The influence of the International Baccalaureate (IB) has grown impressively on a global scale. In Latin America, the IB has been mainly introduced in private schools that cater for the most affluent sectors of society and, consequently, has been mostly interpreted as contributing to processes of social reproduction and the widening of…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a market leader in international education however, research suggests that it predominantly serves elite populations (Bunnell, T., M. Donnelly, H. Lauder, and S. Whewall. 2020. "International Mindedness as a Platform for Class Solidarity." "Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International…

This comparative analysis aims to capture the complex roles and positionings of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in conjunction with local education systems in Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea. Our analysis focused on how the IB's institutional legitimacy is presented in the three societies. We conducted a documentary analysis of texts on…

There has been reference in literature to the concepts of a Transnational Capitalist Class and a Global Middle Class, but there has been little discussion of how education may form any sense of class solidarity for these groups. In national contexts, ruling class socialisation has been achieved through elite private schooling. But the notion of…

Across East and Southeast Asia, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is expanding and diversifying. More students from affluent families are 'opting out' of mainstream schooling to take the IB's Diploma Programme (DP), which is marketed as a distinctive skill-based education that prepares students for university. This research investigated how DP…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine whether Australian Islamic schools, by dint of their unique status within Australian private schooling, may be construed as elitist or exclusivist premised on markers such as religious affiliation, school age, history, location, reputation and non-curricular excellences such as affluence and alumni.…

International Baccalaureate (IB) Directors of international schools command a paradoxical space of progressive futures, cloaking injustice and whiteness. This is enacted daily through policy, recruitment, teaching and remuneration which privileges the empowered, exploits the marginalised and thereby delivers a critical education of questionable…

Drawing on a multi-sited global ethnography of elite schools, this article explores how these institutions work to produce subjects that will thrive in a globalized world. We examine how despite a similar commitment to global citizenship education and a cosmopolitan orientation across all schools, the intersections between the transnational and…

This study examines access to International Baccalaureate schools in Australia. It is important to examine whether, as a highly regarded form of rigorous academic education, IB programmes are available to a wide range of students. We examine the location of schools in Australia that offer one or more of the IB Primary Years Programme, Middle Years…

The world becoming a global village is a recurrent notion, but for the learner, where to situate oneself intellectually and culturally remains a crucial issue. The challenges are complex for former colonized states of Africa in the quest of a national identity after colonial rule. The transition from a national educational programme to a (more)…