The International Baccalaureate (IB): The way of the future?
ADvTECH Group • July 15, 2022
The IB World School Offering and framework that is taught in all Crawford International Pre-Primary and Preparatory schools has been praised by the Times of London Educational Commission. Here’s why.
As the world evolves, so should the way we educate our learners. Committed to giving learners at Crawford International Schools a globally aligned education that sets them up for success anywhere in the world, we have long collaborated with the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) to enhance our academic offering.
Now, a report published by the Times of London Educational Commission has recommended that a programme modelled on the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme replace the UK country’s traditional A-levels. The A-levels refer to what are called Advanced Level qualifications in the UK and are considered the equivalent of a matric qualification in South Africa.
The report was based on a year-long project undertaken to examine the current British education system’s strengths and weaknesses, and to make recommendations on how to frame education for the future. It stated that: It is time to design a more rounded curriculum for the 21st century that engages young people and empowers teachers, based on knowledge, skills and character.
Their suggestion is to replace the A-levels with a ‘British Baccalaureate’, a curriculum and assessment programme which would be modelled on the IB’s Diploma Programme.
“The commission believes that the proposed reform would have the potential to simultaneously raise standards and increase social mobility. One study found that IB diploma students in the UK were three times more likely to enrol at a top university and seven percent more likely to get a first-class degree than their A-level peers.”
The IB PYP programme is the fundamental grounding of all IB Programmes. As Crawford International we prepare our students to be globally competitive by participating in the IB Primary Years Programme over a period of ten years from Grade 000 – Grade 7.
What are IB programmes?
Currently, more than 5200 schools in 109 countries around the world use an IB programme to teach more than a million learners. The International Baccalaureate consists of four frameworks for leaners aged from three through to 19: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP); and the Career-related Programme.
As an international programme, an IB framework can be incorporated into the national curricula of any country, but only schools fully accredited as IB World Schools can offer one or more of these frameworks. What makes these schools unique is that they aim to do a lot more than teach. They encourage children to become lifelong learners with the self-motivation to achieve success by
- Thinking critically and asking challenging questions around broader global concepts rather than content alone
- Learning across disciplines, where subjects are purposely linked together, as our experience of the world is, knowing we don’t live in single subject silo’s
- Setting effective goals to ensure personal learning and progress that encourages students to celebrate their achievements and pursue further challenges and aspirations
- Developing an understanding and compassion for other living things and environments, thereby taking action to make the world around them a better place
- Seeing their learning as an ongoing process of which they are active participants
The IB at Crawford Schools
Our Pre and Preparatory schools are all authorised to offer the IB Primary Years Programme, which has been designed to encourage students curiosity and understanding beyond themselves, thereby making meaningful, relevant and authentic connections to the world the are part of, both locally and globally.
Find out more here.
