International Baccalaureate
historyThe International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland."»IB headquarters." International Baccalaureate. Retrieved on 26 September 2009. Founded in 1968 in Geneva, IB offers three educational programmes for children ages 3–19. The organisation's name and logo were changed in 2007 to reflect a new image 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.
History
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. 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). 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.
In 1994, the IB added the IB Middle Years Programme, for students ages 11 to 16. Also known as the MYP, the middle years programme consists of eight subject areas and five areas of interaction. In 1997, the IB added the IB Primary Years Programme for three to ten year olds. Also known as the PYP, the primary years programme is inquiry-based, and consists of six transdisciplinary themes supported by six subject areas.
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.
Organization
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|style="text-align: left;"|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
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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). The IB's alliance with UNESCO encourages the integration of its educational goals into the IB curriculum.
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 Amsterdam, in addition to plans for the New York regional centres to be moved to Maryland (US) and a new centre to be opened in Singapore by 2020.
The organization is divided into three regional centres: IB Africa, Europe and Middle East (IBAEM), administered from Geneva; IB Americas (IBA), administered from New York 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 two in the IB Africa, Europe and Middle East region.
- There are thirty sub-regional associations in the IB Americas region.
- There are five in the Asia Pacific 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." The United States has the largest number of IB programmes (1,029 out of 2,704) offered in both private and public schools.
Governance
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.
Reception
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. 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." 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 the United Kingdom, the IB Diploma is "regarded as more academically challenging and broader than three or four A-levels." 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." In 2008, due to the devaluing of the A-Levels and an increase in the number of students taking the IB exams, 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.
Political objections to the IBDP in the United States have resulted in attempts to eliminate it from public schools. Thomas Sowell, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, describes the IBDP as a "kind of indoctrination" and "one of the endless series of fad programs that distract American public schools from real education in real subjects." Some schools in the United States have eliminated the IBDP due to budgetary reasons and low student participation. In Utah, funding for the IBDP was reduced from $300,000 to $100,000 after 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."