International Baccalaureate

For other uses, see Baccalaureate (disambiguation).

International Baccalaureate

International Baccalaureate logo
Formation	1968
Website	ibo.org
Formerly called	International Baccalaureate Organization

The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, founded in 1968. IB offers four educational programmes for children aged 3–19. The organization's name and logo were changed in 2007 to reflect a reorganisation. Consequently, "IB" can refer to the organisation itself, any of the four programmes, or the diploma or certificates awarded at the end of the programme.

Marie-Thérèse Maurette created the framework for what would eventually become the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) in 1948 when she wrote 'Educational Techniques for peace. Do they exist?'. In the mid-1960s, a group of teachers from the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) created the International Schools Examinations Syndicate (ISES), which would later become the International Baccalaureate (IB). by Peter Nehr, International Baccalaureate Africa, Europe and Middle-East (IBAEM) was established in 1986, and International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific (IBAP) established during the same period.

The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) adheres to the study of eight subject areas and was developed and piloted in the mid-1990s. Within five years 51 countries had MYP schools. The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) was piloted in 1996 in thirty primary schools on different continents, and the first PYP school was authorised in 1997, with as many as 87 authorised schools in 43 countries within five years. The newest offering from the IB, the IB Career-related Programme (formerly IB Career-related Certificate) is designed for students of ages 16 to 19 who want to engage in career-related learning. The IB introduced its newly reviewed MYP for first teaching in September 2014.

The IB Learner Profile

The IB Learner Profile is as follows:

• Inquirers
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Principled
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Risk-takers
• Balanced
• Reflective

All four programmes (PYP, MYP, DP and CP) use the IB learner profile.

Diploma Programme (DP) curriculum outline

Main article: IB Diploma Programme

Age Range: 16-19

DP Core

• Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
• The Extended Essay (EE)
• Creativity Action and Service (CAS)

Subject areas

• Studies in Language and Literature
• Language Acquisition
• Individuals and Societies
• Sciences
• Mathematics
• The Arts

Career-related Programme (CP) curriculum outline

Main article: IB Career-related Programme

Age Range: 16-19

Three-part framework

• Study of at least two Diploma Programme courses
• Career-related studies (terminology differs across the world - vocational, professional, technical qualifications and other definitions).
• CP core

CP Core

• Approaches to learning (ATL) course
• Community and service
• Reflective project
• Language development

Middle Years Programme (MYP) curriculum outline

Main article: IB Middle Years Programme

Age range: 11-16

Six global contexts

• Identities and relationships
• Personal and cultural identity
• Orientations in space and time
• Scientific and technical innovation
• Fairness and development
• Globalization and sustainability

Eight subject areas

• Language Acquisition
• Language and Literature
• Individuals and Societies
• Mathematics
• Design
• Arts
• Sciences
• Physical and Health Education

Culminating activity for schools offering a 4- to 5-year program

• Personal project and Community Project

Primary Years Programme (PYP) curriculum outline

Main article: IB Primary Years Programme

Age range: 3-12

Six transdisciplinary themes

• Who we are
• Where we are in place and time
• How we express ourselves
• How the world works
• How we organise ourselves
• Sharing the planet

Six subject areas

• Language
• Social studies
• Mathematics
• Arts
• Science
• Personal, social and physical education

Five essential elements

• Concepts
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Attitudes
• Action

Organization

The International Baccalaureate (IB) aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the organisation works with schools, governments and international organisations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.—International Baccalaureate Mission Statement

The IB is a not-for-profit educational foundation. The IB maintains its Foundation Office in Geneva, Switzerland. The Assessment Centre is located in Cardiff, Wales and the curriculum centre moved in 2011 to The Hague, Netherlands. Three Global Centres have been opened: Bethesda Maryland, United States, Singapore and The Hague, Netherlands.

The organisation is divided into three regional centres: IB Africa, Europe and Middle East (IBAEM), administered from The Hague; IB Americas (IBA), administered from Bethesda and Buenos Aires, Argentina; and IB Asia-Pacific (IBAP), administered from Singapore.

Sub-regional associations "are groups formed by and for IB school practitioners to assist IB schools, teachers and students in their communities—from implementing IB programmes to providing a forum for dialogue." There are currently fifty-six (56) sub-regional associations, including:

• fifteen (15) in the IB Africa, Europe and Middle East (IBAEM) region;
• thirty-six (36) in the IB Americas (IBA) region; and
• five in the IB Asia Pacific (IBAP) region.

In 2003, the IB established the IB Fund, incorporated in the United States, for the purpose of enhancing fundraising and keeping funds raised separate from operational funds. In 2004, the IB approved a strategic plan to "ensure that programmes and services are of the highest quality" and "to provide access to people who are socio-economically disadvantaged." In 2010 the strategic plan was updated after substantial consultation. The vision for the next 5 years was to more consciously establish the IB as a leader in international education and the Board outlined a vision and four strategic goals with key strategic objective.

Access remains fundamental to the mission of the IB and a variety of initiatives and projects are helping to take it forward in Ecuador, Poland, Romania, Czech republic, South Africa, Kazakhstan, Spain, Malaysia, and Japan

The United States has the largest number of IB programmes (2,010 out of 5,586) offered in both private and public schools.

The IB has consultative status as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) at United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and has collaborative relationships with the Council of Europe and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

Governance

The IB governance is composed of an IB Board of Governors and six committees (access and advancement, audit, education, finance, human resources and governance). The Board of Governors appoints the Director general, sets the strategic direction of the organisation, adopts a mission statement, makes policy, oversees the IB's financial management, and ensures autonomy and integrity of the IB Diploma Programme examinations and other student assessment. The structure of its different committees are based on respect, representation and collaboration.

The Board of Governors can comprise between 15 and 25 members. Members are elected by the Board on the recommendation of the governance committee, and from nominations presented from the Heads Council, Regional Councils and the Board. To encourage diversity of gender, culture and geography, there are only three ex officio positions: Director general (non-voting), the chair of the Examining Board and the chair of the Heads Council.

Advisory bodies include the Heads Council and Regional Councils

Reception

Countries with more than 40 schools teaching IB programmes. (as of 15 October 2015)

Country	Primary	Middle	Diploma	Career-related	Schools
USA	488	602	878	70	1,694
Canada	78	168	162	0	358
Australia	104	43	62	1	163
Ecuador	9	8	240	0	240
United Kingdom	14	13	136	4	145
India	57	14	107	0	122
Mexico	56	35	66	0	108
China	36	26	82	0	99
Spain	10	11	84	0	87
Germany	24	11	65	0	70
Hong Kong	30	9	29	0	54
Turkey	22	10	39	0	54
Argentina	7	2	58	0	59
Switzerland	18	11	43	0	50
Indonesia	30	13	29	0	45
Poland	6	8	39	0	44
Total Global	1,311	1,207	2,968	100	4,375
Countries	104	97	140	18	147

The IB Diploma Programme was described as "a rigorous, off-the-shelf curriculum recognized by universities around the world" when it was featured in the December 18, 2006, edition of Time titled "How to bring our schools out of the 20th Century". The IBDP was also featured in the summer 2002 edition of American Educator, where Robert Rothman described it as "a good example of an effective, instructionally sound, exam-based system." In 2006, as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), President George W. Bush and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings presented a plan for the expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate mathematics and science courses, with the goal of increasing the number of AP and IB teachers and the number of students taking AP and IB exams, as well as tripling the number of students passing those exams. Howard Gardner, a professor of educational psychology at Harvard University, said that the IBDP curriculum is "less parochial than most American efforts" and helps students "think critically, synthesize knowledge, reflect on their own thought processes and get their feet wet in interdisciplinary thinking."

In 2006, government ministers in the United Kingdom provided funding so that "every local authority in England could have at least one centre offering sixth-formers the chance to do the IB." In 2008, due to the devaluing of the A-Levels and an increase in the number of students taking the IB exams, then-Children's Secretary Ed Balls abandoned a "flagship Tony Blair pledge to allow children in all areas to study IB." Fears of a "two-tier" education system further dividing education between the rich and the poor emerged as the growth in IB is driven by private schools and sixth-form colleges.

In a 2006 attempt to eliminate it from a public school in Pittsburgh, PA. Some schools in the United States have eliminated the IBDP due to budgetary reasons and low student participation. In Utah in 2008, funding for the IBDP was reduced from $300,000 to $100,000 after State Senator Margaret Dayton objected to the program, stating, "First, I have never espoused eliminating IB ...I don't want to create 'world citizens' nearly as much as I want to help cultivate American citizens who function well in the world." But not everyone agrees and Mayor Rahm Emanuel of Chicago believes IB needs to be an option for students in Chicago Public Schools. Elizabeth Brackett reports on the IB in Chicago. A report by the University of Chicago concluded that Chicago Public School students who completed the IB programme were 40% more likely to attend a four-year college, 50% more likely to attend a selective four-year college, and significantly more likely to persist in college than their matched peers outside the program.” The City of Miami Beach Commission entered into an education compact with Miami-Dade County Public Schools with one of the initiatives of the compact to implement the IB program throughout Miami Beach feeder schools.

In other parts of the world IB programs has been well received. In 2013, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan and the IB announced a plan that will expand the opportunities for Japanese students to complete the IB curriculum in Japanese. In Malaysia a project has been developed in response to interest expressed by the Malaysia Ministry of Education (MoE) in working with the IB to implement the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) in select secondary state schools. The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) signed an agreement with the IB in efforts to widen the options offered for parents and to meet the different needs of students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In April 2014 The King Faisal Foundation in Saudi Arabia and the IB signed a memorandum of understanding to develop IB programs, including the IBDP, in up to 40 primary and secondary schools, with the goal of developing these schools as centres of excellence as IB World Schools. Internationally the IB continues to be recognised as innovative. In 2014 The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) announced the IB Career-related Certificate as a finalist for their annual WISE Awards.

Allegations of plagiarism

After Jeffrey Beard, a past director-general of International Baccalaureate, gave a talk on "Education for a Better World" on 5 August 2010 at the Chautauqua Institution in New York State, the institution issued a statement the next day in which it expressed "genuine disappointment" with the talk, noting that it "drew heavily upon and quoted extensively from a speech given earlier in the year by Sir Ken Robinson", while adding that he "neglected to cite his source or reveal the quotations for what they were". Ken Robinson is a renowned British educationist who lives in the United States. Through an IB spokesperson, Beard admitted that "he could have been more explicit about the sources and authors that inspired him for the content of this speech". In a letter sent to heads of schools that offer the IB curricula, he described this as an "unfortunate incident" due to an "oversight".

In an apparently unrelated development, the Times Educational Supplement revealed on 8 October 2010, that significant portions of one of IB's marking guides for the IB Diploma Programme was lifted wholesale from unattributed websites, including Wikipedia. In a letter to schools, IB director-general Beard wrote: "We have and always will take immediate and appropriate action when we discover any violation of our policies or standards." The examiner responsible for the plagiarism resigned from the examination board five weeks after the issue came to light.

See also

• Cambridge International Examinations
• European Baccalaureate
• List of International Baccalaureate people
• United World Colleges

External links

• Official website