From Theory to Practice: A Critical Review of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) incorporates student-centred, inquiry-based and transdisciplinary learning while focusing on the holistic development of students (IB, 2009c). At the core of the IB is the commitment to inter nationalminded ness, which promotes intercultural education (IB, 2015a). The IBPYP thus includes a number of laudable strengths. However, as no educational system can ever be perfect, it is logical to assume that there are areas for further development in the IBPYP. This paper seeks to identify shortcomings and gaps in IBPYP curriculum documents and suggest possible means through which the effectiveness of the IBPYP and its curriculum documents may be enhanced, The paper is thus a critical response to the IBPYP, as portrayed through its curriculum documents, and seeks to address the following questions:What, are the shortcomings and gaps in IBPYP curriculum documents?How might the effectiveness of the IBPYP and its curriculum documents be enhanced?Curriculum documents analysed include printed materials such as books, posters, brochures and reports, as well digitally published information accessible on the IB and Online Curriculum Centre (OCC) websites.The IBThe International Baccalaureate is a not-for-profit organization founded over 45 years ago with the aim of creating a better, more peaceful world through high quality, international education (IB, 2015a). The IB currently operates in 143 countries and comprises over 4200 schools, 75,000 teachers and 1,250,000 students aged three to 19 (IB, 2015a). The IB offers four programmes (see Figure 1), each of which 'promotes the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, emotional, social and physical growth, involving the traditions of learning in languages, humanities, sciences, mathematics and the arts' (IB, 2009c, p. 1). No IB programme is a pre-requisite for another IB programme, and IB schools are therefore not required to offer more than one programme unless they so wish (IBO, 2009c).The IB Diploma Programme, the first of the IB programmes, was developed in the aftermath of the Second World War with the intention of promoting intercultural understanding and world peace (Hill & Saxton, 2014). This commitment remains at the heart of the IB mission statement (IBO, 2015a), a philosophical underpinning common to all four IB programmes:The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create abetter 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, (p. 1)The Learner Profile (LP), a central feature of all four IB programmes (IB, 2009c) consists of the following ten dispositions that collectively define an international-minded learner (IB, 2006): Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risktakers, Balanced and Reflective (IB, 2013b, p. 1). The LP is the 'IB mission statement in action and provides a set of learning behaviours which aims to inspire, motivate and focus students, teachers and the entire IB School community, uniting them in a common purpose' (IB, 2015a, p. 1). The LP is intentionally value laden, as it aims consciously to nurture dispositions that further the aims of the mission statement (IB, 2009c). Value-laden programmes, according to Ball, (1995, as cited in Wells, 2011) have long-term benefits for students as they lead to character formation and the knowledge of values.The IBPYPThe IBPYP, a programme for students aged three to 12, has grown significantly since its launch in 1997 and currently has over 1300 authorized schools in over 100 countries (IB, 2015d). …