IB Primary Years Programme

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This article is part of the
International Baccalaureate
series.

IB programmes:
- Primary Years Programme
- Middle Years Programme
- Diploma Programme

Institutions:
- The IBO
- United World Colleges

Lists:
- IB people
- IB schools

IBDP curriculum:

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The International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program (PYP) is an educational program managed by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) for students aged 3 to 12. The program prepares students for the IB Middle Years Program, but is not a prerequisite for it. The subject areas of the PYP are language, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social and physical education. Students are required to learn a second language during the program. Assessment is carried out by teachers according to strategies provided by the IBO, and with respect to guidelines to what the students should learn specified in the curriculum model.

The philosophy of the PYP is to make the students into 'inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, well-balanced, and reflective'.

The mission statement of the program is as follows: The Intenational Baccalaureate Organization 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 IBO works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right. (Making the PYP Happen: A Curriculum Framework for International Primary Education. International Baccalaureate Organization, 2007)

The program was created by a group of international school educators (Kevin Bartlett of the Vienna International School, Paul Lieblich of Lyford Cay International School, Robert Landau of the Commonwealth American School of Lausanne and Susan Stengal of the Copenhagen International School), who wished to create a non-national based "best practice" educational framework for international schools. This group formed the International Schools Curriculum Project which received funding from original member schools and through the IBO from Shell Oil's international education division. After several years of development and increasing popularity the founding group decided to hand the "project" over to the IBO for management and continuing development.