Factors affecting the impact of a library and information service on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in an international school: A constructivist grounded theory approach

The study of the impact of the school library in an international school on a particular curriculum for a cohort of students aged 16-18 years focussed on the role of the school librarian within the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme [IBDP]. The IBDP is an expanding international pre-university course, for which students require high levels of learning skills, aptitudes and abilities. In the literature on this curriculum, the role of the school library in supporting students and faculty is largely anecdotal. An international school is accepted to be typically a private school for various nationalities of students in the K-12 range, with the language of instruction being English, and teachers representing various nationalities. The study was qualitative and used a constructivist model of grounded theory, to develop a theory for the particular situation. Techniques used included observation of students in a natural environment: a school library (which served a whole school (K-12) population). Several students were interviewed twice, once halfway through the two-year programme and at the end. Other students were interviewed to provide comparison. Teachers and administrators were also interviewed. The study found that the main impact of an international school library/ian on the IBDP is focussed on the provision and maintenance of a helpful atmosphere in an appropriate place to enable students to study effectively. Otherwise, a specific role exists with regard to the extended essay, through provision of resources and librarian support with regard to skills of bibliography construction and in-text citation. These aspects were valued by the IBDP school community.