ABSTRACT
Although there is still no widely agreed precise definition of ‘international schools’, there are a number of de facto assumptions that make it possible to use the term meaningfully for discussion purposes. Richards has recorded a powerful warning against the dangers of relying too much on what may well be very superficial assumptions about international schools and international education (Richards, 1998). Nonetheless this chapter will proceed on the basis that, although definitions based on such assumptions have serious limitations, yet, in the absence of agreed definitions, the ongoing debate may still be usefully enhanced.
