ABSTRACT
This study aims to understand how Esprit School Group policy agents, under pressure to provide international education ‘at home’—originally for children of globally mobile professionals, then for Dutch students in a culturally and economically diverse context—resist this. They are stakeholders of a unique school called Denise, in a world of competing agendas and contradicting pressures, which aims to facilitate varied and more inclusive forms of internationalisation. This chapter follows the story of Denise and examines: Did the group of internationally mobile, foreign knowledge workers who recently joined Denise ‘bargain’ for a different, more uniform type of school? Did Denise, under (market) pressures, conform to pressures from parents to become increasingly selective and focused on preparing students for globally-located rather than local post-graduation destinations (in terms of higher education and work)? Has Denise managed to hold its ground as a unique school for all Dutch students who want to learn how to become local and global citizens? The research suggests that despite the expectations of many parents and students that the school focuses on teaching international-mindedness and preparation for the global job market, it has resisted becoming a ‘bargaining zone’, and being pushed into becoming a more uniform model of international schooling. The school’s success in doing so has led to the development of more inclusive modes of internationalisation. Policy implications are considered for the ways schools and governments can balance the desire for internationalisation alongside a focus on local forms of citizenship and integration in local education market systems.
