ABSTRACT
The International Baccalaureate (IB) has become a useful instrument that sets limits and expectations regarding the schools’ global networking. Drawing on the theoretical perspective that a territory is constructed and lived both in material and symbolic ways and ‘elite’ (Bourdieu, 1998), this chapter analyzes the challenges posed by the concept of territory from the implementation of the Diploma Program (DP) of the IB in private schools. The chapter showcases the results from qualitative, ongoing research started in 2018, which analyzes the uses and impacts of schools’ internationalization agenda in Argentina. To do so, we interviewed over 20 school stakeholders involved in the IB curriculum in schools that intend to internationalize through the IB. The main results show that: (a) IB schools in the city of Buenos Aires are geographically located in affluent neighborhoods; (b) IB programs conform a micro-territoriality associated with a space for elite schools; (c) IB programs widen the notions of territory and citizenship; (d) the IB creates a sense of belonging through ‘exclusivity’ and allows for international socialization. The nascent global cultural, political, and educational dimensions resulting from the implementation of IB programs seem to challenge the old educational territories and shape new ones.
