Hidden Curriculum 2.0 (Inter)National Identities: A Qualitative Study

The foundational core of all the four International Baccalaureate programmes (Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme) centers around ‘international mindedness’ (IM). Thus, discussions about national identity in International Baccalaureate schools may raise some concerns. There is a gap in research in that studies on national identity have not been addressed through the lens of the ‘hidden curriculum’. The theoretical framework of this study is grounded in Philip Jackson’s scholarly work on the hidden curriculum, alongside Michael Billig’s influential contributions to the study of nationalism. The study, undertaken in three International Baccalaureate schools in Europe, found that while the mission of the International Baccalaureate is highly absorbed in the everyday routine of the studied schools, often it comes at the expense of muting one’s national identity. The study described here explores the extent to which national identities are reproduced through means of the hidden curriculum, leading to what is described here as the Hidden Curriculum 2.0, a term attributed to educational scholar, Daniel Tröhler. The study is one part of a larger study on the interplay between the hidden and the taught curriculum and construction of national identity.