Asia Pacific Journal of Education

ISSN: 0218-8791 (Print) 1742-6855 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cape20

Aspirations and tensions in developing

international mindedness: case study of two
students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island
Nation

Mico Poonoosamy

To cite this article: Mico Poonoosamy (2016) Aspirations and tensions in developing
international mindedness: case study of two students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island
Nation, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36:4, 583-598, DOI: 10.1080/02188791.2015.1064354

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2015.1064354

Published online: 30 Jul 2015.

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Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2016
Vol. 36, No. 4, 583–598, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2015.1064354

Aspirations and tensions in developing international mindedness: case

study of two students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island Nation
Mico Poonoosamy*

Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

(Received 30 June 2013; accepted 11 July 2014)

International mindedness is considered by many educational researchers and

organizations as a determining feature in international education. This article used
data as part of a PhD case study inquiry to explore how international mindedness is
developed by two students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island Nation. Through a
qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm, it provides insights into the
complexities of the students’ development of international mindedness through the
following questions: Why do the students aspire to develop international mindedness?
What are the tensions they experience in developing it through the theory of knowledge
programme in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)? Using
socio-cultural frameworks, the article discusses theories on knowledge development,
identity and post-colonialism. Data were collected through a survey, journal entries and
interviews. The analysis was conducted using theoretical sampling, categorization and
coding. The findings revealed that students’ cultural backgrounds and identities are
critical factors determining their sense of engagement with the development of
international mindedness in the IBDP. They indicated also that the Diploma
Programme (DP) knowledge content needs to be carefully addressed by the
International Baccalaureate (IB) host school, which also must consider the socio-
cultural and historical factors of the country in which it is found, in negotiating a locally
meaningful implementation of the IB’s international mindedness.
Keywords: international mindedness; International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme;
socio-cultural theory; tensions; local context

Introduction
International education and international schools
While the term “international education” has been in existence for over a century
(Wilkinson, 1998), it has yet to acquire a consistent meaning (Cambridge & Thompson,
2004; Hayden, Thompson, & Walker, 2002). Even the 1999 –2005 International
Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) Director is “unsure what it is” (Walker, 2004, p. 20).
Gellar (1993) and current IBO Deputy Director, Hill (2000), note that an international
school is often characterized by its multicultural student population and high number
of international students. There is, however, no single shared perception of what an
international school is, as stated by Hayden and Thompson (1995). International schools
are nonetheless usually affiliated with international educational franchises, like the IBO,
which defines international education according to the following criteria:
Developing citizens of the world in relation to culture, language and learning to live together;
Building and reinforcing students’ sense of identity and cultural awareness;

*Email: Mico.Poonoosamy@education.monash.edu.au

q 2015 National Institute of Education, Singapore

2
584 M. Poonoosamy

Fostering students’ recognition and development of universal human values;

Providing international content while responding to local requirements and interests;
(IBO, 2013a, para. 1)

The IB Diploma Programme

The IB-DP (Diploma Programme) for students aged 16 to 19 is a two-year curriculum that
leads to a qualification that is recognized by leading universities (IBO, 2013b). Students
choose six subjects from six major discipline areas: a first language, a second language,
mathematics, experimental sciences, humanities, and the arts, or another choice from one
of the mentioned groups. Students must also complete an extended essay (4,000 words),
the theory of knowledge (ToK) course and Creativity, Action, Service (CAS). These
components emphasize respectively research skills, critical thinking, and the development
of the whole person (IBO, 2013b).
The IB’s aspirations of international mindedness do not rest solely with ToK, but for
this article, the discussion focuses on this particular course which,
. . . is central to the educational philosophy of the Diploma Programme. It offers students and
their teachers the opportunity to reflect critically on diverse ways of knowing and on areas of
knowledge [and] consider the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture, in the
cultures of others and in the wider world.
[ . . . ] It is a stated aim of ToK that students should become aware of the interpretative nature
of knowledge, including personal ideological biases, regardless of whether, ultimately, these
biases are retained, revised or rejected. ToK also has an important role to play in providing
coherence for the student as it transcends and links academic subject areas, thus
demonstrating the ways in which they can apply their knowledge with greater awareness and
credibility. (IBO, 2013c, paras. 1– 3)
The students’ views of their ToK course will be explored through the extent the lived
curriculum at their school aligns with the IB’s expectations that it develops international
mindedness. The prevailing understanding at the school, from the students’ perspectives,
of what it means to be internationally-minded, and its importance, will be explored.

The post-colonial landscape of the Indian Ocean Island Nation

The Indian Ocean Island Nation (IOIN) was colonized both by the French and the English
in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The island acquired independence from the
British in the 1960s. In 2013, 95% of secondary schools in the IOIN continue to adopt the
British Cambridge School Certificate programmes. Exam scripts of students are still sent
to England to be marked, and certificates are granted from England. The other 5% are
French Baccalaureate and IB schools. The French lycées have transplanted the national
French model into the IOIN; they offer the same French Baccalaureate system that exists
in metropolitan France and prepare students for universities in France or in Francophone
nations (Agence pour l’Enseignement Franc ais à l’Etranger [AEFE; Agency for Teaching
of French Overseas], 2013). The IB schools in the IOIN hold strongly to historical ties
with former British colonizers; despite (or because) the diploma being “international”,
the schools’ principals have always been Anglo-Saxon expatriates.
The ethnic and racial tensions that were experienced in colonial times are still present
almost five decades after independence in the IOIN which faces the challenges of building
a post-colonial islander’s identity. But the tension is not only because of the residuals of
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 3
585

colonization. In many post-colonial African states, there is an acute economic disparity

between people, brought about by the neo-liberal world economy. As noted by Tarc (2009,
p. 94) in the twenty-first century, “institutions and individuals in developing economies
view the Anglo-West and its institutions of knowledge production and dissemination as a
means to gain personal, corporate and national advantage in the economy”.

The IOIN’s postcolonial identities

The IOIN is a mixture of White Franco-islanders, known as the coloured population (the
ancestors of the mix of French colonizers and African slaves), Creoles (descendants of
African slaves), Hindus and Muslims (descendants of immigrants from India) and Chinese
(immigrants from China). Locals identify themselves more with their ethnicity than with
their nationality, and often define themselves in terms of their racial belonging rather than
nationality. This situation has led to unresolved divisions and tensions between the
different races, ethnicities and religions since independence.

International education and international mindedness

Hill (2012) posits that the interconnectedness of the twenty-first century world requires
innovative educational responses to conflicts of a global nature, and demands a new
form of international education, whose ultimate outcome is international mindedness.
This international education, through its focus on international mindedness, has the
potential of responding to conflicts at a local level; while “providing international content”
this education simultaneously aims at “responding to local requirements and interests”
(IBO, 2013a, para. 1). One of the aspirations of studying in an IB school in the IOIN could
be a better negotiation of the mentioned racial and ethnic tensions. The United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2004, p. 4) claims also that
an international curriculum needs to be structured around “learning to live together”,
which requires being both internationally-minded and being able to interact appropriately
with people of diverse cultural backgrounds.
As for the IBO, it does not explicitly define “international mindedness”; it however
states that “education for international mindedness values the world as the broadest
context for learning [ . . . ] International-mindedness [ . . . ] is a philosophy students will
carry with them through the rest of their lives” (IBO, 2007, para. 6). The IB learner profile
(IBO, 2009) also states that,
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally-minded people who, recognising
their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more
peaceful world. (p. 4)
The IBO (2013e) “does not own, operate or manage schools” (para. 1). However, it has
also published a booklet called IB Standards and Practices, which clearly stipulates that
an IB school is expected to “develop and promote international mindedness and all
attributes of the IB Learner Profile across the school community” (IBO, 2011, p. 13).
“International mindedness”, is often used synonymously and associated with terms
such as being globally minded (Haywood, 2007), the qualities of global citizenship
(Sampatkumar, 2007), intercultural sensitivity (Ellwood, 2010), and intercultural
understanding (Walker, 2010). Tarc (2009, p. 82) notes that international mindedness in
the IB refers to “the appropriate set of values and dispositions necessary for one to be an
active, empowered subject in a shrinking world”. But even if that world is shrinking,
(Delors, 1998) in his Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education
4
586 M. Poonoosamy

for the 21 st Century describes one major challenge that an international education needs to
overcome, which is the tension between the “global” and the “local”.
People need gradually to become world citizens without losing their roots and while
continuing to play an active part in the life of their nation and their local community. (Delors,
1998, p. 17)

Factors leading to international mindedness

Hayden and Wong (1997, p. 351) note that, “ideologically, it was envisaged that such an
international curriculum (the IBDP) would help to promote international understanding by
breaking down the barriers of ignorance and lack of cross-cultural contact”. Blaney (1991)
argues that it is the curriculum, rather than the nature of the staff-student population and
the number of languages spoken, which develops international mindedness in students.
Fox (1985) notes that the international content and internationalist perspectives in the
IBDP curriculum set the philosophical aspirations of international mindedness, whilst
the interactions of different cultures – generally witnessed in schools offering an IB
programme – allow its practical developments. Gellar (1993), meanwhile, contends that it
is not so much the curriculum which makes students internationally-minded, but what
takes place when they work and interact with each other.
In the IB, the enactment of international mindedness is translated into learners
becoming (more) aware and critical of the biases in local as well as international
knowledge. They are expected to learn to appreciate the multiple perspectives that different
people hold, based on their cultures, history, customs and ways of living. International
mindedness recognizes the need to consider (and not homogenize) cultural differences and
multiple cultural referents to enrich and add more nuances to one’s national identity in the
global world.

The IB in the global world

The IBO currently presents itself as a leading provider of international education, with
more than one million students in 144 countries (IBO, 2013e). However, the regional
disparity of the IB Diploma Programme with more than 50% of the students from only four
western English speaking nations – the United States, Canada, the UK and Australia
(IBO, 2013e), has led influential educational researchers and the IBO itself to question the
organization’s claim to internationality. Peel (1988) is nonetheless adamant that,
The honesty of the IB stems from the fact that we require all students to relate first to their own
national identity – their own language, literature, history and cultural heritage, no matter
where in the world this may be. [ . . . ] Internationality is a process of reinforcing national
identities [ . . . ] Beyond that we ask that they identify with the corresponding traditions of
others. (pp. 56 –57)
But the IB’s visions and implementation of international mindedness through the
Diploma Programme, as argued by Bunnell (2008), Drake (2004), and Tarc (2009), are
more representative of the values, identities, socio-cultural realities and needs of learners
in the Western English speaking world. By focusing mainly on the cultural realities and
intellectual demands of the majority of its clientele, the IB is compromising the very
cultural inclusiveness of its internationality and messages about international mindedness.
But the IBO cannot be held responsible for the fact the global world is becoming
increasingly Western. But the organization is responding strategically to the realities of
the neo-liberal economy. Tarc (2009) notes that the twenty-first century global world is
defined by western neo-liberal modes of thinking, ideologies and knowledge content and
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 5875

standards that are well represented in the DP curriculum. Also, what Walker (2010)
defines as the “strong humanist western traditions of the IB” (p. 3) are becoming attractive
educational prospects for learners in non-western contexts. These learners can potentially
find in the DP a more alluring alternative to local curricula, through a “programme (which)
has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities” (IBO, 2013b,
para. 1). The DP however poses critical problems to local cultures, knowledges and
identities that are not originally Western. As argued by Paris (2003),
The tension created between the delivery of local curricula or the IB curriculum for many
communities around the world involves a range of factors, some of which include the
acceptance of a western culture. (p. 234)
Hill (2000) admits that Western education makes “key assumptions about the nature of
the learner, the nature of knowledge and the goal of education” (p. 25). Those assumptions
are based on the IB’s western humanist values and traditions of learning, which put critical
thinking and reason at the centre of learning, which Walker (2010) defends mightily. But
Walker (2010, p. 3) also posits that the “organisation’s successful growth [ . . . ] makes
sudden change unlikely and undesirable” (p. 3). But the humanist philosophy that the IB
promotes across different geographical and cultural spaces can cause “each culture that
chooses to run with the IB-DP [diploma programme] (to) potentially relinquish its values
and practices of education in exchange for those of the western world” (Paris, 2003,
p. 235). The IB’s expectation that the learners should develop an “appreciation of
universal values that are common to all humanity” (IBO, 2013a, para. 1) is framed by a
haughty vision of international mindedness. As noted by Hill (2006, p. 98), for the IB, the
“cultural composition or location [ . . . ] of the IB school is not important”. The IBO claims
to promote “intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO, 2013d, para. 1), but Rizvi
(2007, p. 295) questions the impartiality of such understanding under the twenty-first
century dominant western international educational matrix, and notes that “understanding
other cultures become deformed [ . . . ] only superficial aspects of cultural traditions are
learnt, making learning appear patronising”. Questioning the impartiality of the IB’s
international mindedness is also critically reflecting on the assumptions it makes on the
nature of the learners; their identities and their systems of beliefs, based on the IB’s
“mono-cultural” educational philosophy (Walker, 2004, p. 51). Hughes (2009) states that
the IBDP’s international education,
. . . must go further than celebrating national difference or striving for Western standards of
what is described as universal (but may actually be deeply Western). What we should be
aiming for is the promotion of greater understanding in those areas of belonging and identity
that make up the complexity of any individual. (p. 139)

The IB in post-colonial IOIN

Regrettably, there is a scarcity of literature about the IB in the IOIN. Mayer (1968)
considered the IB useful to many African states who gained independence in the 1960s
(including the IOIN), to access Western universities. From the IB’s perspective Africa
“could be viewed as offering a useful alternative for countries keen to escape a colonial
examination system” (Bunnell, 2008, p. 418). But nearly 40 years later, in 2008, the IB has
made little impact in there: “half the continent (23 countries) remains an IBDP wilderness,
whilst 12 African countries there have only one school” (Bunnell, 2008, p. 418). Drake
(2004, p. 203) notes that the implementation of the IB in Africa “inevitably produces
dissonance and cultural tension”. Drake (2004, p. 203) also severely criticizes the IB’s
Eurocentric and western values in non-western cultural contexts, and posits that it “unwise
6
588 M. Poonoosamy

to simply attempt to ‘clone’ on to their models, educational systems and methodologies

designed to accommodate cultural norms in another part of the world”.

Learner’s identities and international mindedness

Cultural identities of learners are influenced by the countries’ socio-cultural and historical
contexts in which the IB school is found. “Understanding people’s experiences and
personal meaning is tied to context” (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994, p. 45). And knowledge
is negotiated within cultures and social settings. While a first language constructs identities
through a sense of cultural belonging, a second language allows for a different perspective
of the world, through the discovery of another culture (Mantero, 2007). In the IOIN,
English, the official language of government and school instruction, is associated with
knowledge, French with culture, and Islander-Creole with egalitarianism (Stein, 1997).
Learners’ identities and perceptions are first experienced at an individual and family
level. They are then shaped by society which is itself constructed by socio-cultural and
historical forces. Educational practices are also socio-culturally constructed (Bourdieu &
Passeron, 1990). Factors and forces, operating at a socio-cultural level in international
school contexts, construct the learners’ perspectives of the development of intercultural
awareness and international mindedness. Allan (2002) notes that these forces are complex,
multiple and unique to each international school context, which, he argues, makes “an
international school experience ( . . . ) far from homogenous” (p. 63). Context is of crucial
importance in negotiating and giving meaning to international mindedness.
Institutions, including schools, rationalize identities, behaviours and actions of
individuals by creating certain sets of expectations, while learners’ relationships shape
who they are and who they become (Rogoff, 2003). Bourdieu and Passeron (1990) also
note that socio-cultural contexts shape knowledge and what is worth knowing. In that
sense, school curricula are achieved through the temporary settlement of competing
interests intent on shaping the citizens of the future (MacIntyre, 1995) through the
selection (and de-selection) of knowledges, pedagogies and assessment regimes (Yates,
2006). Because of the interconnected world, education is also shaped in local, national and
global dimensions (Marginson & Rhodes, 2002). As Dang and Marginson (2012, pp. 3 –5)
put it, presently “context is more complex and multiple ( . . . ) fluid and volatile ( . . . )
and blurred”.

Portrait of the Indian Ocean Island School

The Indian Ocean Island School (IOIS) offers, as academic programmes, the International
General Cambridge Certificate of Education (IGCSE), and the IBDP. The school’s
medium of instruction is English, and it offers both English and French as first and foreign
language at all levels, from Forms 1 to 7, from the start to the end of the secondary
schooling cycle. The IOIS prides itself on having quickly and steadily developed an
international character through its educational model, curriculum, number of international
students, school values, and the development, promotion and reaffirmation of international
mindedness in its teaching and learning cultures (IOIS, de-identified website, 2009).
The international character is expressed by the school’s affiliations to many international
organizations, like the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA), the Near
East South Asian Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) and the Council of International
Schools (CIS). In 2013, the IOIS’s population comprises 600 students, aged 12 to 18, from
25 different nationalities. The local students in the IOIS are ethnically representative of
the IOIN’s society as a whole.
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 5897

The IOIS does not have a ToK curriculum per se; it draws on the IB explanatory
statements highlighted in the section The IB Diploma Programme above. However, the
IOIS’s commitment to be an internationally-minded school is expressed in its Mission and
Statement. The IOIS claims that it,
. Emphasizes creative thinking, critical reasoning and effective communication;
. Appreciates cultural diversity, as well as promoting pride and a sense of belonging
to the school and IOIN;
. Prepares students to be community-spirited and successful citizens of a changing
world;
. Encourages awareness of global and environmental issues.
(Indian Ocean Island School, de-identified website, 2009)
Students at the IOIS travel regularly around the globe for academic, co-curricular and
extra-curricular events and activities, which include exchange programmes in Europe,
business conventions in India, history seminars in Egypt, Model United Nations and
Amnesty International yearly events in Europe. The Duke of Edinburgh Award also allows
students to do projects in Africa. Between 2001 and 2012, 96% of the IBDP graduates
in the IOIS went to universities in the IOIN and overseas. The biggest cohort went
respectively to Australia, the UK and the United States (IOIS de-identified website, 2013).
Most of the teachers at the IOIS are locals, with, nonetheless, a high percentage having
obtained their teaching qualification overseas, and having also worked in other
international schools overseas. A very small percentage (less than 20%) of staff is foreign
expatriates. But the headmasters have always been expatriates. At the time of the research,
ToK was taught by four teachers who were all IOIN locals.

Methodology
The data for the larger study from which the work reported here derives, were collected and
analysed using a qualitative inquiry (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). It assumed multiple and
dynamic realities that are context-dependent (Guba & Lincoln, 1994) within an interpretivist
paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 2005). It involved a case study, through “describing a
phenomenon in context, using a variety of data sources” (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 544).

Data collection
Data were collected over four months from January 2010 to April 2010, through a survey,
journal entries and interviews. A survey, in the form of 25 semi-structured questions, was
administered to 60 senior school students studying the IBDP in Form 7. It collected
students’ perceptions and understandings of international mindedness and cultural
identity. Ten students consented to write self-reflective journals. They reflected on how
their identities were represented in their understandings of international mindedness. This
was done on a fortnightly basis. These 10 students were also involved in the interviews.
The method chosen was what Burnard (2005) refers to as “a sheet containing key areas to
be covered in the interview”, yet by maintaining flexibility “to insert other questions into
the interview in order to capture elaborations” (p. 5).

Data analysis
Data from the 10 selected participants were coded according to patterns and themes.
Memos, defined by Clarke (2005) as the “intellectual capital in the bank” (p. 85), defined
590
8 M. Poonoosamy

the usefulness of the theoretical content and helped in the theoretical sampling, whereby
deeper knowledge of the properties of categories was required. Particular sub-categories
under the dimensions of a category (or the relationship between categories) were also
identified (Böhm, 2004). A comparative analysis was then conducted (Bryant & Charmaz,
2010), bringing together the stories and experiences of the students, through a process
of concurrent data collection and analysis. The comparison of critical experiences led
to more refined codes and categories, through a “cognitive logic of discovery” (Reichertz,
2007, p. 220). In other words, the knowledge of the phenomenon under investigation –
international mindedness – guided the identification and analysis of themes and categories
to which they were associated. Creswell’s (2007, p. 39) “construct-oriented approach” was
used, whereby identified patterns led to categorizations. Establishing categories was done
by identifying and, in word files, colour-coding themes that were common to the
participants. The participants’ written words in the surveys and journals were typed and all
the interviews transcribed. Developing categories through the process of intermediate
coding tested and added a layer of complexity to the socio-cultural framework
(Richardson & Adams St Pierre, 2005). By constantly comparing the students’ narratives,
elements that could form a category were identified. From different themes, ideas were
developed into categories, their dimensions (that is their scope and value for discussion)
and association with other themes and their relationships to other categories.
Then a process coding through labelling the categories was used. Coding identified the
concepts present in the data and established and discerned their connections and links
(Böhm, 2004). Three different types of coding were used: open coding, axial coding and
selective coding. Open coding was “the part of analysis concerned with identifying,
naming, categorising and describing phenomena found in the text” (Borgatti, 2005, p. 6).
Axial coding was subsequent to open coding; it was the direct interrelationship between
categories and their properties. Selective coding happened when the two others had
already taken place; looking at all previous open and axial coding, notes and memos, a
core category binding all relevant categories was identified (Böhm, 2004). Further
theoretical sampling and selective coding obtained through the interviews helped to
actualize the core categories in an abstract conceptual manner. This was achieved through
theoretical saturation of the core category, sub-categories and properties (Creswell, 2007).
Theoretical coding was drawn from existing theories to assist in theoretical integration.
To sample theoretically, decisions were made regarding which participants would
provide the richest source of data, corresponding to the analytical needs of the project. The
decision was then made to choose students whose stories provided both individuality and
contrast. For this article, out of the 10 students, two were selected; one local and one
international student. The responses of these two students, in relation to the tensions and
aspirations of developing international mindedness, were also more detailed than others.
They indicated a high level of self-reflection about the notion of international mindedness
and the students’ identities. This was the purposive sample (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994).
The students’ responses were taken from their surveys and journal entries, and elaborated
during the interview to form a single, coherent quote containing anecdotes and examples
of their ideas, views, and experiences.

The participants
At the time of the research, both participants were 17 and in Form 7 – the final year of their
DP. Raj (a pseudonym) was a local student who had always lived in the IOIN. Brett
(a pseudonym) was an international student who is British and had been in the IOIS for
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 591
9

only 14 months. Prior to his arrival and schooling in the IOIN, Brett had spent most of his
life in England. He came to the IOIN because of his father’s profession.

Raj’s understanding and development of international mindedness

International mindedness is to discover and respect new cultures, customs, and people, and be
able to communicate with them, either through personal travels, or through school. These are
the practical applications of international mindedness, as opposed to the theoretical notions of
what we explore through ToK [ . . . ] In the DP, I do not need to develop local knowledge. I do
not see the point. It is an international programme, so the focus is on international knowledge.
What is happening an island in the middle of the Indian Ocean does not have much relevance
in ToK or in the IB. When we do our assignments and essays, our teachers encourage us
to consider international content for an international audience, mainly from the UK and
America. For our exams, we will have international examiners, so they may not know
anything about IOIN [ . . . ] It would have been easier for me to engage with local knowledge
than to study American and British history and politics, because what we learn in ToK is not
relevant to what is happening locally [ . . . ]. But if I wanted local knowledge, I would not have
studied the IB. The local knowledge here is not international knowledge relevant in the IB.
ToK in the DP prepares me for university life outside IOIN, because I develop critical
thinking skills and acquire international knowledge that is important. But I am happy with
that. I think the more international content I get in the IB, the better prepared I will be to go to
university in England, which is my aim after Form 7.

Raj’s identity in the development of international mindedness

My identity has nothing to do with how I develop international mindedness in the IB.
International mindedness is a term that I learnt when I was in Form 1 in the school [ . . . ] But it
does not mean that the IB or the school taught me what it is. I experienced it before knowing it
was called international mindedness. We, local islanders, are a multicultural population; we
already know what international mindedness is [ . . . ] through the interaction with people from
different cultures and races on a daily basis [ . . . ] But this is also separate from my identity.
Even if I am internationally-minded and can consider different people’s points of view, the
points of view of my family are more important. Identity for me is not the school or the IB
[ . . . ] I think that there is a tendency here in school to think that international mindedness is
brought about by international students, foreign staff and foreign headmaster [ . . . ]. We think
that what comes from overseas is always better [ . . . ] In IOIN, we think that white foreigners
are better and superior [ . . . ] ToK allows me to critically reflect on my biases and prejudices,
but international mindedness has two sides: it means that we understand others, but it also
means other people, international students and headmaster, have to understand us, Islander
people, our identities, customs and values, and history [ . . . ] IB’s messages of global identity
and global citizenship are for knowledge only. A global citizen in the IB is someone who is
knowledgeable. I think I am already a global citizen, because I am studying an international
programme.

Brett’s understanding and development of international mindedness

I can understand international mindedness because I am an international student who studies
the IB in an international school [ . . . ] I have travelled with my parents and I have encountered
people from different cultures and nationalities. With IOIS, I have been to a business
conference in India and have been able to discover new cultures [ . . . ] In ToK, I develop
international mindedness by reflecting on the four different ways of thinking: perception,
reason, emotion and language [ . . . ] In our ToK lessons, we need to go over readings which
are extracts from Time Magazine and The Economist, CNN and BBC news reports, but almost
nothing from IOIN. I cannot say that what I learn is new content for me; I come from England,
where you are constantly exposed to this sort of news. Here, we studied British and American
history, news, and politics. International knowledge and international mindedness, for me
592
10 M. Poonoosamy

would have been local IOIN content and cultures, which we don’t explore in class [ . . . ] When
a local student starts talking about something that happened locally, I am interested, but the
teachers tell us to engage with the wider world, beyond IOIN [ . . . ] I think that I am missing
something. I would have wished to challenge my beliefs, but at the same time, the programme
is so bulky that I am happy to engage with knowledge that is familiar. Ultimately, my aim
in studying the IB is passing my exams and going to university. International mindedness is
a bonus.

Brett’s identity in the development of international mindedness

I cannot say that I have established a connection with local students or with the school. The
local students are distant. I cannot say for sure if it is because I am White, or because of my
English culture [ . . . ] But I don’t think that international mindedness is present in the school;
local and international students do not interact enough. It is not only about nationality, but
mainly about race I think. You have a segregation local students-White international students.
Franco-Islanders tend to stick with white international students [ . . . ] In class when we
discuss, local students and teachers put international students on a pedestal, like if we were
different and better than the locals. We are perceived like being different, so we feel different.
I feel different. Another barrier is the language. Most people in the school can speak English
very well. So it is not about language that students can speak; it is about the language the
locals decide to speak. Language is a way of knowing in ToK, but all locals here speak among
themselves in Creole [ . . . ] but when I try to talk in Creole, they reply to me in English and tell
me that we are in an international school and the medium of instruction is English. So I think
that I am missing a lot here to develop international mindedness through locals, because I am
not really integrated. I think that my identity could have been enriched by friendships that
I could have made [ . . . ]. IOIS is not really an IOIN school; it is for me too similar to my
schools in England for me to develop international mindedness.
To test the reliability of the claims made by students, data were also collected from a
different source. An extract of an interview with Oliver (a pseudonym), Head of ToK at the
IOIS is provided.
ToK teachers at IOIS do their best to make sure that the students obtain the best results in their
ToK essays [ . . . ] We tell our students to prioritise international perspectives, because we study
an international programme, and we need to use examples and references that are known to an
international audience, and these examples and references are most of the time from Europe.
The examiners may not be knowledgeable of current affairs at a local IOIN level. But we don’t
discourage students to use local knowledge in ToK [ . . . ] That said, if students use local
examples and references, they would need to explain these references properly, whereas when
they use known references, it is easier and quicker for them to argue their points [ . . . ] Students
need to be able to identity as much with an international audience as with their local cultures
and realities. That is not always easy and requires one to have multiple identities [ . . . ]
Based on Raj’s comments about the necessity for “international students and
headmaster, have to understand us, Islander people, our identities, customs and values, and
history”, I asked Oliver his views on whether the knowledge of the history of the IOIN
(maybe as an academic subject in the DP) could promote greater cultural understanding
and international mindedness at the IOIS. He explained that,
International students could certainly better understand the racial conflicts we have
experienced in IOIN, but we need to consider the practicalities [ . . . ] We will have to ask the
IBO and I am not sure we will have the required number of students – local and international
who would be interested in selecting such a subject for their DP [ . . . ] That said, I think that
the history of IOIN could be topic in ToK. But we have to be mindful that examiners might not
know so much about our history.
I also asked Oliver his views on Brett’s comments that students stick to their cultural
and racial groups in the IOIS.
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 593
11

It is true that students form friendships and particular affinities based on their interests, and
certain interests might be common to students of particular cultures, but I don’t think that we
can force students to mix only because we want them to have friends of different cultures and
skin colours.

Discussions and implications

Socio-cultural and historical forces and international mindedness
Both students’ sense of identity, understanding and development of international
mindedness were developed first through their family upbringing. Personal travels and
interactions with people from different cultures also influenced this development for both
students. Raj mentioned that the interaction of students from different nationalities and
cultures in the IOIS creates a sense of international mindedness amongst students. These
are the contextual conditions that could lead to international mindedness (Hayden &
Wong, 1997). But Brett noted that this interaction is defined by race and ethnicity, which
compromised the two students’ experiences of international mindedness. From the
students’ explanation, it is clear that they have a sound knowledge of what intercultural
knowledge and understanding means, but do not sufficiently develop intercultural
competence. While intercultural understanding is the ability to recognize the differences
between cultures (Euwema & van Emmerik, 2007), intercultural competence is the
willingness and ability to engage with cultural differences (Bennett, 2008; Byram, 1997;
Deardorff, 2008; Meier, 2007). This lack of willingness may be explained by racial
tensions which have existed since the IOIN’s colonial history. The IBO (2012) indicates
that an IB student is encouraged to develop intercultural competence by,
. . . recognising and reflecting on [their] own perspective as well as the perspective of others
[and by learning to] appreciate critically the world’s rich cultural heritage by exploring human
commonality, diversity and interconnection. (paras. 1 – 2)
Because of the past colonial history of the IOIN, non-white locals have an inferiority
complex towards white foreigners (Carter, 1998). Whether this status is praised or
resented, through distance and quiet respect, it is still, in colonized minds, accepted. This
is reflected in Brett’s status in the ToK class where he was “put on a pedestal”. I asked
Brett whether his length of time in the IOIN and the school could be a factor why locals
kept their distance. He explained that,
I don’t think so [ . . . ] you have other students who are international students and who come
from India, for example, and they are immediately assimilated [ . . . ] I think it has to do with
my skin colour more than anything else.
A shared linguistic Islander’s identity also constitutes an obstacle for Brett to develop a
sense of identification with the school. Oliver was quite diplomatic regarding the choice
that students decide to stick together in class and outside the class.
Brett’s mention that the Creole language would be used only amongst local students is
interesting. Creole is the native language of many locals and the language of solidarity. Its
status has been described as that of “an ‘unofficial’ national language” (Eriksen, 1990,
p. 14) but it is stigmatized by some segments of the population, because it was the language
spoken by the slaves during colonial times. Speaking in Creole can also be interpreted as not
being able to communicate in the languages of the former colonial masters.

School ethos and international mindedness

The school’s enacted ethos is influenced by socio-cultural and historical forces and
translates into different statuses depending on the student’s race, ethnicity and nationality.
594
12 M. Poonoosamy

ToK’s critical thinking skills allowed Raj to acknowledge some of his prejudices.
He nonetheless argued that the foreign students and the headmaster needed to have a
relevant knowledge of the IOIN’s history for critical thinking to happen in a meaningful
and contextual manner, and for international mindedness to be developed in the school.
The IOIS’s enacted curriculum could have made provision for such knowledge to be
explored through ToK or other subjects. But while this could have been a factor
contributing to a sense of international mindedness, Raj however noted that he was not
interested in developing local knowledge, which makes the situation even more complex.
Raj supported the belief that “what comes from overseas is better”, despite his comments
that he resented such a belief amongst his fellow local students. And Oliver recommended
to use knowledge that is international to guarantee success in ToK.
An obstacle to the development of international mindedness in the IOIS is the
perceived “dominant cultural ethos” (Allan, 2002, p. 63) that international mindedness is a
concept that was brought about by white foreigners, especially from Anglo-Saxon nations.
From that perspective, the experiences of international mindedness for Brett and Raj led to
“incomplete outcomes of multiculturalism” (Allan, 2002, p. 84) in the IOIS. The dominant
school culture also defined the two students’ experiences within the school and outside
the classroom (Alexander, 2000) where, as noted by Brett, students of different races
do not mix.

Perceived privileged knowledges in international education

Both students perceived that the enacted ToK curriculum privileged western knowledge
content. Raj noted that he felt empowered by studying the IBDP which allowed him
to assimilate knowledge that he and his ToK teachers perceived to be relevant, not only
relevant in the IB, but also in the global world. The way ToK was taught in the IOIS did not
differentiate between the western humanist approach (analytical and critical thinking) and
the western knowledge content (discussions about new, cultures and references to the
Western world). Hill (2006) explains that,
IB educational philosophy that has been developed from a western humanist tradition of
learning, but which, because of that very tradition, seeks to accommodate and validate other
modes of thinking and acting. (p. 107)
But these modes of thinking could have also privileged a post-colonial perspective
where the concepts of identity and the self are reaffirming themselves after colonization.
Such a potential could have been realized by the study of the IOIN’s racial history at the
DP level. Raj did not see this potential as he made the distinction between his cultural
identity, mainly shaped by family upbringing, and his identity as an IB learner who
assimilated Western knowledge content to study in a university in England. From both
students’ points of views, the IOIS did not successfully engage with the humanist values
present in the IB learner’s profile (IBO, 2009), nor did it meet the IB’s expected standards
and practices (IBO, 2011) that lead to the development of international mindedness. But as
acknowledged by both students and Oliver, the main objective is to obtain good results in
ToK, not developing international mindedness.

International mindedness and Western assumptions of learning

Raj associated international knowledge in ToK with western knowledge. But it was
because of the way this ToK curriculum was enacted in his school, where he noted that he
was encouraged to develop ideas that catered for an international Anglo-Saxon Western
 Asia Pacific Journal of Education 595
13

audience. Under this pressure, local knowledge was perceived as redundant in the IB ToK
programme. Brett did not have the opportunity to engage with local IOIN’s knowledge,
which, ironically, would have been international knowledge content for him. In ToK,
learners are encouraged to “consider the role and nature of knowledge in their own culture,
in the cultures of others and in the wider world” (IBO, 2013c, para. 2). But from Raj’s local
perspective, the cultures of the wider western world were imagined to be more relevant in
ToK than his local culture. It is true that “context is multiple [ . . . ] volatile [ . . . ] blurred”
(Marginson & Rhodes, 2002, pp. 300 – 301), and the IBO’s emphasis on the provision of
“international content while responding to local requirements and interests” (IBO, 2013a,
para. 1), illustrates clearly the needs for the “glocal”, whereby international mindedness is
more likely to be successfully implemented when it is customized for the locality or
culture in which it is experienced. But the knowledge content in the ToK programme
transcended geographical spaces by rationalizing western knowledges and making them
relevant in the schooling programme of the IOIS through the IBDP. The local context,
local knowledges, values, traditions and cultures, were not sufficiently articulated in that
programme, as both students noted. The perceived the IB’s western knowledges were
cloned in a context where their cultural relevance could be questioned (Drake, 2004).
Learning about American and British history and politics was more difficult for Raj than
for Brett; while it was “so remote” for Raj, it was “very familiar knowledge” for Brett.

Conclusion
The idealism and pragmatism of the IB’s international mindedness
There are complex nuances involved in the shaping of personal, social and institutional
identities, particularly in the enactment of curriculum in the multicultural setting of the
IOIS, IOIN. Family upbringing, travels and experiences in different cultural contexts
were more significant factors and forces in shaping and developing students’ sense of
international mindedness. The IOIS, through the enacted ToK curriculum, rationalized
intellectual identities of the two students, based on certain preconceived notion of what
knowledge needs to be developed. While enacting the IB’s standards and practices to
develop internationally-minded students, the post-colonial realities of the contexts in
which the IB schools are found must also be addressed. Hughes (2009) states that the
IBDP’s international education,
. . . must go further than celebrating national difference or striving for Western standards of
what is described as universal, but may actually be deeply Western. What we should be
aiming for is the promotion of greater understanding in those areas of belonging and identity
that make up the complexity of any individual. (p. 139)
The IB’s ideals are at stake when IB schools focus on the western individualistic global
market demands of certain types of knowledges and skills, instead of focusing on
developing open-minded and caring young people. For a former colonial state like the
IOIN, the ideological aspiration for a local student like Raj in developing international
mindedness was “to discover and respect new cultures, customs, and people, and be able to
communicate with them”. The tensions he experienced were “the practical applications
of international mindedness”, whereby he would “favour the objective of university
access over international understanding” (Tarc, 2009, p. 33). Both students understood
international mindedness as an aim, but the tension is that it was not realized as a process.
This was because of the socio-cultural and historical forces in the IOIN and in the IOIS and
because of how the curriculum was enacted, in response to the perceived knowledges to be
developed in the IBDP.
596
14 M. Poonoosamy

Enacting the IB curriculum

International education policymakers face the difficult challenge of implementing what
counts as equitable and relevant in the globalized knowledge. In so doing, they are eager
to develop dispositions that would allow young people to live in, learn and benefit from
glocal contexts. It is nonetheless crucial that the local context is properly understood and
valued in students’ development of international mindedness and sense of engagement
with the wider world. ToK is a written curriculum, which has stated aims and intentions,
but if these intentions are not realized, it is not due to the written curriculum or the IB, but
rather the enactments of the curriculum in practice, moderated by the inherent socio-
cultural-historical values/biases and pedagogical choices in the IOIS. It is a stated aim of
ToK “that students should become aware of the interpretative nature of knowledge,
including personal ideological biases, regardless of whether, ultimately, these biases are
retained, revised or rejected” (IBO, 2013c, para. 4). But despite the possibility of students
keeping their biases, because of strong socio-cultural and historical forces, the IB mission
statement nonetheless clearly states that “the IB is more than its educational programmes
and certificates. At our heart we are motivated by a mission to create a better world
through education” (IBO, 2013d, para. 1). A deeper and more discerning reflection of
one’s biases and a more critical appreciation of the value of knowledge could help to
educate all IB students in the IOIS towards racial understanding and to embrace a more
unifying vision and locally meaningful implementation of international mindedness.

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