Factors Affecting the Construction of Identity and Lived Reality of Local Teachers in International Schools: A Study of Chinese Teachers Working in IB World Schools in China

Abstract

Factors Affecting the Construction of Identity and lived Reality of Local Teachers in International Schools: A Study of Chinese Teachers Working in IB World Schools in China
As globalisation accelerates and international education flourishes, K-12 private English-medium international schools have expanded globally, numbering approximately 14,000 by 2024, attracting an increasing number of educators to cross-cultural educational fields (Poole & Bunnell, 2024c; Rizvi et al., 2022). Despite this growth, the issue of host national teachers (HNTs)’ identity construction and lived reality in these schools remains underexplored, particularly within the rapidly evolving context of traditional international schools in China (with mainly Anglo-Western teachers delivering the IBDP to expatriate children) yet that nation houses the most international schools in the world. This study focuses on host national International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers in China, delivering IBDP Chinese courses, aiming to explore the processes and structural factors shaping their identity construction and lived realities, and to provide new academic insights into this long-neglected topic.
Theoretically, this study draws on aspects of Bourdieu’s “Social Field Theory”, integrating the core concepts of “field”, “habitus”, and “capital” to investigate how HNTs deliberately and strategically negotiate their positions and distinct identities within the international schooling field. An initial survey of 15 teachers led to semi-structured interviews with 10 IBDP Chinese teachers across three regions of Greater China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Suzhou), eight of whom were female. Each interview, conducted online, lasted 60 to 90 minutes, and captured multidimensional data encompassing educational backgrounds, professional experiences, current privileges and precarity, personal lives, and future plans. Thematic analysis was employed to examine the dynamic interplay between individual experiences and the structural dynamics of the international schooling field.
The findings reveal that HNTs do not inherit the identity of “international educators” but actively construct it through intentional preparation, intercultural commitment, and persistent professional engagement. Despite their competence, they remain symbolically marginal, navigating an “inclusion and exclusion paradox” shaped by institutional norms and global hierarchies. Their lived realities are marked by what this study terms “precarious privilege”, a structural condition where they are simultaneously indispensable and peripheral. Yet, they respond with resilient negotiation: adapting roles, pursuing self-defined growth, and subtly reshaping their careers. The study conceptualises HNTs as “local outsiders”, culturally embedded yet institutionally excluded. This paradox challenges the egalitarian ideals of international education, revealing how symbolic hierarchies persist beneath global rhetoric.
To conclude, this study contributes theoretically by offering a nuanced reading of Bourdieu’s concepts in international schooling. It conceptualises the international school field as a hybrid symbolic space, extends the notion of habitus through a hybrid professional form marked by bounded reflexivity, and develops the concept of precarious privilege to explain the conditional operation of symbolic capital for HNTs. On a practical level, the study calls for more equitable institutional arrangements, including greater recognition of HNTs’ contributions, identity-affirming professional development, and leadership practices that move beyond Western-normative assumptions.

Date of Award	25 Mar 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Tristan Bunnell (Supervisor), Andrea Abbas (Supervisor) & Mary Hayden (Supervisor)