INTERNATIONAL

Summary:

The educational aim of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is to awaken the intelligence of students and teach them to recognize relationships between school subjects and the world outside school by combining knowledge, experience and critical observation.

Two programmes are offered by the IBO: The Middle Years Programme for students between the ages of 11 and 16 years, and the IB Diploma for students of 16 to 18 years.

1. The Middle Years Programme (MYP)
   

   MYP is based upon five Areas of Interaction:
   

   • Approaches to Learning the area concerned with the acquisition of study skills and the fostering of the learning process;
   • Community Service concerned with the acquisition of experience through social activities within and outside school;
   • Health and Social Education concerned with mental and physical health;
   • Environment concerned with the interdependence of humans and nature and with sustainable development;
   • Homo faber ("Man the Maker") concerned with the products of the creative and inventive genius of humans and their impact on society and the human mind.
   
   

   The Areas of interaction are interrelated with each other and the with the 8 subject areas of the MYP (Languages A; Languages B; Humanities; Sciences; Mathematics; The Arts; Technology and Physical Education)
   

   In order to blend the 5 Areas of Interaction with the 8 Subject areas, the school must define:
   

   • what is to be achieved in each Area of Interaction;
   • how these Areas relate to one another;
   • how teaching is to be organized;
   • how the Areas will be incorporated at the various levels of the school's curriculum and which subject will be involved.

   In addition to intellectual skills, the school should be concerned with those of a different nature, for instance, social skills, critical to the development of well-balanced individuals.
   

   Whilst insisting upon thorough study of the disciplines, MYP accentuates their interrelatedness and advances a holistic view of knowledge. Intercultural awareness is inherent in the MYP which respects cultural differences, and promotes the universal values common to civilized society. The programme also stresses the importance of communication, language learning, and teaching appreciation of different cultures, ways of thinking and the traditions of other people and other places.
   
   

2. The International Baccalaureate Diploma
   

   The IB Diploma is an internationally recognized pre-University qualification accepted in some 80 countries, therefore facilitating student mobility. To gain an IB diploma, students must successfully complete six separate courses covering the following academic disciplines:
   

   • Literature;
   • Experimental Sciences;
   • Second/Foreign Language;
   • Mathematics;
   • Humanities;
   • The Arts:

   Students can opt to study a subject within each of these disciplines at either Higher Level or Subsidiary Level. Those opting for the Diploma must study three subjects at Higher Level and three at Subsidiary Level. Exceptionally, four subjects may be studied at Higher Level and two at Subsidiary level. In this way students can choose to study a combination of subjects in greater or lesser depth according to their own requirements. The First five disciplines listed above are compulsory, students following a course of study from each of them. Students then decide on a subject from the Arts (for example, Music, Art/Design, Theatre Arts, etc) or another subject from any of the first five disciplines.
   

   In addition, students must also successfully complete an extended essay (a piece of personal research in one of the disciplines), follow a Theory of Knowledge course and participate in CAS (Creativity Action and Service) activities.
   
   

3. Guide: Theory of Knowledge
   

   A further requirement which students must fulfil to obtain the IB Diploma is "Theory of Knowledge" the aim of which is to simulate critical reflection on the knowledge and experience of students both in and outside the classroom. It is "philosophical" in the sense that it is meant to encourage students to acquire a critical awareness of what they and others know, through analyzing concepts and arguments and the bases of value judgements.

   During the course, students will study:
   

   Part 1:The Role of language and Thought in Knowledge (in order to use language clearly, consistently and appropriately);

   Part 2:The Requirements of Logical Rigour for Knowledge (in order to give evidence of appreciation of the strengths and limitations of the various kinds of knowledge, as well as their similarities and differences);

   Part 3:Systems of Knowledge: mathematics, natural sciences, human sciences, history (in order to relate subjects to one another, to general knowledge and to personal experience);

   Part 4:Value Judgements as Knowledge: moral judgement, political judgement, aesthetic judgement (in order to demonstrate awareness of the virtues and limitations of both their individual outlook and the views common to the communities and cultures to which they belong);

   Part 5: Knowledge and truth (in order to show proper appreciation of the power and limitations of reason, recognize its capacity to overcome ignorance and prejudice as well as to advance academic knowledge and practical understanding between individuals, communities, nations and cultures.
   

   IB courses are designed to occupy 240 teacher contact hours at Higher Level and 150 teacher contact house at Subsidiary Level, which are normally spread over two years, students typically taking their Diploma examinations at age 18.
   

   Curriculum development by the IBO undergoes planned, continuous review. Noteworthy aspects include the following:
   

   • Within the Diploma programme the IB has now created a suite of foreign language learning courses, appropriate for a range encompassing near native, advanced second language students and ab initio learners. The study of at least one foreign language is compulsory within the Diploma; these new courses will now reach some forty thousand students in nearly 600 schools located in some 80 countries of the world.
   • The Diploma and Middle Years Programme balance academically rigorous treatment of each discipline within the programme with strong concern for interdisciplinarity. This can particularly be seen in the Middle Years course within which a major component entitled "Areas of Interaction" is designed to ensure cross-curricular awareness and understanding by the student throughout the whole of the course. Within the IB Diploma studies there is no direct equivalent of the Areas of Interaction; however, the Theory of Knowledge programme (see (3) above) is much concerned with systems of knowledge and the relationships between knowledge and truth in both academic and intercultural contexts.
   • The IBO is working to develop and transparent and acceptable interface and articulation between the Diploma and Middle Years Programmes. The latter will not be a prerequisite for Diploma study, but the IB is already aware of many schools around the world who are delivering both programmes. With these schools, IB is working to develop and proper and smooth transition.

Full programme available from the author institution. The Middle Years Programme, The IB Diploma and Guides to Theory of Knowledge, Philosophy, Languages and History available for consultation at UNESCO HQ (ED Sector)

Summary:

The United World Colleges is an international movement whose aim is to promote peace and understanding through education. Its 2-year programme leads to an International Baccalaureate (IB) in eight of the Colleges. At the College in Venezuela, students study for a Diploma in Farm Management and Rural Development. Students from all over the world are selected on merit, the majority being awarded scholarships to attend one of the nine residential colleges in Wales, Singapore, Canada, Swaziland, Italy, the USA, Venezuela, Hong Kong or Norway. The following summaries have been developed by UWC with the approval of the IB, and have been submitted for inclusion in this inventory by UWC's Executive Secretary, David Sutcliffe.

1. Global Concerns Programme (1994)

   (Andrew Bennett, Headmaster, UWC of South East Asia, Pasir Panjang, PO Box 15, Singapore 9111 (fax: +65.778.5846).
   

   This initiative falls under two headings: (1) Global Concerns Curriculum (1995); (2) Global Concerns Projects. The curriculum introduces students to Global Concerns education within the humanities covering a wide range of "concerns" under the 3 broad themes of (i) The World's Natural Environments; (ii) Development with particular reference to the developing world; (iii) Issues of Peace and Conflict. Concerns are studied in their geographical, economic and historical contexts. "Problems" are highlighted, solutions considered, organizations working towards these solutions studied and Global Concerns Projects used as case studies where appropriate. (Other UWC's are piloting similar courses, coordinated by the UWC of the Atlantic, Wales)
   
   

2. World Cultures (1994)

   (David Sutcliffe, Executive Director of UWC International Secretariat, UWC of the Adriatic, Via Trieste 29, 34013 Duino (TS) Italy. (Fax: + 39.40.373.9225)
   

   This course aims to inculcate understanding of cultural relativity and common humanity through a series of case studies of mainly artistic phenomena found in a variety of historic and contemporary cultures. Cases include, inter alia, Benin through bronze sculptures, Tokugawa Japan through woodblock print, Ottoman Turkey through calligraphy and ceramics, totem-pole culture of coastal British Columbia, propaganda art in Russia after the 1917 revolution, Gandhara sculptures and Mexican 20th century muralists. During the second part of the course students use concepts and techniques they have developed to come to terms with their local culture, examining examples themselves, and using study of milieu after the fact rather than prejudicing the original impression.
   
   

3. A Study of World Religions (1983)

   (Colin Jenkins, Principal, UWC of the Atlantic, St. Donat's Castle, Llantwit Major, South Glamorgan, CF6 9WF, (fax + 44.1446.794-163)
   

   The syllabus aims to promote awareness of religious issues and the contribution of religion to human culture in general, and awaken recognition of the challenge and practical consequences of religious belief. The overall aim is to deepen understanding and insight, not to proselytize. To (i) promote international understanding through education in the religious experience of humankind at a time when world tension is being accentuated by religious ignorance, fanaticism or prejudice; (ii) encourage positive, constructive, reflective and disciplined thought about the religious beliefs of humankind; (iii) provide students with an appreciation of the issues surrounding religious beliefs, controversies and movements in the world; (iv) sensitize students to important issues surrounding the questions of meaning and purpose of life; (v) enable students to discover what differing religious beliefs have to say, discern how answers affect peoples' lives, and encourage students to examine how they are helped personally by such insights.
   
   

4. Political Thought (1973)

   (Colin Jenkins, UWC of the Atlantic)
   

   Political Thought was selected as the most appropriate area of study within Political Science because (i) political institutions and political practice are assumed to be largely the product of political ideas, therefore the study of political ideas is the fundamental starting point for the study of politics; (ii) as Atlantic College has an international student body, the intricacies of a particular political system are not likely to be of general relevance, whereas ideas and concepts are of worldwide significance. Course aims are to (i) introduce students to some major work of political theory and to some basic political concepts; (ii) develop awareness of the nature of political problems; (iii) develop the capacity to recognize the strengths and weaknesses in one's own and other people's arguments; (iv) promote the development of independent judgement and the ability to communicate judgements coherently and with appropriate substantiation.
   
   

5. Peace and Conflict Studies (1994)

   (Colin Jenkins, UWC of the Atlantic)
   

   Peace and Conflict Studies demand a multidisciplinary approach, combining elements of subjects such as history, economics, politics, sociology, psychology and anthropology. Aims are to (i) study the concepts of peace, violence and conflict within and between individuals and societies; (ii) develop an understanding of the origins and causes of violence and conflict between and within individuals, groups, nations and states; (iii) develop an understanding of different processes and strategies of conflict resolution and the conditions and circumstances necessary for lasting peace; (iv) provide an introduction to the nature of Peace and Conflict Studies and of academic disciplines contributing to it; (v) develop the academic skills needed to successfully execute the course; (vi) develop an awareness of the existence of different interpretations relating to the topics studied in this course.
   
   

   Documents available from David Sutcliffe, Executive Director of UWC
   
   

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