If you’re attending the ECIS Leadership Conference 2026, join ISC Research for a keynote exploring how wellbeing is shaping leadership, learning, and long-term sustainability across the international school sector.
This session will be presented by Elena Mora, Research Manager at ISC Research
Session Details
Session: The Landscape of Wellbeing in International Education: Leading with Care in Complex Times
Date: 23–25 April 2026
Location: ECIS Leadership Conference 2026, Lisbon, Portugal
What This Session Covers
Across the global international school sector, one message is clear: wellbeing is no longer a “nice to have”, it is fundamental to sustainable learning, effective leadership, and thriving school communities. Accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, wellbeing has moved from the margins to the centre of how schools define success, how parents choose schools, and how educators lead.
Drawing on international research and recent sector reports, this keynote explores wellbeing as a leadership responsibility grounded in care, trust, and human connection. It examines how wellbeing intersects with academic outcomes, staff retention, and community stability, particularly within the unique pressures of international education, including cultural transition, high mobility, diverse expectations, and the needs of third culture kids.
The session will highlight the growing evidence linking teacher wellbeing to student achievement and explore the tension leaders face between academic performance and human sustainability in competitive international markets. Framed through the lens of love and leadership, the keynote invites school leaders to reflect on how compassionate, values-led leadership can create the conditions in which both people and learning can truly flourish.
