| Description |
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) was founded in 1968 and recognized for offering academically rigorous and high-quality education to its students. This qualitative study explored 12th grade and recent graduate students' social and emotional outcomes by seeking meaning from their lived experiences in this rigorous academic program. The research findings represent responses by 12th grade students, recent graduates of the IB program, and a high counselor. Through the lens of Constructivist Learning Theory, Social-Emotional Learning, and Social-Emotional Constructivism, four themes emerged from the data analysis, which include struggles with academic-social life balance, the student perception on IB community, students' goal-driven characteristics, and retrospective gratitudes. Given the rigorous academic demands in IB schools, students tend to exhibit increased levels of stress associated with their high workload and balancing their personal life. Despite IB students having reported both positive and negative social and emotional outcomes, they all demonstrated a level of retrospective gratitude and developed a goal-driven character. Yet, their positive outcomes came at the cost of high pressures and stress with the program's academic rigor and teachers' lack of support due not having received training in social and emotional learning (SEL) and trauma-informed practices. Therefore, implementing SEL and trauma-informed training for teachers will mitigate the expense of stress and pressures in students so they can succeed in school and after graduation. |
