Understanding traditional international schools as ‘complex human whole-systems’: The case of the relationship between the Head and the Board

The number of private K-12 English-medium ‘international schools’ continue to grow in scale and diversity, especially in Asia. The accredited non-commercial ‘traditional’ type, governed by a Board of Trustees, has largely escaped research attention as a ‘complex human whole-system’ despite the acceptance that relationships within the school can be problematic and challenging. We identify at least 25 human sub-systems within the typical school. This article focuses attention on one important sub-system within the ‘parent system’, involving the complicated relationship between the Head and the Board, especially the Chair (often an elected parent). Numerous studies have highlighted this relationship as being especially problematic, leading to a high turnover of Heads. Using data collected from 50 schools we show that the average tenure of Heads at their current school is relatively low, at 6.8 years, whilst the mean of Chairs is much lower, at 4.2 years. The Heads have seen an average of three Chairs during their time at the current school. Board composition averages 14 members, although structures differ enormously, whilst turnover is reportedly rising as is the Head's time spent on Board matters. A picture emerges of a complex relationship involving evolving and loosely linked sets of actors.