Liminal Internationalization in Southeast Asian Societies: Comparing International Baccalaureate Schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan

Abstract

As de Sousa Santo (2006) observes, there are two separate processes in globalization: the globalized localism and the localized globalism. The development of International Baccalaureate (IB) curricular system and the authorization of IB schools are regarded as one of proliferating products of globalization and internationalization in the education realm. This research problematizes the globalizing curriculum of IB and its development in Southeast Asian contexts by conducting a comparative analysis of IB schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. On the one hand, the three societies are comparable in many aspects, such as the influence of Chinese cultures, the geographical positioning (located in Southeast Asia), the developed export-oriented economic system (regarded as members of the Four Asian Tigers), and the multicultural development and postcolonial history. On the other hand, the three societies present differently in terms of the schooling systems, instructional languages, and education policy. The study seeks to examine how schools in the three societies recontextualize the internationality of IB curricula by investigating the processes of becoming an IB school and the implementation of IB programs within/independent from the official/national education systems.