Field Theory and Education: A Case Study of the International Baccalaureate

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Y

24

Case Studies; Advanced Placement Programs; Educational Theories; Global Approach; Accreditation (Institutions); Ethnography; International Education; Social Capital; Program Evaluation; International Schools; Evaluation Criteria; Elementary Secondary Education; Institutional Characteristics; Teacher Attitudes; Foreign Countries

New York (New York); Switzerland (Geneva)

10.1080/09620214.2021.1886595

0962-0214

This article attempts to bridge a divide between the empirical use of Bourdieu's concepts and the theoretical discussion of field theory with regard to education. I ask how a school can be 'international' where education is predominantly embedded in nation-states. First, I introduce field theory and its applications to globalization and education. Second, I analyze the International Baccalaureate Organization, a large non-profit provider of accreditation for schools, as a case for conceptualizing a global field of 'international education.' My ethnographic and historical findings provide the background for the global field argument. Second, drawing on IBO's student data, I construct a geometric space of IB schools and analyze it as a relatively autonomous subfield. Finally, I show how combining field analysis and geometric modeling yields a new perspective on 'international education.'

As Provided

2021

EJ1296613