 82, 1-20.

Marginson, S. (2020). Global HE as we know it has forever changed. Times Higher Education, 26 March 2020. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/global-hewe-know-it-has-forever-changed#

Mena Report. (2020). Chile: School enrollment in 2021: The third process of regulation that ensures continuity despite the debts caused by the pandemic. (2020, December 2). Mena Report.

Merriman, R. (2020). International school market has grown 10x since 2000: What does that herald for investment migration? Investment Migration Insider. https://www.imidaily.com/industry-trends/international-school-market-has-grown-10x-since-2000-what-does-that-herald-for-investment-migration/

Rowley, W. J. (2020). Higher education in the midst of a pandemic: A dean’s perspective. International Dialogues on Education: Past and Present, 7, 108–115.

Salvador-Carulla, L., Rosenberg, S., Mendoza, J., Tabatabaei-Jafari, H., & Network, P. M. H. I. (2020). Rapid response to crisis: Health system lessons from the active period of COVID-19. Health Policy and Technology, 9(4), 578-586.

Shannon-Baker, P., Porfilio, B. J., & Plough, B. (2020). Parents want their voices to “matter”: Perspectives on school enrollment in a shrinking urban school district. Educational Foundations, 33(1–4), 77.

Squire, J. (2020). In pandemic, private schools face peril: Policy choices may help to preserve options for families. Education Next, 20(4), 20.

Torche, F. (2010). Economic crisis and inequality of educational opportunity in Latin America. Sociology of education, 83(2), 85-110.

Whalen, J. (2020). Should teachers be trained in emergency remote teaching? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 189-199.

Wodon, Q. (2020). COVID-19 crisis, impacts on catholic schools, and potential responses part II: Developing countries with focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Catholic Education, 23(1), 51-86.

Xiong, W., Mok, K.H., Ke, G., & Cheung, J. O. W. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on International Higher Education and Student Mobility: Student Perspectives from Mainland China and Hong Kong. Centre for Global Higher Education, Department of Education. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from https://www.researchcghe.org/perch/resources/publications/wp54to-publish.pdf

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. It was a pleasure spending time with you today.

Peace & Blessings, 

– Josiah

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