Reflections on the International Baccalaureate Program: Graduates’ Perspectives

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a survey administered during the spring of 2005. At this time, graduates of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program from two public schools in a large city in British Columbia, Canada, were asked to respond to 20 statements on a 4-point Likert-type scale, and to 7 open-ended questions. Graduates from the years 1996 and 2000 were selected. At the time of this survey, many of the graduates of 2000 were just finishing their undergraduate postsecondary programs, and the graduates of 1996 were settling into their chosen careers. Both groups were in a position to reflect on their experiences while they were in the program, and also to analyze the benefits of IB, if any, that they experienced during their postsecondary studies. Overall, graduates reported positive experiences in the program. They felt that the rich curriculum to which they were exposed, and the critical thinking and time management skills that they developed, were well worth the extra effort required to earn an IB diploma. Furthermore, they felt that the IB experience prepared them well for postsecondary studies.

Developing Students for University through an International High School Program in Turkey

“…Similar to this study, Taylor and Porath (2006) found that IBDP students in Canada had positive feelings about their developments: The students believed that they had been exposed to a rich curriculum and that by the end of the program they had acquired better critical and time-management skills. They also claimed they had had more opportunities to prepare well for postsecondary studies compared to the normal high school program (Taylor & Porath, 2006).…”

“…They also claimed they had had more opportunities to prepare well for postsecondary studies compared to the normal high school program (Taylor & Porath, 2006). Demir (2009) explained that students, teachers, administrators, and parents in Turkey all agreed on the positive effect of IBDP on students' critical-thinking skills.…”

Comparison of Secondary Education Mother Tongue Teaching Courses in the International Baccalaureate Program with the National Program in terms of Critical Thinking

“…According to the students, while the national curricula represents an education system based on the transfer of information, the IBDP focuses on students' ability to think, produce, and use information. Taylor and Porath (2006) aimed to elicit the IBDP graduates' perception of the program, finding that students believed that they were able to improve their critical thinking and timemanagement skills due to the enhanced program, the extra effort that they made to receive an IBO diploma, and because the IB experiences prepared them well for higher education. Thelin et al (2002, p. 11 as cited in IBO, 2008 also reported a high level of satisfaction toward the IBDP.…”

Personal development in secondary education: the Irish Transition Year

“…The International Baccalaureate does accord importance to education for global citizenship alongside its academic curriculum, but it is aimed primarily at "gifted", "advanced", and highly-motivated students (cf. Foust, Hertberg-Davis & Callahan, 2009;Taylor & Porath, 2006) rather than the general school-going population, as is the case with Transition Year. Some other national systems incorporate an orientation year during which students choose an academic or vocational track for their future education (e.g., the Fren ch seconde), but these lack the emphasis that the Transition Year guidelines place on providing students with space to develop in the absence of examinations and a centrally-prescribed curriculum.…”