.png)
What is International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. The programme is the first step of the four IB educational programmes IB offers. It prepares students for the IB Middle Years Programme. The subject areas of the PYP are language, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social and physical education. Students are required to learn a second language during the programme. Assessment is carried out by teachers according to strategies provided by the IB, and with respect to guidelines to what the students should learn specified in the curriculum model.
IB learner profile
IB has a learner profile with 10 attributes for students to develop during the programme. These attributes illustrate the qualities of an internationally-minded person and a lifelong learner. IB learners strive to be:
Inquirers: Students develop their natural curiosity.
Knowledgeable: Students explore concepts, ideas and issues that have both a local and global significance.
Thinkers: Students think critically to engage themselves in figuring out complex problems.
Communicators: Students express themselves and information through a variety of modes of communication.
Principled: Students act honestly and with a strong sense of fairness, justice, and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups, and communities.
Open-minded: Students appreciate their own cultures and personal histories and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities.
Caring: Students show respect and compassion towards the needs of others.
Risk-takers: Students approach unfamiliar situations with courage, as well as defend their beliefs.
Balanced: Students understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being.
Reflective: Students give thoughtful consideration to their own learning and experience.
Transdisciplinary themes
The IBPYP curriculum has six transdisciplinary themes. While the themes are universal and applicable to all cultures, the expectation is that there are certain core values, skills and knowledge for international schools, students and educators. The themes are as follows:
Who we are: An inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities, and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
Where we are in place and time: An inquiry into orientation in place and time; personal histories; homes and journeys; the discoveries, explorations and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnections of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
How we express ourselves: An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
How the world works: An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world (physical and biological) and human societies; how humans use their understanding of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on society and on the environment.
How we organize ourselves: An inquiry into the interconnections of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
Sharing the planet: An inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share finite resources with other people and with other living things; communities and the relationships within and between them; access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
IBPYP’s Strengths
- The IB learner profile has a clear set of qualities that guide students to be internationally-minded and lifelong learners
- IBPYP focuses on the holistic growth of a developing children with the goal of making a difference in their own lives, communities, and the wider world
- The themes are set up in non-restrictive ways that encourage teachers to include multiple disciplines into the planning and lessons they deliver building conceptual understanding in young learners
- Children are encouraged to be active learners and collaborate with teachers to set classroom expectations strengthening their commitment to achieving said expectations
- Rich research supports teachers with best practices and innovative lesson plan resources giving more time for tailoring lesson material to be developmentally appropriate and interesting for the target students
- High standards and expectations are guaranteed by the IB requisites established for schools to implement any IB programme
- Students must learn more than one language during their schooling PYP programme setting them up for further language learning in the future
- IBPYP program has an international and global focus and parents can rest assured moving from country to country their students will fit in easily to the programme without missing any knowledge that would put them behind in their studies
- The IB programme is taught in 156 countries, with 1,359 schools in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, another 600 schools in the Asia-Pacific and over 3,000 schools in the Americas
IBPYP’s Limitations
- Expensive specialized three-day professional-development courses, which cost $1,000 per teacher
- Expensive $10,000 in application fees to get a school considered for IB authorization
- Yearly fees of $8,850 for high schools and $5,220 for middle and primary schools bring up costs
- Many IB schools are not centrally located and require large commutes for children who attend them
- Strenuous prerequisites for a school to become and maintain their IBPYP programme
- IBPYP is required to be school-wide for adopting schools and can cause challenges for international schools that also cater to the domestic market due to restrictions imposed by governments on the content that must be taught
- Portfolios especially digitally need to be better managed to provide the evidence of learning for teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders to assess.
- No clear continuums available for guidance with assessment on the learner profile make it difficult to conceptualise how a student has progressed towards the desired qualities
Effectiveness of IBPYP
International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes are growing rapidly worldwide, driven in part by their global reputation and concept-driven, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. A wide range of stakeholder’s report that IB programmes develop research and critical thinking skills, intercultural appreciation and global awareness, as well as cultivate collaborative working cultures and creative pedagogical practices among teachers (Dickson, Perry, & Ledger, 2018). Challenges that face the IBPYP programme include extra demands on teachers for lesson planning and assessment, additional stress for teachers and students, and competing demands and expectations with national requirements.
Comments