IB Global Research Department
This research project aims to provide empirically-grounded insights into what constitutes the International Baccalaureate (IB) Teacher Professional, in both theory and practice. A mixed methods design, including an online survey, focus groups, and document review, was employed to improve current understanding of the essential attributes, perspectives, and beliefs pertinent to IB teachers. The online survey was comprised of the 45 item Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI) (Collins & Pratt, 2003), demographic items, and four open-ended items. Invitations to complete an online survey were emailed to 14,407 IB teachers who previously participated in an IB workshop; 3,845 surveys were completed. Focus group sessions were held in Spain, Peru, Hong Kong, and the United States with a total of 72 participants. The content analysis involved the systematic review of 73 IB documents. Analysis of the TPI suggests that IB teachers are similar to the TPI preK-12 sample. Both groups have Nurturing as the dominant perspective with ‘back up’ perspectives of Apprenticeship and Developmental. However, IB teachers have higher scores on Social Reform, Developmental, Apprenticeship, and Transmission. The focus group produced the following themes: 1) global, 2) open minded 3) flexibility, 4) teaching approach/skills/beliefs, 5) collaboration, 6) good teaching, and 7) love of teaching. The overall themes identified in the content analyses include ‘Approaches to Teaching’, ‘Beliefs about Teaching’, and ‘Tools to Facilitate Effective Teaching’.
