Investigating the cultural understandings of International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme teachers from a transcultural perspective

Abstract

It is now generally accepted that the teaching of cultural understanding is central to international education, exemplified in globally directed curricula such as those of the International Baccalaureate. However, research in this area has tended to focus on student outcomes of cultural education, even though globalisation and the nature of modern society has heightened the need for teachers who have the expertise to teach cultural education in ways that are more contemporarily relevant. Studies of teacher capacity to meet the specific demands of cultural learnings have been under-researched, tending to be situated within discourses that do not reflect the complex cultural reality of 21st century society. Using the context of a research study of Primary Years Programme teachers in International Baccalaureate schools, this paper argues that cultural education could be improved if teacher expertise is developed under the more inclusive paradigm of transculturalism.