Autoethnographic Study of Experiences Working at an International Baccalaureate World School and International Baccalaureate Candidate Schools in Two Regions: Focusing on Three Dimensions of Conflict

This study aims to provide an understanding of how the introduction of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme affects the operation of the curriculum and teachers’ lives through the experience of one teacher. The researcher worked as an elementary school teacher at an IB world school and IB candidate schools in different regions. The autoethnographic research method was applied to reveal the researcher’s unique experience and explore its meaning, and conflicts were described with a focus on three aspects: relational, structural, and internal conflicts. First, the researcher experienced relational conflict, wherein teachers competed with or were alienated from each other depending on their expected roles in the IB school. Second, the researcher experienced structural conflict that arose from the formation of different commun ities between schools depending on the IB accreditation stage. Third, the researcher experienced internal conflict because of the burden of having to inform and persuade about the effectiveness of the IB along with the desire to be recognized as an IB education expert. On the other hand, the researcher experienced that the special characteristics of elementary schools can be expressed by restructuring the curriculum centered on transdisciplinary topics, which increased the actual cooperation of teachers and improved the quality of education. Therefore, indicators for teachers to develop their professionalism and a practical system for managing the quality of school education should be established.