Abstract
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is experiencing rapid growth, resulting in demand for IB teachers in both public and independent schools. Since teaching IB requires specific knowledge of the language and pedagogy of the IB programmes, initial teacher education programs are well-positioned to prepare pre-service teachers to teach IB. This paper shares the results of a study conducted following the completion of an IB Educator Certificate by pre-service teachers attending a Canadian initial teacher education program, where their experiences during practica in mostly public IB schools were reflected upon and documented in relation to IB philosophy. Several themes were identified and explored, including IB and the perception of elitism; stress experienced by IB students and teachers; and the variability of programme implementation from school to school and even between subjects within one school. This paper concludes with considerations for new and practicing IB teachers and initial teacher education programs.
Keywords
International Baccalaureate, initial teacher education, international education
ORCID Identifiers
Cody Alderson: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6310-0465
Mark Hirschkorn: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8282-2617
DOI
10.5038/2577-509X.9.2.1390
Recommended Citation
Alderson, C., & Hirschkorn, M. (2025). Exploring the foundational pillars of the International Baccalaureate (IB) through pre-service teacher experiences during B.Ed. practica. Journal of Global Education and Research, 9(2), 139-154. https://www.doi.org/10.5038/2577-509X.9.2.1390
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
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