Elite International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Schools and Inter-cultural Understanding in China

Wright, Ewan

doi:10.1080/00071005.2014.924615

Cited by 35 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Dissatisfaction with the competitive mainstream education system and the recent emphasis on “21st century skills” have increased the popularity of international schools among the local population and have led to a diversification of the types of international schools available in China. International schools with curricula that provide entry into North American and West European universities (e.g., Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma programmes) are perceived as better equipped to teach students the skills necessary to navigate a globalised world (Wright & Lee, 2014; Woods & Kong 2020). The expansion of the private international schooling sector is curtailed by its high fees and the government's policy that restricts Chinese nationals from attending these schools (Wright & Lee, 2014).…”

Section: The Place Of Alternative Education In China's Educational Lamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…International schools with curricula that provide entry into North American and West European universities (e.g., Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma programmes) are perceived as better equipped to teach students the skills necessary to navigate a globalised world (Wright & Lee, 2014; Woods & Kong 2020). The expansion of the private international schooling sector is curtailed by its high fees and the government's policy that restricts Chinese nationals from attending these schools (Wright & Lee, 2014). Since only a few state schools offer an international curriculum, elite Chinese nationals and children of expatriates represent a privileged minority within Chinese society.…”

Section: The Place Of Alternative Education In China's Educational Lamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative education spaces and pathways: Insights from an international Christian school in China

Silva

Woods

Kong

2020

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The nascent scholarship on geographies of alternative education focuses on alternative education spaces, mostly located in the UK, that resist and/or negotiate neoliberal restructuring of education, some of which cater to socially marginalised groups. In contrast, through an ethnographic focus on an underground Christian international school in China, we examine an alternative education space that responds to parents' aspirations for their children to be inculcated with global cultural capital, Chinese values, and Christian beliefs. These aspirations are not fulfilled in mainstream state schools or international schools in China, but are demanded by parents looking for a “superior” set of skills for their children to navigate the increasingly neoliberal, and global, higher education and employment landscapes. The discussion reveals the incongruities in the school's claim to simultaneously instil global, local, and spiritual forms of cultural capital, which leads to two visions of the pathway to higher education. The paper expands the geographies of alternative education in three ways. First, it shows how international and faith‐based schools can provide alternative schooling. Second, it shows how the departure of alternative education spaces from their mainstream counterparts can reveal the inadequacies of the latter. Third, it draws attention to how the cultural capital inculcated through alternative education can lead to alternative international higher education pathways within and beyond China.

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Section: The Place Of Alternative Education In China's Educational Lamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Place Of Alternative Education In China's Educational Lamentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative education spaces and pathways: Insights from an international Christian school in China

Silva

Woods

Kong

2020

Area

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“…Scholars in the fields of sociology, geography, anthropology, and education generally conceptualize international education as an 'elite' phenomenon. The 'elite' conceptualization is present in literature on international education in many forms: students pursuing tertiary education overseas (Brooks and Waters 2009;Kim 2011); students enrolled in short-term education programs overseas (Lee and Koo 2006); families engaged in international migration in pursuit of educational opportunities for their children (Ong 1999(Ong , 2006Waters 2005); international schools for expatriates (Iijima 2009;Wright and Lee 2014); and international schools for domestic students (Weenink 2007(Weenink , 2008Yan, Han, and Cai 2015). There are two main components to the conceptualization of international education as 'elite.'…”

Section: International Education As 'Elite'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Departing from the beaten path: international schools in China as a response to discrimination and academic failure in the Chinese educational system

Young

2017

Comparative Education

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International schools are commonly depicted in the academic literature and popular press as offering elite educational credentials to an elite, oftentimes international, student body. In this paper, I draw on a case study of a Canadian international school to argue that a new form of international school is emerging in China-one that offers a haven for domestic students from certain competitive and discriminatory features of the Chinese educational system. Fieldwork was conducted at a Canadian curriculum high school for Chinese citizens in Beijing. Most students at the school were internal migrants or children of China's 'new rich' entrepreneurial class; that is, their families had economic resources but occupied precarious social positions in contemporary Chinese society. Analyses reveal that the international school offers a pathway to obtain baseline academic credentials in the absence of other opportunities for progress in the Chinese educational system. Together with evidence of dramatic growth in international schools and tracks in China, this case study suggests the emergence of a new type of international education program that departs from a picture of international education as 'elite' in terms of student body, academic environment, and expected educational trajectories of graduates. The paper also develops our understanding of class and educational strategies in contemporary China.

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“…This is especially likely given additional language and cultural barriers alongside the issue that many expatriates in China reside in particular housing compounds (Wright and Lee, 2014a). Indeed, teachers and administrators reported that an implication of some IBDP students' instrumental use of CAS (e.g.…”

Section: The Skyboxification Of Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving from elite international schools to the world’s elite universities

Wright

2016

International Journal of Comparative Education and Development

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how elite International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) schools in China function as a channel for international student mobility to leading universities around the world. Design/methodology/approach – To achieve this, the authors conducted a mixed-methods study combining quantitative analysis of 1,622 students’ university destinations and qualitative analysis of interview data from five high performing and high tuition fee IBDP schools in China. Findings – Results indicate that the IBDP in China can be conducive to a form of “elite international student mobility” for some students with 30 percent of participants attending one of the top 50 ranked universities globally. As an explanation, interview data points to the strong reputation of the program, the provision of structured opportunities for students to demonstrate “additional skills,” and the abundant resources of elite schools. Originality/value – The authors provide a critical discussion about the implications of the IBDP’s function for “elite international student mobility” in connection with social contexts surrounding these international International Baccalaureate schools in China. In so doing, the discussion tackles two issues from a critical perspective: the role elite international schools in accelerating educational inequalities and challenges to authentic learning experience when elite schools play the “university admissions game.”

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Elite International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Schools and Inter-cultural Understanding in China

Cited by 35 publications

References 20 publications

Alternative education spaces and pathways: Insights from an international Christian school in China

Alternative education spaces and pathways: Insights from an international Christian school in China

Departing from the beaten path: international schools in China as a response to discrimination and academic failure in the Chinese educational system

Moving from elite international schools to the world’s elite universities

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