| Abstract: | The UK government has recently demonstrated an unprecedented interest in global learning within primary and secondary schools. While the adoption and implementation of the global dimension varies, international school partnerships (ISPs) have been identified as a key vehicle for harnessing the potential of the global dimension in schools. Despite increasing global policy and practice interest in ISPs, little empirical research examines the influence of ISPs on students, teachers and leaders. Drawing on evidence nested in our 3-year research and development study of the British Council's Connecting Classrooms-Sub Saharan Africa programme, this paper examines students' own view of their international school partnership participation. We employ a multidimensional citizenship framework to frame our analysis of 694 student surveys from 66 schools across 12 countries. Based on this evidence, we argue that the influence of ISPs on global learning can be enhanced by intentionally designing partnerships to: celebrate school-based learning linked to international partners; create opportunities for students to engage in activity-based communication-driven ISP related learning; and, deliberately encourage students to discuss their partnership work with friends and family. We also make recommendations for policy and practice leaders and researchers. |
