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Developing skills for youth in the 21st century: The role of elite International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme schools in China

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Abstract

There is a growing body of research suggesting that schools need to respond to changing social and economic dynamics by prioritising “21st-century skills”. Proponents of this view, who have been termed “the 21st century skills movement”, have called for greater emphasis on cognitive and non-cognitive skills development, alongside the learning of subject content and technical skills. This paper explores the potential of International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) schools to respond to this mandate in China, one of the fastest-growing markets for International Baccalaureate® (IB) schools globally. The authors’ research team undertook a multi-site case study of five elite IBDP schools in China. Their findings revealed confidence among interviewees that the IB educational philosophy was conducive to 21st-century skills development, especially through the provision of the three IBDP “Core Requirements”, which are Creativity, Action, Service (CAS), Extended Essay (EE) and Theory of Knowledge (TOK). Despite this confidence, concerns remain about the implementation of the IB educational philosophy in the context of IBDP schools in China.

Résumé

Développer les compétences des jeunes au XXIe siècle : le rôle en Chine des écoles d’élite du Programme du diplôme du Baccalauréat international – Un corpus croissant d’études propose que les établissements scolaires réagissent à la nouvelle dynamique sociale et économique en accordant la priorité aux « compétences pour le XXIe siècle ». Les adeptes de ce point de vue, désignés par le « mouvement des compétences pour le XXIe siècle », appellent à valoriser l’acquisition des compétences cognitives et non cognitives, parallèlement à l’apprentissage du contenu des matières et des compétences techniques. Cet article explore le potentiel des écoles du Programme du diplôme du Baccalauréat international (IB) de remplir cette mission en Chine, l’un des marchés à plus forte croissance au monde pour les écoles de l’IB. L’équipe de chercheurs des auteurs a entrepris une étude de cas multi-sites dans cinq écoles chinoises de l’IB. Leurs résultats établissent que les personnes interrogées estiment la philosophie pédagogique de l’IB favorable à l’acquisition des compétences pour le XXIe siècle, notamment à travers les trois « composantes obligatoires » de l’IB : le mémoire, la théorie de la connaissance et le programme créativité, action, service (CAS). Malgré ces réponses positives, des doutes ont été émis quant à l’application de la philosophie pédagogique de l’IB dans le contexte des écoles concernées en Chine.

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Notes

  1. The International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation which was founded in 1968. It offers four programmes for students aged 3 to 19 to help them develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalising world. Besides the Diploma Programme (DP), designed to prepare students aged 16 to 19 for success at university and life beyond, the IB also offers the Primary Years Programme (PYP; for students aged 3–12) and the Middle Years Programme (MYP; for students aged 11–16). The fourth programme offered by the IB is a Career-related Certificate (IBCC) for students aged between 16 and 19 (IB 2012a).

  2. As well as “Core Requirements”, IBDP students complete six courses from subject groups, including “Studies in language and literature’, “Language acquisition”, “Individuals and societies”, “Experimental sciences”, “Mathematics” and “The arts” (IB 2014d).

  3. Developed and developing country status is based on World Bank (2014b) classifications.

  4. A small number of state schools do, however, offer the IBDP to Chinese nationals.

  5. Capital fees are charged by some schools to cover capital expenditure including investment to maintain, enhance or develop new facilities.

  6. These figures are based on school fee information for the 2013/14 academic year available on the websites of the 32 IBDP schools in Beijing and Shanghai.

  7. The Gaokao is the annually-held Chinese national higher education entrance examination.

  8. IB World schools are schools which have been authorised by the International Baccalaureate® (IB) to offer one or more of the IB programmes.

  9. China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) includes an education target which aims to increase enrolment in high school from 82.5 per cent to 87 per cent by 2015 (KPMG 2011, p. 2) as well as a social welfare upgrade initiative aiming to increase state-supported education (ibid., p. 3).

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Acknowledgement

While we conducted this research as an independent research team, we appreciate the financial support of the International Baccalaureate® (IB) for this research project. We also appreciate the insight comments of the anonymous reviewers and Prof. Lene Buchert, the editor of this special issue, and the editorial suggestions of Maya Kiesselbach.

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Correspondence to Moosung Lee.

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Wright, E., Lee, M. Developing skills for youth in the 21st century: The role of elite International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme schools in China. Int Rev Educ 60, 199–216 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-014-9404-6

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