Regional Office Newsletter Africa, Europe, Middle East Our strategy for 2012 includes improving ministry
Welcome from Adrian
and government relations within the different
Kearney, Regional Director
recognition agreements to allow students to be
This
issue
of
our
markets offered
regional
newsletter will give you greater insight into the activities of our Regional Development team. The team has been established to enable, facilitate and support the sustainable growth of the IB programmes in Africa, Europe and Middle East. The team supports the strategic direction of the work of the IB in 83 out of the 141 IB countries in the world with IB programmes. In future issues we will give you more details on the activities
of
School
Services
and
Professional
Development. In the meantime you can find organisation charts for the regional office on our website http://www.ibo.org/ibaem/regional_office/
education
in
a
establishing national
or
international context, through a state, private or public
partnership.
Governmental
educational
change takes time. Building close and trusted relationships
with
ministries,
brokering
relationships between schools and the ministry are key components of Regional Development. As a team, we work in close cooperation with our regional counterparts and global colleagues in Communications
and
Marketing,
Recognition,
Curriculum Development, Assessment and Access and Advancement departments. The Africa, Europe and Middle East region is unique in its diversity and represents the historical heart of the IB. This region celebrates the origins of the IB in Geneva, with Geneva International School being the first IB
of projects developed through the Access and Advancement team.
Our work is guided by the IB strategic plan and regional priorities, but the sometimes of
unpredictable working
with
governments and ministries means that at times, we have
IB
and
shared in the region, along with a significant group
Development
Theresa Forbes Head Regional Development, Africa, Europe, Middle East
an
strengthening
School. Around half of the world’s languages are
Spotlight on Regional
nature
and
to
respond
to
opportunities and challenges at short notice.
Currently there are 847 schools in the AEM region, authorized to offer: IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) 176 schools IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) 156 schools IB Diploma Programme (DP) 762 schools In addition, there are 17 AEM schools from six countries currently being authorized to offer IBCC from September 2012 onwards.
We categorise our work in the different countries
Current Government initiatives include confirming
that we are focusing on in the following way:
cooperation agreements in Jordan and Dubai; securing recognition in another 10 AEM countries
- We sustain and develop mature markets with steady or stabilizing growth.
for DP, securing recognition for IBCC in five countries and five Higher Education Institutions
- We secure our presence in potential countries
(HEIs) within those countries.
where economic studies tell us there is further room for growth, for example the Middle East.
In addition to having country representation in our
- We focus on emerging new markets such as
two largest markets, the UK and Spain, we have
Eurasia and some African countries.
recently secured regional representation in Africa
-
We
monitor
those
countries,
where
we
and the Middle East.
sometimes see unexpected interest arise, because of an EU grant, or where educational reform opens
Ghana Symposium
up a new opportunity.
On April 25th the AEM regional office organized a Symposium in Accra, Ghana with the objective to
Recent achievements
develop
the
IB
strategy
in
Africa
in
close
In the last 12 months, seven government policy
consultation
changes
IB
Representatives from 19 IB World Schools joined
programmes, including the significant recognition
the IB delegation
of the MYP in Germany, to allow schools currently
to
offering
needs of schools
were
MYP
made
to
in
gain
favour
of
equivalence
the
with
the
with
IB
schools
in
the
region.
discuss
the
secondary leaving certificate (this has taken over
on
three years of cooperative advocacy and lobbying
continent and to
to achieve).
identify
the
African the
opportunities and The accreditation of IBCC in England, Wales and
challenges for implementing IB programmes. An
Northern Ireland was achieved in October 2011.
orientation seminar was also held for schools in
In the last year, the Italian ministry has agreed to widen the choice of IBDP courses to students, thereby allowing for a fuller and more authentic diploma
experience.
The
Dutch
Ministry
of
Education now allows Dutch students attending dual stream Dutch/international schools to take the IB diploma.
West Africa and other key stakeholders to learn more about the IB programmes and how schools can benefit from delivering an IB education to their students. In addition, representatives from IB World Schools in West Africa took steps towards the formation of an Association of IB World Schools in West Africa. The recommendations and outcomes from the discussions will be published and shared
with representatives of IB World Schools across the region.
2012
-
2013
Professional
Development Workshops The
latest
edition
catalogue
of
Development
of
Online Professional Development This
newsletter
from
the
Online
Professional
Development team will bring you up-to-date with our
Professional
what’s happening with IB online Professional Development, available here
workshops
scheduled from August 2012 to July 2013 in the Africa, Europe
MYP Coordinators Notes
and Middle East region is now
MYP Coordinator’s Notes have been published on
available online.
the OCC and are available in English and French and Spanish. The notes give you the latest
The catalogue includes all the PD events that are
information about the Middle Years Programme.
planned to date. There are many more new category 3 workshops on
offer
that
experienced
IB
will
give
Educators
the to
opportunity deepen
for their
knowledge about the different IB programmes. In addition, we have increased the regional spread of our workshops as well as increasing the number of languages our workshops are provided in.
DP Mathematics Courses The review of the group 5 mathematics courses is complete and the first year of teaching for the new courses is September 2012 (May session schools) or February 2013 (November session schools), with first examinations in 2014.
The pool of trained workshop leaders is constantly
Throughout the review process for all subjects,
being grown and we are innovating with new
teachers were encouraged through items on the
models of in-school and cluster based workshops
Online
to help reduce costs for schools.
Diploma Coordinator Notes to provide feedback,
Curriculum
Centre
(OCC)
and
in
the
starting with questionnaires on the current courses Visit http://www.ibo.org/events regularly for the
and
latest updates.
Suggestions for syllabus change in each subject
then
comments
on
proposed
changes.
varied tremendously and were all considered by the review team. More information available here
dynamic platform of good practice (Learner profile
The Learner Profile Review
in action), all available from the OCC. The IB also
Originally developed as the ‘student profile’ in the IB
Primary
Years
Programme (1997), the IB learner profile was adopted by
the
Middle
Programme
and
Years Diploma
Programme in 2005 as the centrepiece of the IB continuum of international education.
Like
all
aspects
of
its
curriculum
frameworks, the learner profile is subject to review by the IB learning community. Because of its importance
to
programmes
IB
and
World
Schools
certificate
and
offerings
the they
implement, this review claims a special importance and calls for high levels of participation and widely-dispersed, creative, critical reflection.
This year’s regional conference in
Madrid will be an important venue for input and discussion among IB educators in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Late in 2012, a culturally-
diverse group of thinkers will study results and make recommendations about the learner profile’s future development. In September, IB educators will be able to apply to be part of the process.
schools in their exploration of the IB learner profile, including the IB learner profile booklet, a literature of
the
learner
profile
in
light
and
online
professional
profile. Last year, a group of IB educators helped to organize The IB learner profile: Resources for reflection, published on the OCC in March 2012. This document contains ten learning engagements designed to be ‘user-friendly’ and ready to use ‘off the shelf.’ Where possible, the packet contains materials that can easily be reproduced. It is available in English, Spanish, French and Arabic. Groups and individuals are invited to contribute to the review by completing a brief survey online.
‘virtual focus group’ is available for contributing more extended comments.
Update on the IBCC Seventeen schools from six countries in the AEM region are currently being authorized to offer the IB
Career-related
of
contemporary learning theory, a personal position paper by former IB Director General George Walker (East is East and West is West), and an online
programme
(IBCC)
from
September 2012.
A number of resources are available to support
review
face-to-face
The survey is accessible until October 2012. A
This review of the learner profile is underway through 2013.
offers
development workshops focusing on the learner
The
IBCC provides new opportunities for schools to give students access to an IB Education and its framework allows for implementation within different educational
systems. The application round for September 2013
they apply. All Heads will receive access to a portal
is now open and a briefing for all existing and
in the next month that will allow them to see the
schools considering IBCC schools will take place in
assignments that have been made for staff in their
London on June 13 2012. The day is directed
school regarding both workshops and school visits.
towards existing and potential IBCC coordinators,
This new service will make the process both more
teachers and senior school leaders.
transparent and efficient for all concerned.
As well as a keynote speaker there will be
In view of the increase in schools requesting
workshops led by experienced IBCC teachers and
authorization for the Primary Years Programme, we
school leaders including sessions on:
are actively recruiting candidates to be trained in the following roles as IB Educators for the PYP. You
Approaches to Learning
will find a full description of the roles on our
The Reflective Project
website or apply here.
Vocational learning
Developing vocational links with industry.
This event is hosted jointly by the IB and IBSCA.
Workshop Leader – PYP
Team Member – PYP
Application Reader – PYP
Details available on the IBSCA website .
IB Educators Network (IBEN)
Associations Associations
Across the IB community, thousands of education
educator network and the IB has been built on this spirit of collaboration among educators.
participants for school services and professional development assignments in the AEM region, we launched a new and greatly improved process.
any
assignments
good practice. Associations are often active in negotiating university and government recognition for IB programmes and can be an indispensable
they
time. Expanding access to an IB Education is an integral part of the IB mission and associations play an important
This new process is designed to ensure that all discuss
gatherings and the exchange of
resource for schools discovering the IB for the first
In order to simplify the process for inviting IBEN
educators
important
for school collaboration, informal
and collectively form an important resource in of the IB programmes. These people form the IB
an
role to play by providing a forum
professionals give their time and support to the IB sustaining the operation, quality and development
have
are
considering applying for with their Heads before
part
in
helping
this
come
about.
Recently the regional office has participated in meetings with the Dutch, UK, Middle East, CIS, Nordic and Polish associations, as well as the Saudi
Arabia IB coordinators. We know that there is
meaning, purpose and greater personal expression
interest in forming an Association in many other
to the lives of young people and to Leaders.
countries such as Italy, Morocco, the Danube area and West Africa. For more information on forming
Additionally, there is a full-day Pre-conference
an
Professional Development Leadership workshop for
Association,
please
contact
us
at
ibaem.development@ibo.org.
Heads of School and Senior Leaders Leadership and a half-day academic workshop for Heads and
Regional Conference
Teachers. It should be noted that places are limited for both these workshops. Full details are available on our website.
Registration is open for the Regional Conference
Recognition
being held in Madrid from Thursday 4th October
The recognition team continue to make sure that
to Sunday 7th and ‘Early Bird’ fees apply until 15th
universities
June 2012. Register here .
Programme and are making offers to students that
We can already announce some of the speakers and more details will be available on the website as they are confirmed. Veronica Boix-Mansilla is Chair of the Future of Learning at Harvard Graduate School of Education and is a Principal Investigator at Project Zero.
fully
understand
are deemed to be fair.
the
Diploma
The UK is a significant
destination for many of our IB students across the world and we can report that many meetings have been held with universities and we have worked closely with UCAS in the Qualifications Information Review consultation and participated in UCAS conferences. Adrian Kearney, Regional Director, wrote personally to the Vice-Chancellors at the Russell Group and also the 1994 Group and received many positive expressions of support
Lance King is an internationally
including letters from Cambridge, the London
recognized author, teacher and
School of Economics (LSE), Exeter, Birmingham,
workshop facilitator who, in the
Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and York.
last 17 years, has worked with over 150,000 students worldwide.
Our University Liaison Officer in the UK continues to meet with a wide range of senior admissions
Ben Walden’s passion is using
staff in UK universities, and we are working to
theatre as a medium to bring
provide a more ‘data-driven’ approach to our
recognition work. Events are being organised such as a one day conference for University Guidance
Press Coverage
Counsellors with speakers from experienced IB
We continue to monitor the image of the IB in the
schools (state and private) and the Director of
media to ensure that the correct messages are
Admissions at Oxford University.
conveyed and to this end have hired a Public
Across the region we appreciate that many of you are also in contact with your local and senior government and university officials as well.
Relations
agency
to
supplement
our
internal
resources. In the last few weeks alone we have had extremely positive coverage in major national newspapers in the UK and elsewhere.
Orientation Events
We seek every opportunity to be present in the
The regional office will be offering 6 one day
when required. This will include the release of
seminars in AEM regional hub cities in 2012-13.
statements following the publication of IB Diploma
The likely locations for these events will be
Programme
Netherlands, Dubai, Qatar, Jordan, London, Madrid,
continuing to issue press releases about the
Poland, Eurasia and Southern Africa (Cape Town
positive IB stories in your school is also an
and Johannesburg).
essential
media and to rapidly respond to press coverage
Half day orientation seminars will also be held on the
Friday
afternoon
of
planned
three
day
professional development workshops.
results
component
mission and learner profile and an enquiry based approach to learning and an overview of all 4 IB
public
World Student Conferences students from over
Please review the IB website for information about these sessions http://www.ibo.org/ibaem.
40
countries
confirmed participants
To find out more about these orientation seminars ibaem.development@ibo.org.
strengthening
in
including to parents and student.
With close to 500
Development
support
You may find the regional press web page useful
programme specific breakout sessions.
Regional
to
Your
perceptions of the IB.
programmes. The one day seminars will include
the
July.
as a source of articles and quotes for presentations
The seminars will include an overview of the IB
contact
in
team
at
as in
the
upcoming
World
Student
Conferences, they look to be of great interest. The registration deadline has been extended to 31 May 2012, full details here: http://www.ibo.org/wsc/
Call for submissions - IB Journal of Teaching Practice An online research journal sharing the best ideas in teaching
The council met in March 2012 in The Hague and the report from the Chair is available here. A list of members is available on our website .
Out and about
and learning practice; written by
Regional or academic staff have taken part in many
teachers, reviewed by teachers
events throughout the region and in the last
and published for teachers.
months
have
been
at
the
Private
Schools
Association Turkey, UCAS Annual Conference for
A global, multilingual publication
teachers & advisers, UK; Going Global, UK; ECIS,
Focused on teaching and learning
Vienna; International Association of Teachers of
practices that align to the IB philosophy
English
Particularly relevant to the IB programmes
Scotland;
European
and IB practitioners
Educators,
Turkey;
Multimedia formats, including video, audio
Economics
and
and graphics, as well as traditional written
Netherlands; IB schools association meetings in
articles.
Poland, UK, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Sweden.
as
a
Foreign
Language
Association Educational
Business
Conference, of
History
Innovation
Conference,
in The
Interested researchers should submit their work by
Upcoming events include the Council of British
15 June 2012 for consideration for the inaugural
International Schools, London; Association of Dutch
issue in 2013. Submissions received after this date
IB World Schools; Royal Anthropological Institute
will be considered for publication in future issues.
annual conference, London; Association of IB Schools in Turkey; Sunday Times Festival of
Find more information on the journal website.
Regional Council The IB Africa, Europe, Middle East council serves as a strategic advisory board for the regional director and provides information and assistance related to IB issues in various parts of the region. There are 13 members, elected by the Regional Council.
Education, London; UCAS International Teachers & Advisors Conference; International Conference on Learning, London.
MYP Research A research study examined student performance
Newly Authorized IB World Schools
among IB and non-IB students on the International
We congratulate and welcome
Schools’ Assessment (ISA) and determined that PYP
these schools in the region
and MYP students, in most instances performed as
who have been authorized in
well or better than their non-IB peers across all
recent months:
four ISA assessment domains, including math literacy, reading, narrative writing, and expository writing. Press release available here
King Fahad Academy, United Kingdom, PYP Bradfield College, United Kingdom, DP Costeas-Geitonas School, Greece, PYP
IB Publishing
Bryanston School, United Kingdom, DP Platon School, Greece, PYP Northside Primary School, Botswana, PYP
IB Publishing has recently released some great new
Kristiansand International School, Norway, PYP
resources and have more to release soon that
Ambrit Rome International School, Italy, PYP
compliment the IB’s programmes, mission and
Kristiansand International School, Norway, MYP
values.
International School of Zug and Luzern, Luzern
For MYP
International School Uwekind, Bulgaria, MYP
MYP Inquire workbook – available now MYP Taskbanks Online for Humanities, English B, French B and Spanish B – available May 2012 IB Skills: A Practical Guide to ATL – available September 2012 IB Skills: A Practical Guide to ATL (teacher’s book) – available September 2012
For DP CAS illustrated– available now Developing Skills for Text Types: A guide for Students of Spanish – available now For IB schools and educators in general Journeys in Learning Across Frontiers: Stories, strategies and inspiration from the IB community – available July 2012 Ways to Learn Through Inquiry: Guiding Children to Deeper Understanding – available July 2012
Campus, Switzerland, PYP King Faisal Pre-School, Saudi Arabia, PYP ATUT Bilingual Primary and Secondary School, Poland, MYP Colegio Montserrat, Spain, DP Aula Escola Europea, Spain, DP International School of London Qatar, Qatar, PYP Espoo International School, Finland, MYP Advanced Learning Schools, Saudi Arabia, MYP Adapazari Enka Private Primary School, Turkey, PYP Naseem International School, Bahrain, MYP Sek El Castillo, S.L., Spain, PYP ISTEK Barış Schools, Turkey, PYP International School Almere, Netherlands, MYP Friends Boys School, Ramallah, MYP Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet, Sweden, DP