The Movement of International Education Towards the Globalising Approach: Comparing the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the International A-Levels

Abstract

One prominent trend in international education is the growth of commercial, profit-driven international schools all around the world, delivering an international curriculum to local students. The increase in such schools is complemented by the evolution of the “international curriculum” themselves. Two of the most common curricula that are used by international schools are the focus of investigation - the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and the International Advanced-Levels (IAL). Through an analysis of the curricula history, curricula set-up, and the teaching and learning of the curricula, this paper argues that the IBDP can be seen as moving from an idealist and internationalist curriculum towards a more pragmatic and globalist curriculum, while the IAL has always been a strongly globalist curriculum. Completing the IBDP or IAL is increasingly seen simply as a pathway towards entry into an internationally recognised university.