Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the impact of the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) on teachers in Southern California high schools. This study examined the lived experiences of teachers who teach courses in the IBDP. Based on the literature, the specific focus was on the following themes related to the impact: content knowledge, confidence, creativity, relationships with students, and increased workload. The research provided valuable information for teachers and site and district administrators as to what to expect during and after the implementation of the IBDP. Methodology. Three schools served as the cases for this phenomenological study. There were 11 participants. The researcher conducted one-on-one semistructured interviews to explore the lived experiences of the IBDP teachers. The results were rated on a Likert scale and coded for deeper meaning. Findings. Four of the 5 themes impacted the implementation. Workload and relationships with students were highly impacted. The theme that had no impact was content knowledge. Two additional themes emerged: increased stress and the love for the IBDP program. Conclusions. The study revealed that all participants felt an impact, positive and negative, when implementing the IBDP. The data revealed that teaching the IBDP courses takes their entire person, academically and personally. The participants were completely entrenched in the program, which impacted their lives in ways they could not have predicted. Recommendations: Future studies regarding the impact of the implementation of IB should include middle school teachers who do not need to demonstrate expertise in their content area to teach. Additionally, a longitudinal study of the same participants might yield different results on the variables. This study could be replicated to include only new schools which had at least one graduating class of diploma students. The data may provide a fresh perspective as teachers will have results to refer to and reflect upon when discussing their experiences.