An investigation of international mindedness at two IB World Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how international mindedness is conceptualized and enacted at two International Baccalaureate World Schools, one in Hawaii and one in Japan. This study begins with the assumption that our educational systems, particularly those in preK-12 international schools, must prepare students to understand and appreciate different cultural perspectives, to assume a responsibility for the health of the planet, and to be able to interact and collaborate with people from diverse cultures in order to function as internationally minded responsible global citizens. Though international mindedness is a core concept in IB philosophy and a central aim of international education, its meaning remains complex, ambiguous and elusive. Equally unclear is how international mindedness manifests in different preK-12 school settings, i.e. what schools do that promote or hinder its development in students. By better understanding what is meant by international mindedness and identifying promising practices related to its promotion, schools may be better positioned to help develop this construct within their students and their educational programs.This qualitative study takes a social constructivist, interpretive approach to investigate the range of meanings of the term international mindedness and how it is enacted according to the perspectives of those experiencing them. Drawing on an IB-sponsored study from the University of Bath (Hacking et al., 2016), data from focus group interviews, lesson observations, school tours, and document and artifact analysis were collected. These data were then analyzed using a comparative case study approach informed by Bartlett and Vavrus’s (2017) process-oriented approach. Two broad categories of inquiry were pursued: the conceptualization of international mindedness and the enactment of international mindedness. Horizontal comparisons between stakeholders at each school were made, as well as between the two schools. Vertical comparisons of stakeholder conceptualizations with official IB definitions were also made. There are two major implications of this study. First, as stakeholder conceptualizations of international mindedness were largely similar, rather than attempting to establish precise meanings, preK-12 schools interested in developing international mindedness in their students should engage in community discussions of how the term manifests in their particular settings. Second, this study shows that the significant differences between the two schools came from their enactment of IM. The development of international mindedness is largely seen to result from direct experience with people and cultures different from one’s own. Interested schools should therefore carefully consider the kinds of experiences they are able to provide their students to develop their international mindedness.