During recent decades, a significant worldwide growth took place of International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools that are regulated by the transnational educational organisation International Baccalaureate®. Currently ca. 5900 IB World Schools exist in 160 countries with 66 IB schools in Brazil, concentrated mainly in the regions of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Based on a research design that combines a global comparative approach (e.g. Resnik 2016) with theory of the social reproduction of elites (e.g. Bourdieu 1989) we discuss some results from a qualitative study on IB World Schools in Portuguese-speaking countries (e.g. Schippling & Abrantes 2024) with a focus on Brazil. Starting with an outline of general tendencies of the development of IB in the region of São Paulo, we analyse interviews with members of the school administration of eight IB World Schools in this region with a special attention to their constructions of school identity.

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