The development of international education goes hand in hand with growing mobility in a globalized world. The idea of ‘international education’ emerged slowly at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Different versions of it have been developed over the last 50 years, in several types of schools, organizations and related systems; promoting some meanings related to this new idea, such as: global citizenship (UNICEF 1991) and Education for international understanding(UNESCO 1968). The increasing international attitude was shared by different types of international schools born in this period and represented by new organizations: the European Council of International Education, the Centre for the study of Education in an International Context (CEIC) and the International Schools Association (ISA). Besides the last organization represents the type of school, born during the 60 years, studied in the research: the International Baccalaureate Program (IB). The program, recognized around the world, is linked by a single curriculum. The theoretical perspective of this case study draws on Hayden research (2006), who has written a lot about the growing development of the IB schools around the world and their particular curricula. In this study I engage with the profile of the IB curriculum in an international school in Helsinki; analyzing the point of view of the specificity of the IB model as a global curriculum. Moreover, an ethnographic approach has been used, drawing on using participant observations, semi-structured interview with teachers, photographic material and various school policy documents. This IB program in particular is based on guided inquiry, made by different Units of Inquiry (UoI), aiming to educate active and autonomous students. The focus of this study has to do with the identity development in an IB environment, at the interplay of local and global cultural meanings mediated through education. The research question can be summarized as follows: In which ways students’ identities are shaped as future citizens and able to interact at a global level? The study investigates the contextual factors that shape a type of school dedicated in educating the global élite: (1) the socio-economic environment in Helsinki, (2) the local cultural relations and expectations of the actors in this school and the (3) teaching and learning vision. There is no ambitions to generalize such data and the results can be considered as indicative of a school system adopting IB in a specific social context.  

The study has a strict ethnographic nature and since research takes place in the context of comparative education; the approach used touches in depth the various aspects of school life and analyzes in detail the reference school context. Therefore, I wanted to use an ethnographic approach, as the goal of this type of study is to describe and interpret a system, or better a school phenomenon, observed in its natural environment. This research takes place in the area of qualitative research as the interest was not the acquisition of data, but an in-depth research of the context and school methodologies of the acquisition. This model in fact has the permission to focus mainly on the functioning of the object of the study.

The study proposes a theoretical framework about the IB method, which is essential to explain the functioning of this program and to understand the case study presented. The work gives a clear structure of international education first, and of international schools afterwards, in particular focusing on schools with an IB program; which are present worldwide. The IB method is an example of international school education, this program in fact has been described in its peculiar form and structure. The IB method has several programs covering different age groups: I analyze the Primary Year Program, as the main background of the case study. Therefore, by the documents, studies and authors mentioned in the study has been possible to deepen the focus examined. The focus results underline the importance and relevance of the development of a global curriculum through IB international schools, the motivations behind it and the type of students who are trained through this curriculum.

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