2019 NAIS Global Education Survey

Overview

The 2019 NAIS Global Education Survey looks at how schools organize their global education programs, what their program offerings include, and the barriers they face in expanding their programs, as well as how global education has changed over time since NAIS’ first survey in 2011.

Executive Summary

The results of the 2019 NAIS Global Education Survey are clear: Global education is as popular as ever, but schools are having a harder time growing their programs.

Ninety-three percent of respondents to the survey had global education programs at their schools, and 88% of them saw their programs growing in the next five years. Notably, the popularity of global curricula, language instruction, and sister school partnerships has grown by up to 20% since NAIS’s last survey of global education in 2015, with a diverse variety of other programs and programming expanding as well. Global education initiatives were reported across the country in a wider variety of schools than four years ago. And programs are more organized: Seventy-nine percent of programs have centralized administration, and another 79% of the schools have faculty or staff overseeing their program to some extent.

And yet, new issues can be spotted throughout schools’ programs. There has been no increase since 2015 in the number of students traveling abroad, and schools tend to offer one fewer language than they did in 2011. Less than half of the schools report a “very successful” or “extremely successful” integration of global studies into their curricula, and a decreasing number of schools see global education reflected in their mission and priorities. Though fewer schools are having challenges with program goals, time constraints, and faculty and administration buy-in than in 2014, 10% more report lacking the staff to implement their program fully—36% in 2019 compared to 26% in 2014. Most notably, 69% of schools represented in this survey report that a lack of financial resources has made expanding their programs difficult, up from 50% in 2014. (Note that the schools that responded to the 2019 Global Education Survey are not necessarily the same as those that responded to the 2011, 2014, and 2015 surveys.)

Where does this leave global education in 2020 and beyond? The 2019 NAIS Global Education Survey explores the trends in organizing, offering, and growing global education in independent schools and offers recommendations for schools looking to go forward globally.


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