In today’s complex yet still interconnected world, educators across the Middle East are working within a powerful paradox: how do we prepare students for a global future without disconnecting them from where they come from?
At the International Curriculum Association (ICA), we’ve come to understand that this is not a problem to solve, but a tension to embrace. When we approach it not with rigidity, but with curiosity, with play and passion, we discover that national identity and international mindedness are not opposites, but partners.
Across the region, we work with schools that are navigating this balance every day - meeting international benchmarks while also delivering national subjects like Arabic and Islamic Studies in the Middle East. The challenge is real, but here’s what we see time and again: it’s not only possible to do both - it’s essential.
Holding the Paradox: Identity and internationalism
It affirms language, culture, values and belonging. It gives students a stable footing from which to step into the wider world. But when taught in isolation – outside of real-world context or connections – it risks becoming static, disconnected from a student’s lived experience.
That’s where the power of integration – and the playful lens of possibility – comes in.
At ICA, our approach to curriculum is built around themes, concepts and connections. Through the International Early Years Curriculum (IEC), International Primary Curriculum (IPC) and International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC), we help schools embed national identity within global learning journeys. Not as an add-on, but as a central thread that strengthens the whole. For example,
A unit on migration becomes more meaningful when paired with Arabic oral histories.
A global study of governance deepens when it includes local civic traditions.
A conversation about culture becomes alive when students see themselves in it.
When students engage with heritage in context—not as a standalone subject but as part of an integrated journey—it becomes relevant. It becomes respected. It becomes real.
Passion in Practice: What this looks like in Schools
This isn’t just theory – it’s happening.
At Brighton College Dubai, the leadership team recognised that certain UK Curriculum topics didn’t resonate with their students’ lived realities. Through the IPC they chose units like Moving People, highly relevant in a region shaped by migration. What started as a curriculum choice became something more: a spark for deep discussion, connection, and a student-led action project. This is what happens when curriculum becomes a space for play, not just performance.
At Al Basma British School in Abu Dhabi, IPC Exit Points became a transformative tool. These celebratory moments allow students to show what they’ve learned in their own way – through storytelling, performance and cultural presentation. Teachers report a visible shift: more engagement, more pride, more passion. When students see their identity not as something outside the curriculum, but inside it, they connect with the learning with a greater sense of purpose and voice.
The Golden Thread: Paradox, Play and Passion
These stories show us what’s possible when we stop choosing between the global and the local—and instead, weave them together.
Paradox invites us to hold complexity with confidence.
Play helps us reframe it, explore it, and move creatively within it.
Passion keeps us anchored to purpose.
Together, they form a golden thread—one that runs through the most vibrant, inclusive, and transformative learning environments.
The Future We’re Building
International education should never mean losing identity. In fact, the best global citizens are often the ones most deeply rooted in who they are. Our work at ICA is to help schools build bridges, not binaries. To lead with nuance. To learn with curiosity. To teach with heart.
We believe every child deserves to see their identity reflected in the classroom—and to see their world expanded by it.
Because when we flip the paradox, when we let play in, and when we lead with passion, education doesn’t just prepare students for the future. It helps them shape it.
To explore how your school can integrate national identity education into its international curriculum, please get in touch with us directly by emailing [email protected] or booking a meeting with Alex Johnson.
