International Baccalaureate (Research)

Since 2019, I’ve been working on comparative and international education research of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in collaboration with Dr. Yu-Chih Li (National Tainan University) and Dr. Suraiya Abdul Hameed (The University of Queensland).

Our research is undertaken in the three contexts of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore as societies with shared Chinese cultural values (Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist), dominant Han populations, and similar economic development trajectories as “Asian Tigers”.

Methodologically, our approach is developed in response to Kuan-Hsing Chen’s Asia as Method provocations and as experiments in overcoming methodological nationalism and methodological universalism. We draw on theoretical concepts to analyse empirical data, which are collected through interviews with IB leaders and teachers, and analysis of policy and school documents.

Our current focus is on exploring how international teacher mobility is measured, transformed, and embodied, and how IB programmes and systems influence these processes.

I am incredibly grateful to the many IB schools and teachers for sharing their views on teaching and implementing IB programmes and supporting our research. Their leadership, diligence, and care for the students are often hidden and unacknowledged. Also, thanks to the International Baccalaureate Organisation for their continued mission in positively advancing international education around the world, at a pace that keeps abreast of trends in tertiary education.

Projects

  1. Globalising education and the development of International Baccalaureate: IB schools in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology Grant, Republic of China (Taiwan) – 2020 – 2022 (completed).
  2. Teachers’ Mobility in a Globalising World: An Analysis of International Baccalaureate Schools in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology Grant, Republic of China (Taiwan) – ongoing.

Publications

Hameed, S.A., Li, Y.C., Tsao, J. (2025) Navigating the neoliberal tensions during the Covid-19 pandemic: International Baccalaureate practices within Singapore, Hong Kong & Taiwan. The Australian Educational Researcher.

Tsao, J., Li, Y.C., Hameed, S.A. (2024, Aug 27) Globalisation and the Mobilities of International Baccalaureate Teachers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. European Conference on Educational Research, Nicosia, Cyprus. 27 – 30 Aug 2024.

Li, Y.C., Tsao, J., Hameed, S.A. (2024) 學校內的教育全球化：國際文憑學校的觀Educational globalisation in schools: Perspectives from IB schools. 當代教育研究季刊 Contemporary Educational Research Quarterly 32:3, 101 – 133 http://doi.org/10.6151/CERQ.202409_32(3).0004

Tsao J, Li Y.C., Hameed, S.A. (2023) The impacts of International Baccalaureate expansion on professional cultures and assessments in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, Cambridge Journal of Education https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2023.2246397

Hameed, S.A., Li, Y.C., Tsao, J. (2023, 24 Aug) Navigating the neoliberal tensions during the Covid-19 pandemic- IB practices within Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan? European Conference on Educational Research, Glasgow, Scotland. 22 – 25 Aug 2023.

Tsao, J., Hameed, S.A., Li, YC (2022, 30 May) ‘A friendly face but a lot of steel’: Growth and curriculum policy ambiguity of the International Baccalaureate curriculum in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference, Singapore.

Li, Y.C., Hameed, S.A., Tsao, J. (2021, 6 Sep) Liminal Internationalization in Southeast Asian Societies: Comparing International Baccalaureate Schools in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. European Conference on Educational Research. Geneva, Switzerland.