What is School Visitation

The IB Educator Certificate course is comparatively recent and courses offered have unique attributes depending on the university. The author's purpose in this chapter is to explore the impact of an overseas school visit on the undergraduate students' understanding and perception of the IB, especially in their attitudes towards other cultures. The author organized a study trip to Malaysia and Singapore, visiting four International Baccalaureate (IB) schools. Implications of the trip were explored through a qualitative survey and semi-structured interviews to analyze the effect on students' views, their understanding of IB, with a particular focus on international mindedness. A comparative interview was also conducted to compare experiences and reactions of students who only visited IB schools within Japan. The author found that overseas school visits do have an effect on students' attitudes in relation to international-mindedness and cultural awareness.