Does the international Baccalaureate ‘work’ as an alternative to mainstream schooling? Perceptions of university students in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT

Across East and Southeast Asia, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is expanding and diversifying. More students from affluent families are ‘opting out’ of mainstream schooling to take the IB's Diploma Programme (DP), which is marketed as a distinctive skill-based education that prepares students for university. This research investigated how DP alumni reflect on their educational experiences in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills and as preparation for elite universities in Hong Kong. An online undergraduate survey (n = 734) found that DP alumni self-perceived higher capacities than non-DP alumni in communication, creativity, critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, global-mindedness, leadership, and time management. In interviews (n = 42), DP alumni perceived the DP as a privileged educational experience that ‘worked’ in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The DP alumni were overall positive about their DP experiences in developing skills for university preparation. However, there were complexities as the DP alumni also perceived that students from mainstream schools were often better prepared for pedagogy and assessments in the context of higher education in Hong Kong.

KEYWORDS:

• International Baccalaureate
• university preparation
• skills
• academic adaptation
• East Asia

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Yonsei University Research Grant of 2020. This work was also supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2017S1A3A2065967) and the International Baccalaureate Organization.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The distinctive features of this ‘new rich’ class from the traditional upper-middle-class are that they more often are proficient in English, accommodate western cultures, infuse western liberal ideas in their lifestyle, and demonstrate global mobility in work and leisure (cf. Koo 2016; Wright and Lee 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Yonsei University Research Grant of 2020. It was also supported by the International Baccalaureate Organization and the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation of Korea: [Grant Number NRF-2017S1A3A2065967].