Atlas Partners with International Curriculum Association (ICA)

Faria Education Group is excited to announce a newly formed partnership with the International Curriculum Association (ICA). Our goals are to help further international education, promote global competencies, and provide educational institutions with tools and resources to implement effective and globally minded curricula.

In November, Standards and Services Manager Lianne Petrocelli and VP of Professional Development Kelby Zenor had the pleasure of joining ICA at their annual International Curriculum Conference in Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam. Throughout the three day conference, it was clear that ICA is a beacon within the global education landscape, dedicated to shaping curricula that go beyond borders, preparing students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.

The international buzz among the participants at the ICA conference was infectious. Schools from across the globe contributed with their collaborative spirit, passion and energy to the sessions. It was a treat to hear from keynote, Tony Jackson, Director of the Center for Global Education at Asia Society. Tony spoke to educators in the room underscoring the urgency of global competence not only in our students, but also within our teachers and educational leaders and caregivers. In an era characterized by unprecedented global challenges, connectivity and interdependence, the need for a comprehensive educational approach that fosters global competencies has become paramount. Tony emphasized that educating for global competence prepares individuals to be active, informed, and engaged citizens who can contribute positively to addressing global challenges, promoting cultural understanding, and collaborating on innovative solutions that transcend national boundaries.

One school putting global competence into action is the Taylor’s International School Kuala Lumpur. We really enjoyed attending their session titled, “Harmonizing International Mindedness”. Their IPC and IEYC leaders identified an issue at their school that many of their international students had minimal knowledge of their host countries culture, traditions and challenges. With a combined 30 years of implementing IEYC and IPC, their team took action and created a curriculum that has evolved into an interdisciplinary, collaborative, schoolwide journey through Malaysian culture, traditions and global challenges. After implementing the curriculum and refining it over six years, it has become a time of joy and celebration at their school as well as a cornerstone in developing their students’ global competence.

Atlas now hosts the IEYC, IPC and IMYC Learning Goals, available for teachers to select when creating units. Having these Learning Goals available within Atlas further supports school curriculum design processes allowing IEYC, IPC and IMYC learning goal alignment within units.

Atlas also has the ability to run school-wide reports on what is being taught in the classroom and what is perhaps getting missed. With over 800 sets of educational standards in Atlas’s standards database, teachers also have the opportunity to align their units to standards that may be a requirement of their host country, a specific accreditation process, or perhaps school specific student goals. For example, The ICA has recently released a new curriculum that integrates the UN Sustainable Development Goals directly into units and tasks. Atlas has the SDGs available making it easy to crosswalk standards and show connections when planning units. Another example, for British international schools, is the ability to align the ICA Learning Goals with the British National Standards which is also available in Atlas.

In a rapidly evolving world, education must transcend borders and prepare students to thrive in a globalized society. ICA stands at the forefront of this educational paradigm, championing the development of curricula that nurture the global competencies essential for success in the 21st century. By emphasizing cultural competence, critical thinking, communication skills, technology literacy, and global citizenship, ICA paves the way for a generation of students to have the skills to navigate and contribute to the interconnected world they will inherit. Faria Education Group is excited to share this vision with ICA and contribute to the well-being of our global community.