Research Highlighted:
Cutri, J. (2025). In Veliz, L., Nguyen, M.H., Slaughter, Y., & Bonar, G. (Eds.), Language Teacher Agency: Navigating Complex and Diverse Educational Contexts (pp. 129–146). Bloomsbury Academic.
This chapter explores the delivery of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), an Australian senior secondary curriculum, within a Chinese Internationalised School (CIS) serving local students. Reflecting broader shifts in educational access and regulation, CIS institutions have proliferated in China, particularly among middle-class families seeking global credentials through bilingual education (Cutri, 2022). This study focuses on the agency of both local and foreign VCE teachers as they navigate identity, pedagogy, and institutional constraints in a transnational context. Framed by an ecological model of teacher agency (Biesta & Tedder, 2007; Priestley et al., 2015), the chapter examines how educators respond to the complex interplay of national policy, cultural expectations, and imported curricular demands within Chinese internationalised schooling.
This study examines the experiences of three VCE teachers: an expatriate and two local Chinese educators—as they support English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners in a bilingual Chinese Internationalised School (CIS). Their narratives reveal the complexities of cross-cultural adjustment, the development of culturally responsive pedagogy, and the emergence of a bilingual immersion model tailored to local needs.
CIS institutions differ from traditional international schools in that they serve Chinese nationals and blend local and international curricula under strict regulation (Poole, 2020; Wu & Koh, 2023). Within this context, the VCE program is delivered through partnerships between Chinese host schools and Australian accrediting bodies such as the VCAA. Rather than a straightforward export of Western curriculum, the VCE-in-China model represents a form of “educational import,” shaped by Chinese socio-political norms and regulatory frameworks. The experiences of VCE teachers thus offer a unique lens into how international education is localised through negotiation and adaptation.
The Director of the VCE in China reflects on recalibrating expectations around students’ English proficiency and socio-emotional readiness. His account necessitates a pedagogical shift from Western norms to approaches more attuned to local cultural realities. Narratives provided by local teachers, who are trained in both Chinese and Australian systems, exemplify pedagogical hybridity. Their ability to navigate between didactic and inquiry-based traditions is central to the program’s success. They report that students, particularly in Year 10, struggle to transition from exam-driven learning to the student-centred model characteristic of the VCE. In response, the teaching team developed a bilingual immersion model grounded in Vygotskian theory and scaffolded instruction, utilising strategies such as translanguaging, peer support, and the “I do, We do, You do” framework to build both language and content knowledge progressively.
English language proficiency remains a key challenge for students undertaking the VCE. In response, the teaching team developed a bilingual immersion model that incorporates translanguaging, peer scaffolding, and code-switching between pǔtōnghuà and English to support both content mastery and learner confidence. The chapter highlights how pedagogical adaptation is sustained through collaborative professional practices. Informal learning communities enable teachers to refine culturally responsive strategies and affirm their roles as transnational educators, defined not by nationality but by their capacity to navigate intercultural complexity.
The phased bilingual model developed within the Sino-Australian VCE program marks a significant pedagogical innovation in Chinese internationalised schooling. By allowing students to build foundational knowledge in pǔtōnghuà before transitioning to English, the model enhances academic confidence and engagement. It integrates explicit language support with culturally responsive teaching, demonstrating how bilingual instruction can effectively scaffold both linguistic and conceptual development.
This research also challenges deficit narratives surrounding Chinese students and educators. Rather than viewing local teachers as constrained by tradition, the study foregrounds their role as cultural brokers who mediate between national expectations and global aspirations. This co-construction of “cultural other-awareness” contributes to more nuanced and respectful educational practice, aligning with calls to decolonise international education (Wang & Chen, 2022).
These findings have broader implications for understanding Chinese education mobilities, highlighting the importance of localising international curricula to align with students’ linguistic and cultural contexts, rather than relying on wholesale curriculum export. The success of the bilingual model underscores the value of pedagogical hybridity—where global frameworks are adapted through culturally grounded practices.
This research contributes to the discourse on international education by offering an empirically grounded account of curriculum adaptation in a non-Western setting. It affirms that meaningful internationalisation requires not only the movement of educational programs across borders, but also the transformation of pedagogy through intercultural negotiation. As Chinese education mobilities continue to diversify, models like the VCE bilingual program offer valuable insights into how global and local educational logics can be reconciled to support equitable and effective learning.
References
Biesta, G., & M. Tedder. (2007). “Agency and Learning in the Life Course: Towards an Ecological Perspective.” Studies in the Education of Adults 39 (2): 132–149.
Cutri, J. (2022). The Localisation of Australian Elite Education Within China: A Case-Study of Various Social Actors’ Experiences at a Sino-Australian Senior School. Doctoral thesis, Monash University.
Poole, A. (2020). “Decoupling Chinese Internationalised Schools From Normative Constructions of the International School.” Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education 50 (3): 447–454.
Priestley, M., G. J. J. Biesta, & S. Robinson. (2015). “Teacher Agency: What It Is and Why It Matters.” In Flip the System: Changing Education From the Ground Up, edited by J. Evers and R. Kneyber, 134–148. London: Routledge.
Wang, L., & Y. Chen. (2022). “English Language Teacher Agency in Response to Curriculum Reform in China: An Ecological Approach.” Frontiers in Psychology 13: 935038.
Wu, X., & A. Koh. (2023). “Chinese Internationalised Schooling: Insights From Local Practices.” Comparative Education Review 67 (1): 1–26.
Author’s Bio
Jennifer Cutri is a lecturer and researcher at Swinburne University of Technology’s Department of Education. She is the course director for the Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood Teaching) and the Bachelor of Education Studies. Inspired by her international teaching experience in Hong Kong, her doctoral research focused on the Chinese educational context. Jennifer’s current research examines the impact of digital technology on early childhood education and international student mobility in the Asia-Pacific region.
Managing Editor: Tong Meng
Network for Research into Chinese Education Mobilities (NRCEM) 