Harvard Graduate School of Education

Investigating Impacts of Educational Experience

Exploring the effects of an international school network’s learning model on students, alumni, and society.

Investigating Impacts of Educational Experience is a multi-year collaboration with United World Colleges (UWC), a global network of seventeen international schools. UWC’s mission is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” To fulfill this vision, UWC schools assemble diverse student populations (particularly in terms of national origin and socioeconomic status) in order to encourage cross-cultural exchange, celebration of difference, respect, and personal integrity. UWC is guided by the philosophy of Kurt Hahn, who believed that education has the power to not only prepare students for a full and ethical life but to prevent future conflicts as well.

In this study, Project Zero researchers are investigating particular dimensions of the impact of UWC’s model on a cohort of current students within the system and on selected groups of alumni. The goal of the research is to uncover and capture the ways in which UWC has affected these target populations. The research also aims to identify particular elements of the UWC experience that are especially impactful or unique, compared to other international schools. The results will not only inform UWC’s practices, as well as those of other institutions, but also contribute to knowledge about diverse international schools and their degree of mission effectiveness.