See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/283343238

International education as developed by the International Baccalaureate

Organization.

Chapter · January 2007

DOI: 10.4135/9781848607866.n3

CITATIONS READS

44 4,404

1 author:

Ian Hill
International Baccalaureate Organization
34 PUBLICATIONS 560 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

"Leadership in international schools" View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Ian Hill on 31 October 2015.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
International Education as
Developed by the International
Baccalaureate Organization
This chapter traces the development of interna-
tional education as conceived and practised by
the International Baccalaureate Organization
(IBO) since its foundation. The first section
discusses the evolving nature of international
education and the learning environments in
which it takes place. This is followed by the
idealistic, pedagogical and pragmatic reasons
for the creation of the IB Diploma Programme
during the 1960s as a service to international
schools. The inculcation of humanitarian
values was, and still is, a major objective of an
IB education. International education in
practice, as depicted by the IBO’s Diploma
Programme, Middle Years Programme (MYP)
and Primary Years Programme (PYP), is out-
lined in the next section. Appropriate school
learning environments are then discussed,
including that of the increasing number
of government schools adopting an IB
programme.
The importance which the IBO places on
values education for responsible world citizen-
ship is then discussed with examples from IBO
documents. This is followed by the knowledge,
Page 25
2
Ian Hill
skills and attitudes which an IB international
education seeks to develop. The final section
offers a diagrammatical representation of the
aims of an IB education and refers to the ‘IB
learner profile’ as a significant advance in
defining international mindedness – a concept
at the centre of international education.
THE EVOLVING NATURE OF
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Sylvester (2002) has ably demonstrated that
the term ‘international education’ was in use
from the 1860s and so were international
schools. However, it was not until after the
First World War that international schools
gained sufficiently in world-wide distribution,
and in common characteristics, that the begin-
nings of a movement became noticeable.
These were schools catering for internation-
ally mobile families thus leading to a cultur-
ally diverse student population. It was only
after the Second World War that four succes-
sive associations were formed to bring
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
26 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
international schools together for mutually
beneficial cooperation in areas such as
curriculum development, administration,
recruitment of staff, teacher training and
annual conferences. These associations were
the Conference of Principals of International
Schools 1949 (which became the Conference
of Internationally Minded Schools from
1951), the International Schools Association
(ISA) 1951, International Schools Services
1955, and the European Council of Inter-
national Schools 1965. The first of these was
subsumed into the ISA in 1969; the others are
still active. For more information on this ear-
lier period and these associations see Hill
(2001a, 2001b).
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries international education was under-
stood as students being educated in a school
with many different nationalities (first mooted
by Comenius, quoted in Sylvester 2002: 96)
or moving between a network of institutions
across a number of countries to learn
languages and experience different cultures at
first hand (Sylvester 2002: 101), as the
Conference of Internationally Minded
Schools wanted to do. It was thought that
international education could only take place
in a context where people of other cultures
were present and this explains why it was, for
a long time, closely associated with inter-
national schools. Desmond Cole-Baker, head
of the International School of Geneva and
co-founder of the IB diploma programme, saw
that international education was not just the
province of international schools when he
said: ‘In a true international school [of diverse
cultures], international education is a question
of envirnoment; in a national school it is a
frame of mind”’ (Cole-Baker 1989). Apart
from learning other languages, the contribu-
tion to international mindedness of formal
curriculum transactions within a school
attracted little attention until the 1930s, when
world history and world geography courses
began to appear, such as those developed at
the International School of Geneva (Oats
1952: 26–8).
A distinction should be made between the
means by which an international education is
Page 26
delivered, and the knowledge, skills and
attitudes which comprise it. Today, research
has shown that international education mani-
fests itself through various conduits: the for-
mal curriculum, educational philosophy and
values, teachers as role models, informal con-
tact with people of different cultures within
and without the school, and governance and
management practices. Thompson (1998:
288) has proposed a tripartite model in which
a balanced curriculum, cultural diversity, and
administrative styles interact to deliver an
international education. The International
Schools Association (2001) has published an
instrument for self-assessment of internation-
alism, which focuses on four aspects through
which international mindedness can be devel-
oped: the school philosophy, the cultural
composition of the school and its commu-
nity (internal and external), governance and
administration practices, and an international
curriculum perspective. These are the trans-
mission modes of the learning environment
with which the student interacts.
Other research has concentrated on unravel-
ling the content and pedagogical nature of an
international education – the knowledge, skills
and attitudes which are ‘transmitted’. Much
attention has been given to the concept of
intercultural understanding (within and
between nations) as a major component of
international-mindedness: see, for example,
Walker (2000b), Heyward (2002), Westrick
(2004) and James (2005). A commitment to
humanitarian values has also attracted consid-
erable comment: see, for example, McKenzie
(1998), Pasternak (1998), Hill (2001c),
Drennen (2002: 57–9, 61–2), Gellar (2002),
Walker (2004) and Clemo (2005). Other
components are identified elsewhere in this
chapter.
The IBO was not oblivious to these impor-
tant developments; indeed, it contributed to
them. IB schools represent laboratories of
international education practice. The IBO has
attempted to refine, through practice, the
nature of international education in curricu-
lum terms and has increasingly implemented
benchmarks gleaned from the research to
ensure that the learning environment of IB
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO
World Schools (as authorized IB schools are
officially named) is appropriate. The evolution
of international education as formal curricu-
lum in the IB diploma programme is treated in
the next section.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE IB
DIPLOMA PROGRAMME
The IB Diploma Programme was initially a
curriculum service which the ISA decided, in
1962, to provide to international secondary
schools, and the IB Office (as it was initially
called) was established officially in 1968 in
Geneva to develop and maintain it. The staff
of the International School of Geneva, where
the ISA office was housed at the time, started
to create the syllabi and were joined by teach-
ers and educators from a number of countries.
The nature of this ‘curriculum service’ was
idealistic, pedagogic and pragmatic. The ISA
believed that international schools should have
a programme of international education as
defined by a summer course in 1950 for teach-
ers from around the world at the International
School of Geneva:
[An international education] should give the child
an understanding of his [sic] past as a common
heritage to which all men irrespective of nation,
race, or creed have contributed and which all men
should share; it should give him an understanding
of his present world as a world in which peoples
are interdependent and in which cooperation is a
necessity.
In such an education emphasis should be laid in
a basic attitude of respect for all human beings as
persons, understanding of those things which unite
us and an appreciation of the positive values of
those things which may seem to divide us, with the
objective of thinking free from fear or prejudice.
(Course for Teachers Interested in International
Education, Final Report 1950: Section I)
This is the first definition of international
education devised by a team of practising
teachers from international schools and it cor-
responded to the post-Second World War
idealism for a peaceful world. In particular, the
second paragraph of the quotation addresses
the attitudinal and value dimension, the culmi-
nating point of a successful international
Page 27
27
education. The acquisition of knowledge and
the development of skills are, as cognitive ele-
ments only, not a complete measure of success
for an IB programme. The affective domain
must also be stimulated so that attitudes of
responsible world citizenship are cultivated.
For example, an individual can acknowledge
that cooperation is necessary, and master the
skills of cooperating effectively, but if the will
to cooperate is not present, the knowledge and
skills have been attained in vain.
Pedagogically, good teachers saw that their
internationally mobile students had different
perspectives on issues, events and knowledge:
what seemed true in the confines of a national
context was questioned by people from other
countries. This first became noticeable in
history teaching, which has been used by
governments to build national allegiance,
sometimes at the expense of embracing a
range of perspectives. This led to the notion
that students in an international school should
be taught critical thinking skills. Leach (1969:
208–9), one of the founders of the IB Diploma
Programme at the International School of
Geneva, described critical enquiry as a process
where students should question accepted
views, should not expect reassurance for hold-
ing conventional opinions, should dissect and
weigh the issues ‘in whatever universal scales
the teacher may find immediately useful’, and
should be prepared to retreat from entrenched
positions in the face of compelling argument
and reflection.
The education of the whole person was an
equally important pedagogical consideration
which draws out emotions and forms
attitudes. It was spurred on by Kurt Hahn’s
‘Outward Bound’ movement, whereby young
people built up trust and friendship, parti-
cularly between different nationalities in an
international school (promoting intercultural
understanding), as they faced physically
demanding tasks together. Engaging in
community service was also encouraged by
Hahn’s philosophy and adopted by Atlantic
College in Wales (opened in 1962) which,
in turn, influenced the emerging diploma
programme when its staff joined with the
Geneva teachers a couple of years later. These
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
28 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
two activities contributed to character
development. Pragmatically, there was a
need for a universally recognized curriculum
and examination to facilitate university
acceptance around the world by internation-
ally mobile students. Early experimental IB
Diploma Programme curricula and examina-
tions were accepted by a handful of highly
reputable universities, including the Sorbonne,
Oxford and Harvard.
So, as it was being formed in the 1960s, IB
international education wanted students to
recognize that people share a common her-
itage, to adopt positive attitudes about other
cultures, to respect all human beings, to
understand that nations are interdependent, to
know about history and the present on a world
scale, to be able to commit themselves to a
society where one could hold opinions freely
and to engage in critical thinking, physical
exercise and community service.
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
IN PRACTICE
IB Diploma Programme
The first official general guide to the IB
Diploma Programme appeared in 1970. Like
subsequent guides, it contained the syllabus
and assessment information for each of the
subjects offered at the time. Students were to
study one subject from each of the following
categories during the last two years of
secondary education: a first and second lan-
guage, humanities, experimental sciences,
mathematics, the arts or another subject from
one of the previous categories. Three subjects
were to be taken at higher level which
demanded more time and higher analytical
skills than the other three at subsidiary (later
‘standard’) level. In addition, students had to
fulfill three other requirements which took
shape during the 1970s: theory of knowledge
(TOK), an extended essay, and creative, phys-
ical and service pursuits.
TOK was in the 1970 guide. It was a course
which explored, inter alia, the connections
between the various branches of knowledge,
Page 28
differentiated between moral and aesthetic
judgments, considered processes of thought,
and discussed truth and logic. TOK provided a
unifying, reflective and transdisciplinary sub-
ject which is today regarded as the cornerstone
of the IB Diploma Programme. Creative,
physical and social service activities appeared
to different degrees in each of the general
guides from 1970, but these were not identi-
fied as CAS (creativity, action, service) until
1989 with the publication of CAS Activities:
Guidelines for IBO Schools (IBO 1989). The
three parts of CAS were given equal weight
and students who failed to participate satisfac-
torily were not awarded the IB Diploma, even
if they passed all subjects.
‘Creativity’ meant creative and aesthetic
experiences such as drawing, painting, sculp-
ture, music, dance, drama, film-making or
dress. ‘Action’ referred to physical exertion in
sport, expeditions, mountain climbing, gym-
nastics and so on. While community service
was encouraged, it was realized that in some
cultures and geographical locations this was
not always easy to accomplish, so the single
word ‘service’ was used to also include
service to the school itself; for example,
assisting with younger children, organizing
clubs and environmental awareness action. By
1978 students were required to submit an
extended essay in one of the six subjects for
external examination. This exercise was
valuable in developing research skills and it
provided a degree of specialization in a
diploma profile of breadth and balance.
Bilingual diplomas were introduced from
1974 for those candidates who presented at
least one of their subjects in the humanities
and experimental sciences in a language
other than their language A, that is, their first
language (IBO 1972: 20). From the begin-
ning, all parts of the IB Diploma were avail-
able in English and French; Spanish was
officially introduced in 1983. Student evalu-
ation procedures demonstrated a move away
from encyclopedic knowledge to a more crit-
ical, personal approach to learning. ‘All
forms of assessment attempt to bring out
not the candidate’s ability to memorize, but
the extent to which he has assimilated and
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO
made his own the subject in which he is
being tested’ (IBO 1970: 22). The 1970 guide
outlined the overall objectives of the pro-
gramme. The explosion of knowledge (and
this was long before the Internet) had given
rise to:
• the need to educate the whole person
• a bewildering variety of choice; the need for skills
and values to choose wisely
• the need to learn how to learn, ‘the prime func-
tion of school education’ (IBO 1970: 24).
The profile of the diploma offered breadth
(students being required to study subjects
from each of the major traditional disciplines),
and a degree of specialization via the higher
level subjects and the extended essay.
Awareness of a common humanity and
social responsibility (the science courses,
for example, included the ethical use of
advances in the field), together with interdis-
ciplinary learning skills, were high priorities.
Students should also become ‘internationally
minded’ – defined as gaining an awareness
of cultures other than their own where the
compulsory acquisition of at least one addi-
tional language would assist. In this regard,
it was suggested that students from ‘multina-
tional schools’ (that is, international schools)
would have the advantage of personal con-
tact with students and teachers from many
lands. It was hoped that the IB programme
could eventually be extended to students ‘in
other schools’, meaning national state or
private institutions. Subsequent general
guides remained virtually unchanged until
the 1985 version introduced for the first time
the term ‘critical reflection’ for the TOK
course and for diploma courses generally.
This skill was specifically extended ‘to the
larger issue of international awareness’:
appreciating cultures and attitudes other than
one’s own, and being tolerant and able
to communicate with others on a range
of topics about which students have already
formed considered opinions (IBO 1985: 2–3).
So, the IBO conception of international
education focused on developing international-
mindedness and it comprised the following:
Page 29
29
• educating the whole person with academic
breadth and CAS
• citizenship education via service, preferably in the
community external to the school
• critical reflection, dialogue and research skills
• intercultural understanding
• learning more than one language
• lifelong education: learning how to learn
• values to enable wise choices for the good of
mankind.
Middle and Primary Years
Programmes of the IBO
Two important IBO events occurred during
the 1990s: the adoption and development of
new education programmes for the remainder
of school ages. The IBO offered the Middle
Years Programme (MYP) from 1994 for
children from 11 to 16 years of age, and the
Primary Years Programme (PYP) from 1997
for children from 3 to 11 or 12 years. Both
programmes were developed at the instigation
of teachers, most of whom were familiar with
the Diploma Programme. They believed that
international-mindedness should start earlier
than the last two years of secondary school
and that a continuum of international educa-
tion for all school ages should be established.
The MYP was initially called the
International Schools Association Curriculum
(ISAC), whose profile had first been discussed
at an ISA meeting in 1980 at Moshi Interna-
tional School, Tanzania. It is generally recog-
nized that the major development of the ISAC
occurred in a number of French-speaking state
schools in Quebec, thanks to Robert Belle-
Isle, director of the United National Interna-
tional School, New York, with cooperation
from pilot schools in The Netherlands,
Argentina and later elsewhere (Hill 2003:
242–3). History repeated itself. As with the
Diploma Programme, the ISAC needed an
infrastructure to develop further, so an agree-
ment was reached for the IBO to take over the
ISAC project in 1992. The IBO did not offer
the new acquisition to schools until 1994.
The PYP evolved from a discussion amongst
heads of primary schools at the ECIS adminis-
trators’ conference of 1990 in Rome about a
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
30 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
lack of coherence and inconsistency in
the educational programme of international
schools, urging the identification of common
elements of an international primary education.
The link with the MYP was not ignored but it
was not the priority. By 1992 the International
Schools Curriculum Project (ISCP), as it was
named, was taking shape, thanks to the efforts
of a loose group of dedicated teachers around
the world led by Kevin Bartlett, at the time
head of the primary section at the Vienna
International School (Hill 2003: 245–6).
Interestingly, An International Primary School
Curriculum ISA, compiled and edited by Cole-
Baker, then head of the International School of
Geneva, was first published in 1966 and revised
in 1970. It was not widely distributed and few
copies remain today. The ISCP (International
Schools Curriculum Project) group was not
aware of its existence when they launched their
international primary programme. As with the
MYP, the ISCP lacked an infrastructure to take
the project forward. So negotiations with the
IBO resulted in the latter taking over full
responsibility for the programme in 1997. The
IBO director general remarked:
The addition of the PYP to our menu of services to
schools is both timely and historic. It means that
IBO … will be able to offer a full range of options
from kindergarten to pre-university, available as
separate units (primary, middle, diploma) or as a
coordinated continuum with an international
focus. (IBO 1996: 3)
Although ISA was not involved in the ISCP
initiative, it gave a historical impetus to the
need for an international primary curriculum
which was eventually fulfilled by the PYP.
Like the diploma programme, the MYP and
PYP initially targeted the needs of interna-
tional schools. In September 2005 there were
508 MYP, 296 PYP and 1,464 Diploma
Programmes authorized in schools across
the world. The MYP, while preserving the
integrity of individual subjects, emphasizes a
holistic, transdisciplinary approach. Five ‘areas
of interaction’ are at the core: approaches to
learning, community and service, health and
social education, environment and homo faber
(man the maker). These are not additional sub-
jects; they are themes connected across the
Page 30
eight major subject groups which comprise a
first language, a second language, humanities,
technology, mathematics, sciences, the arts
and physical education. The curriculum plan-
ning must be both vertical, involving teachers
across the five years of the programme, and
horizontal, involving teachers of the same year
group. Planning is both within subject teams
and in interdisciplinary teams corresponding
to the areas of interaction.
The PYP places emphasis on transdiscipli-
nary enquiry, balanced against traditional
disciplines for which scope and sequence doc-
uments, corresponding to each age group, are
provided. Six transdisciplinary themes estab-
lish a framework for exploring knowledge:
who we are, where we are in place and time,
how we express ourselves, how the world
works, how we organize ourselves and sharing
the planet. Teachers use unit planners to cover
topics within each of these themes, drawing
on two or more of the subject areas of
language, social studies, mathematics, arts,
science and technology, and personal, social
and physical education.
The MYP and PYP eventually influenced
each other, and the Diploma Programme. For
example, a ‘PYP student profile’ was devel-
oped and then expanded for all three pro-
grammes into the ‘IB learner profile’ (IBO
2006: see Appendix). This is the translation
of the IBO mission statement into a set
of learning outcomes inherent in the IB con-
tinuum of international education where
students, teachers and parents strive to be
enquirers, knowers, thinkers, communicators,
principled, open-minded, risk-takers, bal-
anced, caring and reflective. As part of their
internationalism, the MYP and PYP were
immediately offered in English, French and
Spanish; the MYP was also offered in Chinese
from 1997. In consultation with the IBO,
schools can teach both programmes in other
languages in a bilingual context where an IBO
official language is included; there are
currently schools teaching the MYP and PYP
in Russian, Turkish and Arabic.
Strategically the development of this suite of
school-age international programmes occurred
in the right order; the unsustainability of the
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO
ISA primary years curriculum supports this
view. Without the hard-earned credibility of
the Diploma Programme and the IBO itself, it
is unlikely that the MYP and PYP would have
been so well received by schools, particularly
as student success in these programmes is
measured more by intrinsic value linked to the
education process (although externally moder-
ated certificates are available for the MYP),
rather than by the more conventionally accept-
able, because easily quantifiable, external val-
idation of diploma programme standards by
universities.
The next section considers the learning
environments in which these international pro-
grammes might best occur.
IB Learning Environments
As a formal requirement, all schools applying
for authorization to teach an IB programme
undertake a self-study in which they respond
to several questions and work towards stan-
dards relating to the practice of international
education. This is an interactive process
whereby the IBO also learns from schools, for
example by asking them how they promote
international mindedness or how they define
international education (DP 2003). In particu-
lar, IBO standards for schools delineate a
propitious learning environment; they are
often identical and certainly similar for the
three programmes, as examples to follow
should demonstrate.
The concept of a cooperative learning
community is an important aspect of an inter-
national education, as the following PYP
required standard illustrates: ‘The school has
implemented a school-wide system through
which teachers plan and reflect in collabora-
tive teams.’ Not only should students learn to
achieve together, but this should be modelled
by their teachers in the implementation and
maintenance of the PYP (PYP 2003). Schools
are also asked to indicate what the introduc-
tion of an IB programme could bring to the
community within and outwith the school.
Another standard requires students to act and
contribute ‘to the well-being of themselves, the
community and the environment’ (MYP 2004).
Page 31
31
Schools must address personal development,
ecology and sustainable development through
student action and reflection. Action implies
the adoption of attitudes and values through
knowledge and skills. Skills for resolving
issues receive a particular mention in the fol-
lowing standard: ‘In the final year of the pro-
gramme in the school, students will engage in
a problem-solving project culminating in the
PYP exhibition’ (PYP 2003).
Another question asks: ‘How does your
school’s organizational structure support the
programmes and philosophy of the IBO?’ (DP
2003). Management and governance practices
should facilitate the promotion of the IBO
mission statement (see later) by modelling
responsible ‘citizenship’ of the school: respect-
ing cultural diversity, supporting action for
sustainable development, promoting commu-
nity service and so on.
Initially IB education was intended ‘to
facilitate the work of international schools and
the mobility of students’ as stated in one of the
early development plans (IBO 1980: 1). But
this was to change. Research was questioning
the belief that international education belonged
only in international schools and practice was
showing that there were other nourishing con-
texts in which it could prosper. From the first
half of the 1980s an increasing number of
state schools adopted the IB Diploma
Programme in the USA, in the Nordic coun-
tries and in The Netherlands. Piet Gathier, for-
mer director general of education in The
Netherlands and outgoing president of the
IBO in 1993, recognized that international
education was no longer the prerogative of an
exclusive group of mobile people. He said:
‘Internationality has become a normal feature
of our society and a condition for success in
politics, economy, science and education.
Today it is a must for students who want to
participate fully in our changing society’
(Gathier 1993).
Belle-Isle (1986) was one of the first to
point out that international schools do not
necessarily provide an international educa-
tion. It was some time later before the idea
that it could thrive in a national state or
private school was more widely accepted
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
32 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
(see, for example, Hayden and Thompson
2000: 50–1; Walker 2000a; Hayden 2002:
116). This was an important realization:
international education was no longer seen as
a programme only for international schools
overseas, but as an experience that was
an inherent part of the formal curriculum,
wherever it was taught. Schools of fairly
homogeneous culture gained intercultural
experiences for their students via substitutes
such as school trips abroad, activities and
speakers in the local community, or the
Internet.
There has been a gradual shift over the
years towards more participation in IB pro-
grammes by government schools. For the May
2006 diploma examinations 65 per cent of the
53,540 candidates were from state institutions.
By the end of 2006, 52 per cent of the 1,930
IB schools (including all three programmes)
in 122 countries were state schools with no
tuition fees. National state or private schools
comprise about 80 per cent of all IB schools;
the remainder are international schools – that
is, with a high degree of cultural diversity and
usually a majority of internationally mobile
students.
This significant trend means that IB pro-
grammes and an IB-style education are having
an increasing impact on state systems of edu-
cation as they seek to internationalize their
curriculum. It also furnishes a different learn-
ing environment from the traditional interna-
tional school. As a consequence, international
education via the formal curriculum becomes
more important, particularly as in one study
(which did not survey national schools) this
aspect was seen to be less pertinent to obtain-
ing an international education than exposure
within school to students from different
cultures (Thompson 1998: 285). Does this
shift mean changes to IB curricula to accom-
modate state schools? No. The IBO has
always concentrated on the diffusion of inter-
national education by way of the formal
curriculum without, however, ignoring the
learning environment that is addressed at the
stages of initial authorization, at subsequent
programme evaluations and in teacher training
workshops.
Page 32
The values that an IB learning environment
should emulate are outlined in the next
section.
An Emphasis on Values
Hayden and Thompson (1995: 340) made this
important remark: ‘Clearly in the perceptions
of a number of key protagonists of interna-
tional education there is more to the concept
than … a curriculum based in the cognitive
domain’. The aims of the IBO that appeared in
a 1992 strategic planning document were to
educate young people to act responsibly in a
complex global society, to be inquisitive and
open to new ideas, and to better understand
themselves and others through a heightened
capacity for tolerance and respect for different
points of view (IBO 1992: 1). The emphasis
on attitudes and what the document describes
as ‘idealistic vision’ highlights the affective
qualities of the individual. In the same year the
IBO president, Thomas Hagoort (1992: 22),
stated:
Our mission [is] the shaping, through education, of
individuals in every area of the world who are bet-
ter able than others to function effectively, con-
structively and peacefully amidst a diversity of
nationalities, cultures, languages and religions –
individuals who will be good citizens not only of
their communities and their nations, but also of
the world.
This is in tune with another comment, just the
year before, which reinforced that interna-
tional education is driven by an ethical base:
A sense of values is needed to inform [the stu-
dents’] studies and their life purposes as well.
Without it, they may be clever, knowledgeable,
even wondrously creative, but they will never
become citizens of the world nor give it their gifts
as should those who have known a true interna-
tional education. (Mattern 1991: 216)
From 2003, the IBO subject curriculum
committees of practising teachers and outside
experts from different parts of the world were
asked to emphasize how teachers can make
their subjects more international. The internal
handbook for Diploma Programme curricu-
lum review (IBO 2005a) urges that the global
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO
importance of subjects be reflected and
promoted in their aims, objectives, curricu-
lum, assessment and teacher support materi-
als. It also asks that international differences
of perspective, economic circumstances,
social and cultural diversity be recognized in
the subject content. For example, the latest
economics guide (IBO 2003: 5) section on
internationalism states:
Teachers … must aim to promote … an awareness
of how the impact of economics can both improve
cooperation and understanding between countries
and, unfortunately, cause extensive damage. If all
participants in the global economy are to achieve a
better quality of life for their populations … it
means sharing concepts across cultures, against a
background of economic awareness. … students
must be taught to consider economic theories,
ideas and happenings from the points of view of
different individuals, nations and cultures in the
world economy.
Similar sections on internationalism,
adjusted to suit the subject matter, are to be
found in all syllabus documents from 2003. In
the context of a multicultural approach to cur-
riculum development, Diploma Programme
reviewers are asked to consider how different
subjects are assessed in different cultures, how
this could influence the curriculum and
assessment design, and how to exchange ideas
and extract good practice from different cul-
tural approaches (IBO 2005a).
The first official IBO mission statement
of 1996 was entitled ‘education for life’ and
reads as follows:
Beyond intellectual rigour and high academic stan-
dards, strong emphasis is placed on the ideals
of international understanding and responsible
citizenship, to the end that IB students may
become critical and compassionate thinkers, life-
long learners and informed participants in local
and world affairs, conscious of the shared human-
ity that binds all people together while respecting
the variety of cultures and attitudes that makes for
the richness of life.
This was revised into a leaner version in 2002
which stated that:
The International Baccalaureate Organization
aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and
caring young people who help to create a better
Page 33
33
and more peaceful world through intercultural
understanding and respect. … These programmes
encourage students across the world to become
active, compassionate and lifelong learners who
understand that other people, with their differ-
ences, can also be right.
The new ‘IB learner profile’ (IBO 2006: see
Appendix) for the three programmes con-
tains the following opening statement which
clearly shows the values an IB education pro-
motes: ‘IB programmes aim to develop inter-
nationally minded people who, recognizing
our common humanity and shared guardian-
ship of the planet, help to create a better, more
peaceful world’.
The nature of the knowledge, skills and atti-
tudes which IB programmes seek to develop
are outlined in the next section.
Knowledge, skills and attitudes
The knowledge, skills and attitudes of IB
programmes correspond very closely with
those identified in the literature on interna-
tional education. IB students in international-
minded schools should acquire, from a global
perspective, knowledge about:
• world issues
• social justice and equity
• interdependence
• sustainable development
• cultural diversity
• peace and conflict
• languages.
Population concerns (migration, ethnicity,
refugee issues), fresh water, terrorism and
economic injustice are examples of priority
global issues. Sustainable development con-
siders a balance between economic growth,
protection of the environment, a fairer distri-
bution of material wealth and protection of
the earth’s finite resources. It is ecologically
sensitive and influenced by population
growth and movement. In the knowledge
dimension students will be able to identify
reciprocal influences between countries and
peoples and thus realize the importance of
the notion of interdependence. Awareness of
the human condition leads to knowledge
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
34 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
PRAGMATISM (cognitive) -
functioning on a global scale
A B
Knowledge and skills
Figure 2.1 International education: pragmatism to idealism
about human rights, ethics, justice, peace and
conflict. Once the panoply of cultural behav-
iour is tapped, the need to acknowledge a
range of perspectives becomes evident, the
importance of knowing one’s own culture as
a reference point emerges, and the way lan-
guage directs thought and behaviour is
learned. In sum, knowledge in these areas is
indispensable in arriving at responsible
world citizenship.
This knowledge is the ‘stuff’ with which
students will work. There is nothing ideologi-
cal about this content per se; it is rather
utilitarian – useful to know, almost factual.
Students then need skills with which to
approach this material. They need skills
to explore, for example, why cultural behav-
iour is different, why there can be opposing
accounts of the same historical event, to what
extent nations are interdependent, which areas
of sustainable development need most atten-
tion, how language is inextricably intertwined
with culture, the ingredients of peace and con-
flict, and learning how to live together (Delors
1998). They are skills of:
• critical reflection
• problem-solving
• inquiry
• working collaboratively
• language learning
• cultural literacy
• lifelong learning
• conflict resolution
• transdisciplinary and holistic learning.
Page 34
IDEALISM (affective) -
supporting humanitarian values
and global sustainable
development
Pedagogy Attitudes
Attitudes are the ‘affective’ part of the
whole person. This is the ideology in interna-
tional education. It is the culmination of using
the knowledge and skills to fashion individual
values. IB programmes seek to promote atti-
tudes of:
• commitment to peace, social justice and equity on
a world scale
• compassion and empathy for the feelings, needs
and lives of others in different countries
• respect for cultural diversity and human rights
• a belief that people can make a difference
• caring for the environment
• commitment to sustainable development
• friendship and solidarity amongst peoples.
CONCLUSION
The aim of international education as
conceived by the IBO is, in the words of
Cambridge and Thompson (2004: 173), ‘an
ideology of international understanding and
peace, responsible world citizenship and
service’. Figure 2.1 attempts to demonstrate
that students use the above knowledge and
skills in the cognitive domain to develop
informed attitudes in the affective and ideo-
logical domain.
Figure 2.1 is not meant to represent a linear
progression over time where attitudes are
formed at the end; IB students are involved in
value-formation throughout their education,
and values will change as more information,
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO
together with skills to analyse the information,
are acquired. It is a never-ending process of
accumulation of cognitive attributes which
leads to value positions. Figure 2.1 is a snap-
shot of one of a multitude of such transactions
which students will undertake and review
throughout their education. The arrow on the
base line is to indicate that the cognitive
importance of the pedagogy decreases as we
move towards point B and the attainment of
international education values increases. It is
at the level of values – at the attitudinal level –
that the aims of international education are
realized.
The ‘IB learner profile’ (IBO 2006) is
included as an Appendix to this chapter. It is
the embodiment of what the IBO means when
it speaks of ‘international-mindedness’ and
represents an important advance in the field of
international education. It captures the knowl-
edge, skills and attitudes outlined in the last
section. The IBO’s common programme stan-
dards and practices, to which reference has
been made, are used by schools to undertake a
preliminary self-study as an essential part of
the authorization and subsequent programme
evaluation (IBO 2005b) processes. The imple-
mentation of the ‘IB learner profile’ is speci-
fied in these standards, which address the
nature of the school’s philosophy, organiza-
tion, formal curriculum, informal curriculum
and interaction with the school’s external
community. IB World Schools work towards
the attainment of these standards in order
to provide a learning environment in which
international-mindedness can be nurtured.
REFERENCES
Belle-Isle, R. (1986) Learning for a new humanism.
International Schools Journal, 11: 27–30.
Cole-Baker, D. (1989) Letter to Ian Hill, 16 April,
Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand.
Cambridge, J. and Thompson, J. (2004) Internationalism
and globalization as contexts for international
education. Compare, 34(2): 161–75.
Clemo, J. (2005) Human rights, education and
international-mindedness. International Schools
Journal, XXIV(2): 24–31.
Page 35
35
Course for Teachers Interested in International Education,
Final Report (1950) International School of Geneva,
23 July–19 August. Paris: UNESCO Archives.
Delors, J. (1998) Learning: The Treasure Within,
2nd edition. Paris: UNESCO.
Drennen, H. (2002) Criteria for curriculum continuity in
international education. In M. Hayden, J. Thompson
and G. Walker (eds) International Education in
Practice. London: Kogan Page, pp. 55–65.
DP (2003) Diploma Programme Application Form.
Application for authorization. IBO document avail-
able on www.ibo.org.
Gathier, P. (1993) Open letter to the members of the
IBO Council of Foundation, 22 November. Geneva:
IBO archives.
Gellar, C. (2002) International education: a commit-
ment to universal values. In M. Hayden, J. Thompson
and G. Walker (eds) International Education in
Practice. London: Kogan Page, pp. 30–5.
Hagoort, T. (1992) The IB in the twenty-first century. In
Papers from the 1992 Annual North American
Regional Conference, Breckenridge, Colorado.
New York: IB North America.
Hayden, M. (2002) International education: pragma-
tism and professionalism in supporting teachers. In
M. Hayden, J. Thompson and G. Walker (eds)
International Education in Practice. London: Kogan
Page, pp. 112–25.
Hayden, M. and Thompson, J. (1995) International schools
and international education: a relationship reviewed.
Oxford Review of Education, 21(3): 327–45.
Hayden, M. and Thompson, J. (2000) International
education: flying flags or raising standards?
International Schools Journal, XIX(2): 48–56.
Heyward, M. (2002) From international to intercultural:
redefining the international school for a globalized
world. Journal of Research in International Education,
1(1): 9–32.
Hill, I. (2001a) Early stirrings: the beginnings of the
international education movement. International
Schools Journal, XX(2): 11–22.
Hill, I. (2001b) The beginnings of the international
education movement Part II. International Schools
Journal, XXI(1): 35–48.
Hill, I. (2001c) Curriculum development and ethics in
international education. Disarmament Forum no. 3.
Geneva: UNIDR (United Nations Institute for
Disarmament Research), pp. 49–58. Available from
www.unidir.org.bdd (accessed June 2006).
Hill, I. (2003) Phenomenal growth of the IB. In A.D.C.
Peterson (ed.) Schools Across Frontiers, 2nd edition.
La Salle, IL: Open Court, pp. 239–80.
IBO (1970) General Guide to the International
Baccalaureate. Geneva: IBO.
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM
36 ROOTS, DEFINITIONS, CURRENT INTERPRETATIONS
IBO (1972) General Guide to the International
Baccalaureate. Geneva: IBO.
IBO (1980) A Ten Year Plan for the Development of the
International Baccalaureate Office. Geneva: IBO
Archives.
IBO (1985) General Guide, fifth edition. Geneva: IBO.
IBO (1989) CAS Activities: Guidelines for IBO Schools.
Geneva: IBO.
IBO (1992) Charting the Course. Internal IBO docu-
ment, Geneva.
IBO (1996) Report of the director general to the IBO
Executive Committee. January, IBO archives, Geneva.
IBO (2003) Diploma Programme: Economics. Geneva:
IBO.
IBO (2005a) Curriculum Review – a guide for Diploma
Programme staff leading a curriculum review. In
Diploma Programme Procedures Handbook 2005.
IBO internal document, Cardiff.
IBO (2005b) Programme standards and practices. IBO
internal document: Cardiff.
IBO (2006) IB Learner Profile. Geneva: IBO.
International Schools Association (2001) Self-assessing
Internationalism: an Instrument for Schools. Geneva:
ISA.
James, K. (2005) International education: the concept,
and its relationship to intercultural education. Journal
of Research in International Education, 4(3): 313–32.
Leach, R. (1969) International Schools and Their Role in
the Field of International Education. New York:
Pergamon Press.
Mattern, G. (1991) Random ruminations on the curricu-
lum of the international school. In P. Jonietz and
D. Harris (eds) World Yearbook of Education 1991:
International Schools and International Education.
London: Kogan Page, pp. 209–16.
McKenzie, M. (1998) Going, going, gone … global! In
M. Hayden and J. Thompson (eds) International
Education: Principles and Practice. London: Kogan
Page, pp. 242–52.
Page 36
MYP (2004) Middle Years Programme Application Form
Part B. Application for authorization. IBO document
available on www.ibo.org.
Oats, W. (1952) The International School of Geneva: an
Experiment in International and Intercultural
Education. Report for BEd, University of Melbourne,
Australia.
Pasternak, M. (1998) Is international education a pipe
dream? A question of values. In M. Hayden and
J. Thompson (eds) International Education:
Principles and Practice. London: Kogan Page,
pp. 253–75.
PYP (2003) Primary Years Programme Application Form
Part B. Application for authorization. IBO document
available on www.ibo.org.
Sylvester, R. (2002) Mapping international education:
an historical survey, 1893–1944. Journal of Research
in International Education 1(1): 91–125.
Thompson, J. (1998) Towards a model for international
education. In M. Hayden and J. Thompson (eds)
International Education: Principles and Practice.
London: Kogan Page, pp. 276–90.
Walker, G. (2000a) International education: connecting the
national to the global. In M. Hayden and J. Thompson
(eds) International Schools and International Education:
Improving Teaching, Management and Quality.
London: Kogan Page, pp. 93–204.
Walker, G. (2000b) One-way streets of our culture
International Schools Journal, XIX(2): 11–19.
Walker, G. (2004) Values in education: some thoughts
for Ruth. In To Educate the Nations: Reflections on
an International Education, second edition. Great
Glemham, UK: Peridot Press, pp. 83–6.
Westrick, J. (2004) The influence of service learning
on intercultural sensitivity: a quantitative study.
Journal of Research in International Education,
3(3): 277–99.
Hayden(Handbook)-3463-Ch-02.qxd 10/6/2006 7:42 PM Page 37

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPED BY THE IBO 37

APPENDIX: IB LEARNER PROFILE 2006

IB programmes aim to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing our

common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better, more
peaceful world. IB learners strive to be:
Inquirers They develop their natural curiosity. They acquire the skills necessary to
conduct inquiry and research and show independence in learning. They
actively enjoy learning and this love of learning will be sustained throughout
their lives.
Knowledgeable They explore concepts, ideas and issues that have local and global signifi-
cance. In so doing, they acquire in-depth knowledge and develop under-
standing across a broad and balanced range of disciplines.
Thinkers They exercise initiative in applying thinking skills critically and creatively to
pose and approach complex problems, and make reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators They understand and express ideas and information confidently and cre-
atively in more than one language and in a variety of modes of communica-
tion. They work effectively and willingly in collaboration with others.
Principled They act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness, justice
and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups and communities. They
take responsibility for their own actions and the consequences that accom-
pany them.
Open-minded They understand and appreciate their own cultures and personal histories,
and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals
and communities. They are accustomed to seeking and evaluating a range of
points of view, and are willing to grow from the experience.
Risk-takers They approach unfamiliar situations and uncertainty with courage and fore-
thought, and have the independence of spirit to explore new roles, ideas and
strategies. They are brave and articulate in defending their beliefs.
Balanced They understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional bal-
ance to achieve personal well-being for themselves and others.
Caring They show empathy, compassion and respect towards the needs and feelings
of others. They have a personal commitment to service and act to make a
positive difference to the lives of others and to the environment.
Reflective They give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience.
They are able to assess and understand their strengths and limitations in
order to support their learning and personal development.

View publication stats