| This article is part of a series on the International Baccalaureate |
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The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968.[1] [2] IB offers three educational programmes for children ages 3–19.[3] The organization's name and logo were changed in 2007 to reflect a new and for legal reorganization. Consequently, "IB" can refer to the organization itself, any of the three programmes, or the diploma or certificates awarded at the end of the diploma programme.[4]
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Marie-Thérèse Maurette created the framework for what would eventually become the IB Diploma Programme in 1948 when she wrote Is There a Way of Teaching for Peace?, a handbook for UNESCO.[5] 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 Organization (IBO).[6] The IB headquarters were officially established in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1968 for the development and maintenance of the Diploma Programme which would "provide an internationally acceptable university admissions qualification suitable for the growing mobile population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multi-national organizations," and offer internationally standardized courses and assessments for students ages 16 to 19.[7][8] International Baccalaureate North America (IBNA) was established in 1975,[9] by Peter Nehr, International Baccalaureate Africa, Europe and Middle-East (IBAEM) was established in 1986,[10] and International Baccalaureate Asia Pacific (IBAP) established during the same period.[11]
The Middle Years Programme (MYP)—which adheres to the study of eight subject areas—was developed and piloted in the mid-1990s, and within five years 51 countries had MYP schools.[12] The 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.[13]
Alec Peterson was appointed as the IB's first director general (1968–1977). Peterson was followed by Gérard Renaud (1977–83); Roger Peel (1983–98); Derek Blackman (1998–99); and George Walker (1999–2005). Jeffrey Beard is currently director general of the IB.[14]
The extended essay is an independent, self-directed piece of research, culminating in a 4,000-word paper. As a required component, it provides:
Emphasis is placed on the research process:
Participation in this process develops the capacity to:
Students are supported throughout the process with advice and guidance from a supervisor (usually a teacher at the school).
Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) is an IB Diploma requirement, which means that without meeting a total of 8 pre-set outcomes, a student cannot achieve their IB diploma. It was created to motivate students to participate in a broad range of activities.
Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a compulsory subject all IB diploma students are obligated to take. It focuses on the ways of knowing and different areas of knowledge as listed below:
Four Ways of Knowing:
Areas of Knowledge:
The International Baccalaureate program, specifically the diploma program, does not have a policy against homework on weekends to specifically interfere with social life and CAS.
| The International Baccalaureate 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 organization works with schools, governments and international organizations 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 [15] |
The IB is a non-governmental organization (NGO) of UNESCO and has collaborative relationships with the Council of Europe and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).[16] The IB's alliance with UNESCO encourages the integration of its educational goals into the IB curriculum.[17]
The IB maintains headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and currently the Curriculum and Assessment Centre is located in Cardiff, Wales. The IB recently announced relocation of the curriculum centre in Cardiff to The Hague, Netherlands, the opening of the IB Americas Global Centre in Maryland, United States, and a new centre to be opened in Singapore by 2020.[18][19][20]
The organization is divided into three regional centres: IB Africa, Europe and Middle East (IBAEM), administered from Geneva and Cardiff; IB Americas (IBA), administered from New York and Buenos Aires, Argentina; and IB Asia-Pacific (IBAP), administered from Singapore.[21]
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."[22]
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.[26] 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."[27] The United States has the largest number of IB programmes (1,477 out of 3,998) offered in both private and public schools.[28]
The IB governance is composed of an IB Board of Governors. The Board appoints the Director General, sets the strategic direction of the organization, 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.[29]
| Country | Primary | Middle | Diploma | Schools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 281 | 445 | 751 | 1,297 |
| Canada | 56 | 146 | 142 | 311 |
| United Kingdom | 11 | 11 | 219 | 225 |
| Australia | 63 | 42 | 62 | 130 |
| Mexico | 41 | 22 | 57 | 86 |
| India | 27 | 8 | 73 | 80 |
| China | 39 | 23 | 73 | 99 |
| Spain | 4 | 8 | 54 | 54 |
| Germany | 18 | 7 | 48 | 51 |
| Argentina | 7 | 3 | 47 | 48 |
| Ecuador | 4 | 5 | 47 | 48 |
| Total schools | 805 | 902 | 2,291 | 3,264 |
| Countries | 93 | 81 | 139 | 141 |
The IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) 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".[31] 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."[32] In 2006, as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI),[33] 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.[33] 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."[34]
In the United Kingdom in 2006, government ministers provided funding so that "every local authority in England could have at least one centre offering sixth-formers the chance to do the IB."[19] 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.[35]
Political objections to the IBDP in the United States have resulted in an attempt to eliminate it from a public school in Pittsburgh.[36][37] Some schools in the United States have eliminated the IBDP due to budgetary reasons and low student participation.[38][39] In Utah, funding for the IBDP was reduced from $300,000 to $100,000 after State Senator Margaret Dayton objected to the program, stating, "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."[40][41]
After Jeffrey Beard, the director-general of International Baccalaureate, gave a talk on "Education for a Better World" on August 5 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".[42] 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".[42] In a letter sent to heads of schools that offer the IB curricula, he described this as an "unfortunate incident" due to an "oversight".[43]
In an apparently unrelated development, the Times Educational Supplement revealed on October 8, 2010, that significant portions of some of IB's marking guides for the IB Diploma Programme were lifted wholesale from unattributed websites, including Wikipedia.[44] 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.[45]
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