The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.^[1] Founded in 1968 in Geneva, ^[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 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.^[4]

[edit] 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.^[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 Organisation (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] Alec Peterson was appointed as 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). The current Director General is Jeffrey Beard.^[9]

In 1994, the IB added the IB Middle Years Programme, for students ages 11 to 16, and comprised of eight subject areas and five areas of interaction.^[10] In 1997, the IB added the IB Primary Years Programme for children ages 3 through 10, an inquiry-based program relying on six global transdisciplinary themes supported by six subject areas.^[11]

[edit] Organization

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).^[12] The IB's alliance with UNESCO encourages the integration of its educational goals into the IB curriculum.^[13][14]

The IB's mission statement is as follows:

"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."^[15]

The IB developed a set of ten attributes which represent its mission statement as learning outcomes.

"The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who ... strive to be: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective."^[16]

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.^[17] 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."^[18]

[edit] IB offices and associations

The IB Headquarters is situated in Geneva, Switzerland. The Curriculum and Assessment Centre is located in Cardiff, Wales

There are three IB regional offices:

• IB Africa, Europe and Middle East (IBAEM) in Geneva, Switzerland.
• IB Americas (IBA) in New York, United States and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The United States has the largest number of IB programmes (1,029 out of 2,704) offered in both private and public schools.^[19]
• IB Asia-Pacific (IBAP) in Singapore, Republic of Singapore.^[20]

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."^[21]

• There are two in the IB Africa, Europe and Middle East region.^[22]
• There are thirty sub-regional associations in the IB Americas region.^[23]
• There are five in the Asia Pacific region.^[24]

IB announced it will be moving most of its Cardiff operation to Amsterdam and opening new offices in Maryland (US) by mid-2010 and Singapore by 2020. ^[25][26]

[edit] 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.^[27]

[edit] 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 10, 2006 edition of Time magazine titled How to bring our schools out of the 20th Century.^[28] 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."^[29] 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."^[30]

In 2006, as part of the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI),^[31] 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.^[31] Reporter Diana Jean Schemo of the New York Times stated that the IB “offers a special diploma recognizing a more rigorous course of study” when compared to "the larger and better known Advanced Placement program."^[32]

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."^[33] 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.^[34]

Political objections to the IBDP in the United States have resulted in attempts to eliminate it from public schools.^[35][36] 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."^[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 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]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of International Baccalaureate

• International Baccalaureate official site