Tristan Bunnell

The global growth of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme over the first 40 years: a critical assessment

The year 2007 was a highly significant one for ‘international education’ in an ‘internationally minded school’ context. It marked the fortieth anniversary of the first trial exam of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). This paper charts the rather random global growth of this programme, from it being a long‐awaited experiment in international education sat by 147 students in two schools, to it being a curriculum offered in 1779 schools in 128 countries. It is shown how the initially Eurocentric bias of the global spread has become a distinct North American one. At present 35% of schools can be found in the US, whilst Africa accounts for only 2%. In 38 countries there is a single school offering the programme. The wider implications of this regional disparity are explored, concluding that perhaps the programme requires a more critical and planned growth strategy.

The International Baccalaureate in the USA and the emerging ‘culture war’

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has undergone rapid growth and largely unhindered expansion over the past four decades. It has moved beyond its European nexus and the three IB programmes now have a relatively large presence in the USA, especially among public high schools. The IB gathered federal funding in 2003, and a concerted attack has subsequently emerged from a vast array of ultra-conservative agencies and commentators who denounce the curriculum as federal interference, and fundamentally ‘un-American’. This paper explores the complex nature of this ‘culture war’ and reveals the key issues and protagonists.

The International Baccalaureate and a framework for class consciousness: The potential outcomes of a 'class-for-itself'

The International Baccalaureate (IB) examination system in early 2010 was on offer in 2700 schools in 139 countries. Since 1999, the Geneva-registered IB has created a platform for image consolidation, product standardization, and technological linkage. Out of this has emerged a globally branded ‘IB World’, educating the ‘IB Learner’, using an outcomes-based ‘IB Learner Profile’, and ‘IB Community Themes’. It is soon to be aligned within an ‘IB Association’. This creates a potential framework for class consciousness. The ‘IB Learner’, forming a ‘class-in-itself’, might form a self-conscious social grouping, a ‘class-for-itself’. This paper explores possible outcomes, within the context of two ‘agendas’. The ‘agenda for global peace’ desires an irenic class, tolerant and culturally aware. Within the context of an ‘agenda for global business’ a more inner-directed class might appear, sympathetic to globalization and the needs of Capital. Alternatively, a ‘third way’ could appear; a class who is business-oriented but socially-responsible.

The International Baccalaureate in the United States: From Relative Inactivity to Imbalance

Abstract The International Baccalaureate® (IB) examination system has grown exponentially in the United States from 268 schools involved in 1999 to 1,090 schools in 2009. The fact that 49,100 students of a total of 87,800 students in 122 countries were from U.S. schools in 2009 has posed problems in strategic planning, assessment and training, the ability of the program to remain politically neutral, and the ability of the program to remain international and not take on an American persona.

The Yew Chung model of dual culture co-principalship:A unique form of distributed leadership

There is currently much discussion about distributed leadership, both as a model of reality in many schools and as an alternative to focused leadership. One model in practice is co‐principalship. This paper offers a preliminary investigation into a unique form emerging in a small body of international schools in China. The Yew Chung model, involving dual authority between a Western co‐principal and a Chinese co‐principal, has not previously been explored. The Yew Chung International School in Shanghai was visited and the co‐principals were interviewed. Information was sought about the philosophy and dynamics of the arrangement. The Yew Chung dual culture model of co‐principalship has emerged as a sensible and pragmatic form of school leadership in a modern Chinese context. Holistically it sits within a wider framework aiming to offer a viable alternative form of global citizenship. Within its setting it can principally be conceptualized as a visible manifestation of a suppressed Christian ethos and as a precautionary model of decision‐making in a rapidly changing socio‐economic environment. The Yew Chung arrangement as a dual culture model is unique in its setting. The rationale and philosophy behind the model also make it a unique one. The model has enormous implications for international schools, especially when the principal is alien to the host culture, and more generally for schools operating in a multicultural setting. The Yew Chung arrangement as a cross‐cultural model of distributed leadership offers much research potential. The scope for it to be copied in other international schools is limited, although it can easily be visualized in other cultural settings.

International education and the ‘second phase’: A framework for conceptualising its nature and for the future assessment of its effectiveness

International education involves a dichotomy of study between the largely theoretical discipline of comparative education, and the still relatively under‐researched body of international schools. The last 40 years has seen the rapid growth both in scale and diversity of this type of school, plus the emergence of a discrete industry. This dimension of international education now seems to be entering a ‘second phase’, characterized in the main by a desire to exert more influence. This seems to hinge on the bringing of order and greater structure to the growing industry, and the creating of a deeper and more meaningful educational experience. This paper offers an introductory framework for conceptualizing the complex nature and ambition of this ‘second phase’, and offers an introductory platform for the future assessing of its overall effectiveness.

The Exporting and Franchising of Elite English Private Schools: The Emerging "Second Wave".

The past decade has seen the emergence, predominantly in Thailand and mainland China, of a form of educational institution that has had little scholarly attention or generic identification. This paper shows how the ad hoc and opportunistic franchising of elite English private schools, beginning with the hyper-capitalist exportation of the Dulwich College “brand” to Phuket in 1996, led to the emergence of a quasi-market involving the “satellite college”. This paper charts the development of this educational experiment and shows how a distinct “second wave” is beginning to appear: The Charities Act of England and Wales 2006 has put pressure on charitable-status elite private schools in England to subsidise places for low-income students. As a result, the satellite college model looks set to appear in a more systematic manner and beyond Asia. This paper discusses this model of hyper-capitalism as it enters a seemingly more problematic and controversial phase of development.

The Growth of the International Baccalaureate® Diploma Program: Concerns About the Consistency and Reliability of the Assessments

Abstract The International Baccalaureate® (IB) world, known as “the IB World,” is doubling in size every five years. The IB has become a complex educational product, but offers high levels of consistency and reliability in terms of delivery and assessment. However, since late 2008, a number of concerns have been raised about the quality and manageability of the Diploma Program. A major challenge for the future will be attracting new markets through new initiatives, yet maintaining and managing a consistent and reliable assessment.

The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme after 30 years: A critical inquiry

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) was first created in 1980. This article charts its historical origins and growth. It offers a critical overview of the operation of the MYP revealing both its geographical distribution disparities and the current picture in terms of external moderation of student work. There are several emerging themes of concern. The exact role of the MYP within the IB ‘continuum’ can be questioned, while the MYP is a complex programme in terms of its philosophy and structure, and remains a little researched and seemingly little understood curriculum.

The momentum behind the International Primary Curriculum in schools in England

The year 2007 saw a discrete yet significant development in the sphere of ‘international education’ in England: a doubling in number of state‐funded schools offering the International Primary Curriculum. This curriculum had been developed in 2000 for the Shell Company Group of Schools. It first emerged in England in 2003; two years later it had become the major form of international curricula in England. This development is mainly a by‐product both of government policy‐making encouraging a ‘global dimension’ in primary schools aimed at the ‘2020 Generation’, and also of documentation recommending a more innovative and creative primary curriculum. This paper investigates the potential for further growth of the International Primary Curriculum in England. Political developments, however, point to possible growth among independent schools, which may extend the possibilities for a more general critical discourse.