This book makes an original contribution to credential sociology by analysing how high school certificates become and remain valuable in a context of mass high school participation (i.e. credentialism). Building on a detailed analysis of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, a senior secondary school certificate offered in over 150 countries, Quentin Maire argues that the advent of new private credentials can be understood as a phenomenon of credential stratification in a context of intensified academic competition.

Using original data on high school credentials in Australia and internationally, the author makes a strong case for certificates to be studied relationally, by locating them in the credentialing structures in which they are inserted. He systematically applies the comparative method to explain the role of the curriculum, family resources, school segregation and higher education selection in creating a credential hierarchy. His robust combination of theoretical construction and detailed empirical work allows him to offer new insights into social inequality in education systems, credential theory and the IB Diploma.

Autorentext

Quentin Maire is a French-Australian Research Fellow in the Centre for International Research on Education Systems at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. He is a recognised scholar in educational sociology, international education and comparative education. He completed his PhD on the International Baccalaureate (IB) in 2016 and has published in various academic outlets, including International Studies in Sociology of Education, Educational Review and Discourse. His work uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods and combines empirical analysis and theory building. He is developing an original sociological agenda to propose new ways of understanding social inequality in education systems. He is currently co-authoring a comprehensive volume on educational inequality with Stephen Lamb and Esther Doecke. The book builds on the large-scale International Study of City Youth (ISCY) project and is expected to be published with Springer in 2022.

Inhalt

1. A structural analysis of the IB Diploma credential.- 2. The IB Diploma retailers.- 3. The market position of IB Diploma retailers.- 4. The IB Diploma acquirers.- 5. The market position of IB Diploma acquirers.- 6. The academic power of the IB Diploma.- 7. Constructing the IB Diploma value.- 8. The historical construction of the IB Diploma market.- 9. The specificity of educational credentials as cultural goods.