A summary of research on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: Perspectives of students, teachers, and university admissions offices in the USA

Abstract

This is the summary of a series of research studies into the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) in the USA, beginning with the investigation of how the first class of IB DP graduates in an individual school perceived the impacts and benefits of the programme, through further investigations of teacher perceptions of the programme, a follow-up study of the first graduates upon completion of their collegiate study, and a concluding study on the perceptions of IB DP by colleges and universities. In addition to identifying key elements of the IB DP that are perceived as impacting student success, this article summarizes how the research agenda unfolded; that is, how each study in the sequence generated more questions about the IB DP and how what began as a micro study within a single school grew into an examination of the IB DP within a larger context.