International education in a post-Enlightenment world

Abstract

This article focuses on the ideology of international education as it developed during the twentieth century and analyses it into three elements: core beliefs about internationalism; the characteristics of a virtuous and worthy human being; and a set of pedagogical principles, based on enquiry, collaboration and debate. The idea, encapsulated by the International Baccalaureate (IB), of a universally available and applicable programme of international education is examined and the contrast drawn between the period in which the IB first emerged, when its target audience was mainly international schools for expatriate communities, and the current situation where the vast majority of IB programmes are taught in state and private “national” schools. The idea of a universal educational programme is seen as having its origins in the Enlightenment project whose key features are analysed. The principles of the Enlightenment have been under attack in recent decades as a result of developments in philosophy and the political changes which have moved us into a more multi-polar world. The implications of these developments for international education, and in particular for the idea of a universal education programme, are examined. The article concludes with thoughts about the future strategic agenda of the IB.