To IB or not to IB: Understanding the International Baccalaureate

Last year, Melbourne’s Preshil Independent School announced that it will no longer offer the VCE, Victoria’s equivalent to the HSC. Instead, the school will teach only the syllabus for the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma from 2018 onward.

Preshil is the first school in Victoria to abandon the VCE in favour of the IB but it may not be the last. Take-up of the IB is growing rapidly throughout Australia and around the world. More than 63,000 students at 4000 schools internationally attained an IB diploma in 2015, representing an increase of almost 50 per cent in the last five years.

In Australia, the numbers are growing even more strongly. Since 2000, participation has tripled with almost 1900 students at 63 schools throughout Australia earning their IB diplomas last year.

So what is the IB and why is its popularity surging?

The IB program was established in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, with a pedagogical mission to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.”

Its academically rigorous curriculum stresses critical reasoning and breadth of knowledge over specialisation and rote learning. All diploma students must study literature and a second language, as well as an experimental science, mathematics, and a humanities subject. A sixth subject of their choosing – either from the creative arts or a second academic subject – is also required.

The unique aspect of the IB is seen in its three “core” elements: the Theory of Knowledge component, in which students study the nature of knowledge and its acquisition; the Extended Essay, a self-directed 4000-word research paper; and the Creativity, Activity, Service project, a learn-through-experience assignment in which students set themselves a significant personal challenge to surmount under the guidance of a supervisor.

In the IB organisation’s view, self-regulated, lifelong learning is the key to success at university and in the world of work, business and enterprise. As such, it aims to produce students “who can learn in any situation, at any time, in any place, from any person, using any media or technology – without the support of teachers.”

The high level of independence promoted by the IB is not for everyone though. When it comes to choosing between the HSC and the IB diploma, Redlands school, the first in NSW to offer the IB diploma in 1988, advises that parents take into account their child’s natural inclinations. The IB is better suited to students of a generalist bent due to the second language, maths and science requirements, Redlands cautions. As well, students will need to develop excellent time management and organisational skills to succeed to the best of their ability, the school says.

Trinity Grammar offers similar advice, saying that “between the HSC or IB there is no wrong answer. The decision should take into account a student’s interests and which course is better suited to them. Both courses offer rich opportunities for learning.”

In NSW, the IB diploma is only offered at select independent schools. For more information on the International Baccalaureate and participating Australian schools see the organisation’s website: http://www.ibo.org/

Read more:

Melbourne private school scraps VCE in favour of International Baccalaureate – Kellie Lazzaro, the World Today, ABC radio, November 2, 2015
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4343482.htm?site=melbourne

How to help your son decide between the HSC and IB courses – Trinity Grammar website
http://info.trinity.nsw.edu.au/how-to-help-your-son-decide-between-the-hsc-and-ib-courses?hs_preview=C2DNTd1e-4068134628

International Baccalaureate information page – Redlands school website
http://www.redlands.nsw.edu.au/education/international-baccalaureate/

International Baccalaureate website: http://www.ibo.org/

Association of Australasian IB Schools website: http://www.aaibs.org/