When you’re in with the in-crowd
the discursive construction of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in a corpus of Canadian newspapers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jld.33437Keywords:
Corpus, DHA, International Baccalaureate (IB), in-group/out-groupAbstract
This paper examines the discursive construction of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in a 1.5 million word corpus of Canadian newspapers. Combining corpus analysis with the Discourse Historical branch of Critical Discourse Analysis, the study aims to identify discursive strategies employed in the construction of an IB in-group and a non-IB out-group, and suggests they are similar to those evident in discourses of discrimination that marginalise or exclude the outgroup (Baker, Gabrielatos and McEnery 2013a; KhosraviNik 2010; Reisigl and Wodak 2001). While discourses of discrimination tend to be directed at minority groups, in this case, the minority group is the in-group, exhibiting uniformly positive qualities. As a result, a ‘dichotomous world of insiders and outsiders’ (Reisigl and Wodak 2001:105) is created, privileging one and disadvantaging the other. This paper seeks to problematise the seemingly uncritical acceptance and adoption of IB programs in Canada’s publicly funded education system.
References
Ädel, A. and Reppen, R. (2008) Corpora and Discourse: The Challenges of Different Settings. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.31
Arida, A. (2016) Understanding the IB diploma for undergraduate admissions and first-year performance. Paper presented at the 2016 ARUCC (Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada) conference, Vancouver, BC. http://www.arucc.ca/uploads/ARUCC-2016/D6.pdf
Bagnall, N. F. (1994) The International Baccalaureate in Australia and Canada: 1980–1993 (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne.
Baker, P. (2006) Using Corpora in Discourse Analysis. London, UK: Continuum.
Baker, P. (2010) Sociolinguistics and Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Baker, P. (2014) ‘Bad wigs and screaming mimis’: using corpus-assisted techniques to carry out critical discourse analysis of the representation of trans people in the British press. In C. Hart and P. Cap (eds) Contemporary Critical Discourse Studies 211–35. London, UK: Bloomsbury.
Baker, W. (2014). ‘Curricular Choice’ in Ontario Public Secondary Schools: Exploring the Policy and Practice of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (Unpublished master’s thesis). The University of Western Ontario.
Baker, P. and Levon, E. (2015) Picking the right cherries? A comparison of corpus-based and qualitative analyses of news articles about masculinity. Discourse & Communication 9(2): 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481314568542
Baker, P. and Levon, E. (2016) ‘That’s what I call a man’: representations of racialised and classed masculinities in the UK print media. Gender and Language 10(1): 106–39. https://doi.org/10.1558/genl.v10i1.25401
Baker, P. and McEnery, T. (2005) A corpus-based approach to discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in UN and newspaper texts. Journal of Language and Politics 4(2): 197–226. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.4.2.04bak
Baker, P. and McEnery, T. (2014) ‘Find the doctors of death’: press representation of foreign doctors working in the NHS, a corpus-based approach. In A. Jaworski and N. Coupland (eds) The Discourse Reader 465–80 (3rd edn). New York: Routledge.
Baker, P. and McEnery, T. (eds) (2015) Corpora and Discourse Studies: Integrating Discourse and Corpora. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/
Baker, P. and Potts, A. (2013) ‘Why do white people have thin lips?’: Google and the perpetuation of stereotypes via auto-complete search forms. Critical Discourse Studies 10(2): 187–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2012.744320
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C., KhosraviNik, M., Krzyżanowski, M., McEnery, T. and Wodak, R. (2008) A useful methodological synergy? Combining critical discourse analysis and corpus linguistics to examine discourses of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK press. Discourse and Society 19(3): 273–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C. and McEnery, T. (2013a) Discourse Analysis and Media Attitudes: The Representation of Islam in the British Press. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511920103
Baker, P., Gabrielatos, C. and McEnery, T. (2013b) Sketching Muslims: a corpus driven analysis of representations around the word ‘Muslim’ in the British press 1998–2009. Applied Linguistics 34(3): 255–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ams048
Baker, P., Hardie, A. and McEnery, T. (2006) A Glossary of Corpus Linguistics. Edinburgh University Press.
Bartlett, K. (1998). International curricula: more or less important at the primary level? In M. C. Hayden and J. J. Thompson (eds) International Education: Principles and Practice 77–91. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Blackburn, R. (1991) The International Baccalaureate: A curriculum at upper secondary level and a university entrance examination. In P. Jonietz and D. Harris (eds) World Yearbook of Education 1991: International Schools and International Education 6–14. London: Kogan Page.
Bunnell, T. (2011a). The growth of the International Baccalaureate® Diploma Program: concerns about the consistency and reliability of the assessments. Educational Forum 75: 174–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2011.552700
Bunnell, T. (2011b) The International Baccalaureate in the United States: from relative inactivity to imbalance. Educational Forum 75: 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2010.528717
Bunnell, T. (2011c) The International Baccalaureate and ‘growth scepticism’: a ‘social limits’ framework. International Studies in Sociology of Education 21(2): 161–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2011.575103
Bunnell, T. (2012) Global Education under Attack: International Baccalaureate in America. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-653-01797-7
Bunnell, T. (2015) The rise and decline of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in the United Kingdom. Oxford Review of Education 41(3): 387–403. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2015.1035703
Coates, H., Rosicka, C. and MacMahon-Ball, M. (2007) Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme among Australian and New Zealand Universities. http://www.ibo.org/en/about-the-ib/research/programme-impact-research/diploma-studies
Culpeper, J. (2009) The metalanguage of IMPOLITENESS: using sketch engine to explore the Oxford English Corpus. In P. Baker (ed.) Contemporary Corpus Linguistics 47–63. London: Continuum.
Daly, K. (2012) An Exploration of Virginia Law on Recognition, University Officials, and Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (Unpublished PhD thesis). George Mason University, USA.
de Cillia, R., Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. (1999) The discursive construction of national identities. Discourse and Society 10(2): 149–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/
Doherty, C. (2009) The appeal of the International Baccalaureate in Australia’s educational market: a curriculum of choice for mobile futures. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 30(1): 73–89.
Elliot, J. (2014) The business of schooling: Marketing in Canadian independent schools (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Engström, R. and Paradis, C. (2015) The in-group and out-groups of the British National Party and the UK Independence Party: a corpus-based discourse-historical analysis. Journal of Language and Politics 14(4): 501–27. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.14.4.02eng
Fitzgerald, S. (2015) Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Ontario universities. Canadian Journal of Education 38(3): 1–34.
Fitzgerald, S. (2017) Perceptions of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Canadian universities. Canadian Journal of Higher Education 47(3): 76–100.
Fox, E. (1998) The emergence of the International Baccalaureate as an impetus for curricular reform. In M. C. Hayden and J. J. Thompson (eds) International Education: Principles and Practice 65–76. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Gabrielatos, C. and Baker, P. (2008) Fleeing, sneaking, flooding: a corpus analysis of discursive constructions of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK Press, 1996–2005. Journal of English Linguistics 36(1): 5–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424207311247
Hayden, M. (1998) International education in practice. In M. Hayden and J Thompson (eds) International Education: Principles and practice 1–8. London: Kogan Page.
Hayden, M. and Thompson, J. (eds) (2011) Taking the MYP Forward. Woodbridge: John Catt Educational.
Hill, I. (2002) The history of international education: an International Baccalaureate perspective. In M. Hayden, J. Thompson and G. Walker (eds), International Education in Practice: Dimensions for National and International Schools 18–29. London: Kogan Page.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2007) 21 Things you Should Know about the IB. https://web.archive.org/web/20120320064741/http://www.ibo.org/facts/
things/documents/21thingsyoushouldknowabouttheIBMarch08.pdf
International Baccalaureate Organization (2009) IB Americas regional profile: Canada IB profile. http://www.alcdsb.on.ca/School/regi/Programs/InternationalBaccalaureate/Documents/IB%20in%20Canada%20Profile.pdf
International Baccalaureate Organization (2014) History of the International Baccalaureate. https://web.archive.org/web/20141108234603/https://www.ibo.org/history
International Baccalaureate Organization (2015) Find an IB World School. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school/
International Baccalaureate Organization (2017a). Benefits of the IB. http://www.ibo.org/benefits.
International Baccalaureate Organization (2017b). Mission. http://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/mission
International Baccalaureate Organization (2017c) Facts and Figures. http://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/facts-and-figures
International Baccalaureate Organization (2017d) Benefits for Schools. http://www.ibo.org/benefits/benefits-for-schools
Jenkins, C. (2003) Perceptions of the IB Diploma Programme. http://www.ibo.org/en/about-the-ib/research/programme-impact-research/diploma-studies
Karim, K. H. (2008) Press, public sphere, and pluralism: multiculturalism debates in Canadian English-language newspapers. Canadian Ethnic Studies 40(1): 57–78. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.0.0074
Kilgarriff, A. (n.d.). Sketch Engine User Guide Glossary. https://www.sketchengine.co.uk/user-guide/glossary/?letter=L
Kilgarriff, A., Baisa, V., BuÅ¡ta, J., JakubÃÄek, M., Kovář, V., Michelfeit, J., Rychlý, P. and Suchomel, V. (2014) The sketch engine: ten years on. Lexicography 1: 7–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40607-014-0009-9
Kilgarriff, A., Rychly, P., Smrz, P. and Tugwell, D. (2004) The sketch engine. Proceedings of EURALEX 2004 105–116. Lorient, France.
KhosraviNik, M. (2010) The representation of refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants in British newspapers: a critical discourse analysis. Journal of Language and Politics 9(1): 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.9.1.01kho
Kroll, J. R. (1984) The evolution of the International Baccalaureate Program, 1964–1984 (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Langford, M. (1998) Global nomads, third culture kids and international schools. In M. C. Hayden and J. J. Thompson (eds) International Education: Principles and Practice 28–43. London, UK: Kogan Page.
Loat, W. (2007) Bridging the Gap: The IB Program as University Preparation. AACRAO-SEM Newsletter. American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. http://www4.aacrao.org/semsource/sem/ index6861.html?fa=printandid=3697
Mautner, G. (2007) Mining large corpora for social information: the case of elderly. Language in Society 36: 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404507070030
Mautner, G. (2008) Analyzing newspapers, magazines and other print media. In R. Wodak and M. Krzyżanowski (eds) Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences 30–53. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/
-1-137-04798-4_2
Mautner, G. (2009a) Corpora and critical discourse analysis. In P. Baker (ed.) Contemporary Corpus Linguistics 32–46. London: Continuum.
Mautner, G. (2009b) Checks and balances: how corpus linguistics can contribute to CDA. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 122–43 (2nd edn). London, UK: Sage.
McEnery, T. and Hardie, A. (2012). Corpus Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nicol, H. G. (1982). The International Baccalaureate in Canada and the United States. The International Schools Journal 3: 29–33.
Panich, C. (2001) A Study of the University Performance of Students with International Baccalaureate High School Experience (Unpublished PhD thesis). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University.
Paris, P. G. (2003) The International Baccalaureate: a case study on why students choose to do the IB. International Education Journal 4(3): 232–43.
Peterson, A. D. C. (1987) Schools Across Frontiers: The Story of the International Baccalaureate and the United World Colleges. La Salle, IL: Open Court.
Piper, M. (2006) Universities and the IBO: your mission is our mission. Peterson Lectures. International Baccalaureate Organization. https://web.archive.org/web/
/https://www.ibo.org/council/peterson/piper/documents/piper_lecture.pdf
Reisigl, M. (2008) Analyzing political rhetoric. In R. Wodak and M. Krzyżanowski (eds) Qualitative Discourse Analysis in the Social Sciences 96–120. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-04798-4_5
Reisigl, M. and Wodak, R. (2001) Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Anti-Semitism. London, UK: Routledge.
Remillard, J. R. (1978) Knowledge and social control in a multinational context: An analysis of the development, content and potential of the International Baccalaureate (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). State University of New York, Buffalo.
Renaud, G. (1991) The International Schools Association (ISA): historical and philosophical background. In P. Jonietz and D. Harris (eds) World Yearbook of Education 1991: International Schools and International Education 6–14. London: Kogan Page.
Resnik, J. (2012) The denationalization of education and the expansion of the International Baccalaureate. Comparative Education Review 56(2): 248–69. https://doi.org/10.1086/661770
Spahn, B. A. (2001) America and the International Baccalaureate-Implementing the International Baccalaureate in the United States: A study of three schools. Suffolk, UK: John Catt Educational Ltd.
Stubbs, M. (1996) Text and Corpus Analysis: Computer-assisted Studies of Language and Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.
Stubbs, M. (2001) Words and Phrases: Corpus Studies of Lexical Semantics. Oxford: Blackwell.
Tarc, P. (2009) Global Dreams, Enduring Tensions: International Baccalaureate Program in a Changing World. New York: Peter Lang.
Tarc, P. and Beatty, L. (2012) The emergence of the International Baccalaureate Diploma in Ontario: diffusion, pilot study and prospective research. Canadian Journal of Education 35(4): 341–75.
Tarver, E. T. (2010) University Admissions Officers’ Perceptions of Student Performance within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (Unpublished PhD thesis). Louisiana State University.
Thomas, P. B. (1988a) Students across frontiers. Journal of College Admissions 121, 7–10.
van Dijk, T. (2001) Multidisciplinary CDA: a plea for diversity. In R. Wodak and M. Meyer (eds) Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis 95–120. London: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020.n5; https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020.d7
Walker, G. (2005) Looking back and looking forward: The next 30 years. Plenary Address to the IBNA Annual Regional Conference, Montreal, 9 July. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201614/http://www.ibo.org/dg/emeritus/speeches/documents/ibna_jul05.pdf
Whitehead, K. (2005) Advertising advantage. The International Baccalaureate, social justice and the marketisation of schooling. Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Annual Conference, University of Western Sydney, Parramatta. http://www.aare.edu.au/data/publications/2005/whi05426.pdf
Wodak, R. (1996) The genesis of racist discourse in Austria since 1989. In C. R. Caldas-Coulthard and M. Coulthard (eds) Texts and Practices: Readings in Critical Discourse Analysis 107–28. New York: Routledge.
Wodak, R. (2008) ‘Us’ and ‘them’: Inclusion and exclusion – discrimination via discourse. In G. Delanty, R. Wodak, and P. Jones (eds) Identity, Belonging and Migration 54–77. Liverpool University Press.
Wodak, R. and Matouschek, B. (1993) ‘We are dealing with people whose origins one can clearly tell just by looking’: critical discourse analysis and the study of neo-racism in contemporary Austria. Discourse and Society 4(2): 225–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926593004002005
