International Baccalaureate Organization

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This article refers to the organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland. For information about the French baccalauréat programme or the "option internationale du baccalauréat" (a.k.a French international baccalaureat) examination, see this article.

This article is part of the
International Baccalaureate
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The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly the International Baccalaureate Organisation (the name and logo were changed in 2007) is an international non-profit educational foundation, founded in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland.[1] The organisation administers three programmes for elementary, middle, and high schools which provide the schools with an international curriculum intended to be acceptable to universities around the world.

Note that International Baccalaureate Programme, or simply International Baccalaureate, is a common misnomer used to refer to one of these programmes (most frequently the IB Diploma Programme). High schools often advertise that they offer the “International Baccalaureate Programme,” in which case it is obvious that they are referring to the DP as it is the only one of the three programmes intended for students of senior high school age.


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[edit] History of the IB

A group of talented, forward thinking teachers at the International School of Geneva, with assistance from several other international schools, created the IB Diploma Programme. What started life as a single programme for internationally mobile students preparing for university, has today grown into three programmes for students aged 3-19.

The programme in the early days consisted of a common pre-university curriculum and a common set of external examinations for students in schools throughout the world, seeking to provide students with a truly international education. Although the first IB schools were predominantly private international schools, they included a very small number of private national institutions and schools belonging to state education departments. This has changed over the years and today over half of all IB World Schools (authorized to offer one or more of our programmes), are state schools.


[edit] History of the IB - Timeline

1968 - Diploma Programme
The IB Diploma Programme was created in English and French by teachers at the International School of Geneva with increasing assistance from several other international schools. The programme that led to the diploma consisted of a common pre-university curriculum and a common set of external examinations for students in schools throughout the world.

The Diploma Programme sought to provide students with a truly international education—an education that encouraged an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, languages and points of view. Schools that first offered the Diploma Programme were predominantly private international schools, but they included a very small number of private national institutions and schools belonging to state education departments. This has changed over the years and today around 50% of all Diploma Programme schools belong to governments (with no tuition fees).

The following schools participated in trial examinations in 1968:

United World College of the Atlantic, Wales, United Kingdom International School of Geneva, Switzerland United Nations International School (UNIS), New York, US International College, Beirut, Lebanon Copenhagen International School, Denmark Iranzamin International School, Teheran, Iran North Manchester High School for Girls, United Kingdom


1980’s - University recognition
Universities' acceptance, or “recognition” of the IB diploma initially came through the efforts of educational leaders and public figures such as Lord Mountbatten, John Goormaghtigh (director of the European Centre of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), and Alec Peterson (director of the Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University), who had close ties with governments.

From the early 1980s, regional offices have been promoting the IB diploma to universities and governments, with the support of IB schools in their areas. Some governments hesitated to grant recognition because they feared that IB schools would lure their most promising students away from the national educational system. However, as they came to understand that the Diploma Programme is a complement to their educational system and could help to improve national schools, they began to accept the IB diploma at a growing rate.

Today, the diploma is accepted by universities around the world, including the best universities in North America, the UK, continental Europe, and Australia, where the majority of diploma graduates enter higher education.


1994 - Middle Years Programme and Primary Years Programme
To give younger students access to an IB education, in 1994 the IB added the Middle Years Programme (MYP), a curriculum for students aged 11-16, and in 1997 it adopted the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students aged 3-11. These programmes were not then fully formed, but the IB has developed them so that they are now well rounded and complete. As with the Diploma Programme, the MYP and PYP seek to provide students with an international perspective and critical thinking skills.



2008 – The IB celebrates 40 years!

28 October 2008 marks 40 years since the official founding of the IB Organization in 1968. A group of international school teachers from different parts of the world, led initially by teachers at the International School of Geneva, created the IB Diploma Programme from 1962 and the first official trial examinations were held in 1968.

The IB Board of Governors celebrated the 40th anniversary in Atlanta with HH the Aga Khan delivering the Peterson Lecture and a gala dinner at the home of Ambassador Ann Cox Chambers. During 2008 IB offices around the world will celebrate this occasion in different ways.



[edit] IB going global

The IB opened four regional offices between the mid-1970s and the early 1980s. The first to be established, in 1977, was IB North America (IBNA), located in New York. IB North America works with schools in the US, Caribbean and Canada. The IB is popular among US public schools because it is seen as an answer to a perceived decline in the quality of public education. In addition, the IB’s international focus helps US schools to work with and benefit from increasingly multi cultural student populations.

In 1982, under the leadership of the head of an international school in Uruguay, the IB established a regional office in Buenos Aires (IB Latin America, or IBLA) to promote the Diploma Programme in Latin America.

That same year it created an office in Singapore (IB Asia-Pacific, or IBAP) that was headed by a senior official with the United World College in Singapore.

The IB’s Africa, Europe, and Middle East regional office (IBAEM) first opened in London in 1978. After several interim moves, IB Africa/Europe/Middle East settled in Geneva in 1994.


[edit] Programmes

The set of educational programmes managed by the IBO is intended for students aged 3 to 19.[2] These programmes provide schools with curriculums that are broadly applicable worldwide. The three IB programmes are the following:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Overview of the International Baccalaureate Organization. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
  2. ^ International Baccalaureate Organization (home page). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
  3. ^ International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
  4. ^ International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
  5. ^ International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.

[edit] External links