English A instructor and examiner of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, Edward Ong, discusses the strengths of the IB programme.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), a two-year pre-university course often seen as A-Levels’ chief rival, has the reputation of being a challenging and demanding undertaking among Malaysian high-school students.

The reputation may or may not be wholly deserved, but what every pre-university student must understand, prior to making a decision that will determine his or her future prospects, is that the IBDP is only ideal for certain types of learners.

A bullet-point summary of the IBDP

• Three core elements.
• Six subject groups: Studies in language and literature, Language acquisition, Individuals and societies, Sciences, Mathematics, the Arts.
  • Theory of Knowledge, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.
  • The Extended Essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.
  • Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), in which students complete a project related to those three concepts.
• 6 subjects x 7 points (equivalent to A*) + Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay, 3 points = maximum 45 points.
• Internationally recognised.
• The entire course takes 24 months to complete.

See the IBO website for details.

Most universities will gladly embrace three A-Levels, but the IBDP requires six subjects (across disparate disciplines), with CAS and the Extended Essay to boot.

One could, with hard work, complete three A-Level subjects in one year, but with the IB there is essentially no short-cut. Its two-year duration is often a deterrent. For a shrewd student or a parent with tightened purse strings, the choice is easily made.

And yet there are many who have opted for IB – and emerged triumphant, scoring 40 points and above. How does one explain this phenomenon?

Strengths of the IB program

A holistic approach to education

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the IBO embraces a holistic approach to education. Its central philosophy, which it calls the Learner Profile, stipulates that the IB learner must ‘strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective.’

If all this sounds familiar to the reader, it is because the same ideals have been parroted by countless other programmes in recent years. The word ‘holistic’ has lost its true meaning, only to be used by most schools as some sort of a New Age by-word for progressiveness. The IB does not pay lip service to holism; it expects every school that offers the programme to embrace its Learner Profile without compromise.

The IB’s propagation of holistic education is seen in the six disciplines it offers. This means that the IB candidate must be intellectually prepared to face the challenges presented by all these subjects. In the IB world, the Sciences do not take precedence over the Arts. All disciplines are created equal. The intention is to produce a rounded learner who is as competent at solving algebraic equations as analysing the imagery in Rilke’s poetry. This is the classical model.

Once upon a Greek time, scholars were expected to be well-versed in all ‘systems.’ This notion of education has become obsolete in a world which extols specialisation and categorisation. The IB’s approach to education is an antidote to the segmenting and narrowing of knowledge, and a promise to cultivate emotional maturity in the learner.

Paving the way for tertiary education

In our result-driven society where students are measured by their grades and a less than glowing report means a failed individual, the IB philosophy presses home the necessity of risk-taking and the importance of dealing with failures in a grown-up, constructive manner. Students are required to take responsibility for their own actions, thoughts, and words – underlined by the IB’s recently updated policy of academic honesty.

The Extended Essay, a unique aspect of the IBDP, paves the way for tertiary education. Students are also expected to be ‘inquirers’ and ‘open-minded.’ The global nature of the IBDP easily lends itself to this. In Group 1 English A Literature Higher Level, for instance, students study a minimum of three (translated) literary texts not written in English – a rare feature in a market where most English programmes are Anglocentric.

IB is best for students with a wide range of interests

The IBDP is aimed at learners who are all-rounders and who prize versatility above specificity. The ability to multi-task is a requirement, given the multi-faceted nature of the course.

Most of all, the ideal IB learner should be one who views challenges as a means to get ahead in life, and not as dispiriting impediments. An open and inquisitive mind can also go a long way. In short, it takes a special personality to take on the IB. Are you ready for the challenge?