To westernize the nations? An analysis of the International Baccalaureate's philosophy of education

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate was developed in the late 1960s with the purpose of providing international schools with a pre‐university curriculum recognized by universities around the world. The educational programmes offered by the International Baccalaureate Organization claim to foster international understanding and an appreciation of the variety of cultures. The question which content must be taught in order to enable students to become internationally‐minded has occasionally been addressed, while questions on the philosophy and epistemology of such an international education have largely been ignored. This article sets out to analyse the educational philosophy that underpins the programmes offered by the International Baccalaureate Organization, by taking the Diploma Programme as a case study. It is argued that the programme is overtly international at the content level but thoroughly western at the epistemological level. This leads to a partial incompatabilty of goals that the International Baccalaureate Organization will have to face and address.