What is the IB?
What is the International Baccalaureate?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland offering challenging educational programmes for a worldwide community of schools......creating a better world. There are 4 regional offices servicing Africa/Europe/Middle East, North America and the Carribean, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The IB offers three coordinated programmes of study which incorporate the best aspects of national curricula from around the world.
What are the three IB Programmes?
The Primary Years Programme is for students aged 3-11 years; it focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in the classroom and in the world outside.
The Middle Years Programme is for students aged 12-16 years; it provides a framework of academic challenge that encourages students to embrace and understand the connections between traditional subjects and the real world, and become critical and reflective thinkers.
The IB Diploma Programme is for students aged 16-18. It is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students for success at university and in life beyond.
Are the IB programmes only available in private schools?
The IB programmes can be taught in state, private, national and international schools. They can be offered individually, but a growing number of schools offer them as a continuum. The IB does not own or manage any schools. Instead the community is made up of state and private schools called IB World Schools. There are currently over 2,467 IB World Schools and over 672,000 IB students from Australia to Zambia and in 131 countries in between.
What is the philosophy of the IB Programmes?
The programmes are learner-centered and inquiry-based. They emphasize education as a process (learning how to think, learning how to learn), not just a product (a collection of knowledge), thereby stimulating the students' natural intelligences.
Do students have to study all three as a continuum?
No. Each programme was designed as a stand alone programme. Approved IB world schools around the world may offer one or two or all three of the programmes. However, all three programmes have these common characteristics:
- A strong international dimension
- Draw on content from educational cultures around the world
- Require study across a broad range of subjects
- Include both individual subjects and transdisciplinary areas (this means skills such as decision-making, listening, collecting data, critical thinking, communication and time management)
- Give special emphasis to learning languages
- Focus on developing learning skills
- Encourage students to become responsible members of their community
Can IB students transfer to other types of schools?
Yes. Students transferring to other IB world schools will have common learning experiences in terms of conceptual development and skill acquisition. The content may be different as schools in other countries would wish to reflect the unique nature of their locations. Close attention is paid to a range of national curriculums when developing the IB programmes to facilitate re-entry of students to their national systems.
How does a school become an IB World School?
IB World Schools must undergo an exhaustive authorization process in order to offer one or more of the programmes, which includes a study of the school’s resources and commitment to the IB mission and philosophy. Once authorized the schools must regularly prove that their philosophy, curriculum and educational practices are in line with the published standards of the IB. This is monitored through submission of assessment documents and in-school visits from IBO representatives.
Are teachers trained to teach the IB programmes?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is committed to supporting the ongoing development of a worldwide professional learning community comprising internationally minded teachers, school leaders and school administrators. To that end all four regional offices conduct comprehensive annual programmes of workshops and conferences designed to help teachers and schools to better understand and deliver the three IB programmes.