Global Citizenship or Global Competition? A Critical Discourse Analysis of International Baccalaureate (IB) Mission Statements and Curricular Materials

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program has expanded globally as a premier framework for educating "global citizens." This study employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to interrogate the ideological underpinnings of this claim. By analyzing a corpus of official IB mission statements, curriculum documents, and marketing materials, this research deconstructs the discourse of "global citizenship" promoted by the IB. The findings reveal a tension within the IB's discourse: on one hand, it espouses values of peace, intercultural understanding, and ethical engagement, aligning with a critical, cosmopolitan model of global citizenship. On the other hand, its emphasis on academic rigor, elite university placement, and the cultivation of "future leaders" firmly embeds it within a neoliberal framework that prepares students for global competition rather than global solidarity. The paper argues that the IB's model of global citizenship primarily serves the interests of a transnational capitalist class, creating a new global hierarchy where the ability to act as a "citizen of the world" is a marker of elite status. This analysis prompts a necessary debate on whose interests are truly served by international education programs.