Abstract
ABSTRACT The International Baccalaureate (IB) has attracted criticism for its Eurocentricity and Western-centricity (Bunnell et al., 2017; Walker, 2010). This article explores international mindedness, questioning whether the IB perpetuates culturally hegemonic, colonial, and Westernised ideas. The paper draws on research data collected in two International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) international schools in the Hong Kong SAR. We observed IBDP lessons and interviewed teachers about their uses of local and global culture and content in their teaching, considering whether the adaptation of curriculum based on cultural significance and perspectives functions to shift the Western-centric discourses for which the IB is commonly criticised. Our analysis suggests that attempts to decentre the West in the curriculum are challenging, resulting from factors including a lack of critical understanding among teachers, demands and expectations regarding assessment, the aspirations of students and their parents, and a lack of time and space within the timetable and curriculum. Drawing on literature and teacher practices, we propose considerations to move beyond recognitive politics to a more critical set of practices unsettling hierarchies of knowledge and power. The task of de-centering the IBDP’s “Western” epistemology requires further consideration and research. In this paper, we contribute to this ongoing inquiry through providing an analysis of a particular set of circumstances in Hong Kong and providing a framework to enable critical reflection of curriculum and teaching practices that could be considered across IB programmes.
Published Version
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