IB Primary Years Programme

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This article is part of a series on the International Baccalaureate

IB programmes: Primary Years Programme (PYP) Middle Years Programme (MYP) Diploma Programme (DP)

Institutions: International Baccalaureate (formerly IBO) United World Colleges

Lists: IB people

IBDP curriculum: Group 1: Language A1 Group 2: Second language Group 3: Individuals and societies Group 4: Experimental sciences Group 5: Mathematics and computer science Group 6: The arts Extended essay (EE) Theory of knowledge (TOK) Creativity, action, service (CAS)

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students aged 3 to 11. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Years Programme, it is not a prerequisite for it. The subject areas of the PYP are language, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social and physical education. Students are required to learn a second language during the programme. Assessment is carried out by teachers according to strategies provided by the IB, and with respect to guidelines to what the students should learn specified in the curriculum model.

Contents 1 Mission Statement 2 History of the Programme 3 The Programme's Educational Philosophy 4 The IB Learner Profiles 5 Participation 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] Mission Statement

The mission statement of the International Baccalaureate is as follows:

"The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end, the IB works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate, and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right."^[1]

[edit] History of the Programme

The programme was created by a group of international school educators (Kevin Bartlett of the Vienna International School, Paul Lieblich of Lyford Cay International School, Robert Landau of the Commonwealth American School of Lausanne and Susan Stengal of the Copenhagen International School), who wished to create a non-national based "best practice" educational framework for international schools. This group formed the International Schools Curriculum Project which received funding from original member schools and through the IBO from Shell Oil's international education division. After several years of development and increasing popularity the founding group decided to hand the "project" over to the IBO for management and continuing development.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The Programme's Educational Philosophy

The philosophy of the PYP is to make the students into "inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, well-balanced, and reflective."^[2]

[edit] The IB Learner Profiles

As mentioned above there are 10 IB learner profiles. PYP documents describe the PYP student profile as "the common ground on which PYP schools stand, the essence of what they are about" (Making the PYP Happen, 2000). Through the programmes the students should develop these traits. These traits orginated in the PYP where it was called the "PYP student profle," but since the practitioners thought learning shouldn't come to a stop at age 11, they carried these profiles through to the completion of the Diploma Programmes; therefore, it's now called the "IB Learner Profile." The learner profile is a profile of the person as a life long learner. From the International Baccalaureate Organization 2007: Participant Workbook, Introduction to the PYP, the following is what IB learners strive to be: Inquirers: Students develop their natural curiosity. Knowledgeable: Students explore concepts, ideas and issues that have both a local and global significance. Thinkers: Students think critically to engage themselves in figuring out complex problems. Communicators: Students express themselves and information through a variety of modes of communication. Principled: Students act honestly and with a strong sense of fairness, justice, and respect for the dignity of the individual, groups, and communities. Open-minded: Students appreciate their own cultures and personal histories and are open to the perspectives, values and traditions of other individuals and communities. Caring:Students show respect and compassion towards the needs of others. Risk-takers: Students approach unfamiliar situations with courage as well as defend their beliefs. Balanced: Students understand the importance of intellectual, physical and emotional balance to achieve personal well-being. Reflective: Students give consideration to their own learning and experience. ^[3]

[edit] Participation

In order to participate in the IB Primary Years Programme, students must attend an authorised IB World School. ^[4] "A PYP school is expected to implement the programme in an inclusive manner, so that all students in all the grades/year levels in the school or in the primary division of a school are engaged fully with the PYP."^[5]

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• The Primary Years Programme at the official IB website.