Global Expansion of Private International Schools: Capital Extraction, Labor Exploitation, and Raciolinguistic Hierarchies

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11: Educator Identities and Experiences

Abstract

The global expansion of international schools has accelerated over the past decade, driven by increasing demand for Western-style education in non-Western contexts. However, this rapid growth raises concerns about how international schooling models reinforce neoliberal marketization, social stratification, and racialized hierarchies in education. While past studies in the sociology of education have primarily examined inequality within nation-states, less attention has been given to the transnational interactions. Additionally, existing literature on international schools often amplifies the voices of expatriate teachers — typically native English speakers from the Global North — while neglecting the perspectives of local national teachers. This study addresses that gap by exploring international schooling from the perspective of local national teachers. Using self-as-method, this autoethnography draws on my own experiences and observations as an international schoolteacher in China, examining the role of private capital, national policies, and raciolinguistic ideologies in shaping the international school landscape. Findings reveal that international schools function as sites of capital extraction from Global South to North, sustaining global Whiteness and English Nativism as markers of elite status, and exploitation of local educational labor. By critically interrogating these dynamics, this study calls for a more equitable understanding of international schooling in the Global South.

Author

• Chunhua Huang, University of Utah