Assessment Rubrics in International Education: Developing a Holistic Rubric to Provide Formative Assessment and Facilitate Student Adjustment to the International Baccalaureate Program

In this study we analyse the relationship between Mexican students’ enrolment in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) and their college preparedness using a case-study methodology. We found that from the Mexican schools that offer the IB DP, most IB students are fairly successful in their college applications, such that the majority enrols at among the most well-regarded post-secondary institutions in Mexico. The possibility that IB DP grades and/or examination records might help boost students’ college admissions options does not seem to be a primary motivating factor for students’ IB DP enrolment. Rather, we found that students enrol in the IB DP because they think it will help prepare them to successfully handle college-level work. Students and educators believe that various aspects of the IB DP prepare them for college-level work, including the Theory of Knowledge course, the Extended Essay and the Creativity, Action and Service programme.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme, an internationally recognised pre‐university curriculum, is currently offered by approximately 1500 schools in 120 countries. This article will analyse various dimensions of peace education in the IB Diploma programme, with particular reference to its peace and conflict studies course. This course has been a success in qualitative terms but has not managed to draw in large numbers of students. Ian Harris’ typology of peace education will be used to demonstrate how elements of peace education have found their way into the Diploma programme in other ways as well. It is argued that the IB Diploma programme’s commitment to peace education is mostly achieved through international education, but that the four other types of peace education (human rights education, development education, environmental education and conflict resolution education) are also available. By way of conclusion this article suggests how the peace education embedded in the Diploma programme can be made more explicit and more widely available for a larger number of IB Diploma students.

This article focuses on the Dutch government’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) Pilot, allowing Dutch pre-university students to take part in the IB DP. Is it likely to create ‘equal’, or rather ‘equitable’, access opportunities for government-sponsored Dutch international secondary schools? The article advances the position that the IB DP Pilot is creating more equitable access opportunities for middle-class children. It can be expected, though, that less advantaged groups will increasingly be able to benefit from the opportunities that come with access to government sponsored international education.

This investigation set out to explore the self-regulated learning strategies implemented by high-achieving International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) students and those with learning difficulties in a context in which teachers were developing their practice to better align with IB philosophy. Specifically, I aimed to determine whether the strategies used by students in the two categories differed and, if so, what accounted for these differences. The sample included four DP students with diagnosed learning difficulties and six high-achieving DP students. Methods included collecting samples of independent work that reflected their strategy use; accompanying written reflections; and semi-structured interviews utilising a combination of stimulated recall and open-ended questions. Results suggest that only slight differences existed in the number and type of strategies used by participants in each category, but there were some important differences in strategy quality. These differences appeared to be related to the epistemic awareness students demonstrated, rather than their categorisation as having learning difficulties or being high-achieving. Although the IB Diploma Programme is widely considered an appropriate secondary programme for high-achieving students, its potential to enhance self-regulated learning suggests this programme may also be an appropriate option for some university-bound students with learning difficulties. As the literature review for this investigation uncovered only one previous study pertaining to IB Diploma Programme students with learning difficulties, this is a significant contribution to knowledge with implications for admissions as well as teaching and learning in IB schools. The investigation also indicates that epistemic awareness may play a more significant role in self-regulated learning than contemporary theories suggest.

ABSTRACTBackground and objectives: Students with high levels of test anxiety frequently experience depersonalization during examinations. We investigated whether a brief cognitive behavioral group intervention reduces these symptoms.Design: Randomized controlled trial.Methods: Students with high levels of trait test anxiety and impairing depersonalization symptoms during their last oral examination were randomized. While the intervention group (n = 22) received a group training, a control group (n = 16) underwent an active waiting time protocol. Effects of the intervention on depersonalization severity and its appraisal, attention focus, emotion regulation, anxiety, heart rate, and heart rate variability within the Trier Social Stress Test for groups were examined. A follow-up assessment was conducted after a university oral examination. Registration number: DRKS00010190.Results: Depersonalization and its appraisal significantly changed within the intervention group, but not within the control group. The intervention group reported significantly less self-focused attention and fear and used the coping strategy reappraisal significantly more often. No significant Group × Time interaction was detected regarding heart rate and heart rate variability. Follow-up results give a first indication of the reduction of depersonalization through the intervention in a naturalistic setting.Conclusion: The intervention seems promising for treating depersonalization in students with high levels of trait test anxiety.

This chapter studies the introduction of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in state schools across Peru, Costa Rica and the city of Buenos Aires. We analyze the interaction between the IBDP, a global model, and local cultures, looking at two key processes: the rationales for introducing the IBDP and the infrastructures designed to support schools and manage the programme. The analysis draws on a research project that examined the trajectories of the introduction of the IBDP across public schools in these three educational systems. Data was collected through interviews with high-ranked officials at the ministries of education and in the International Baccalaureate Organization, school principals, and teachers; focus groups with students; document analysis; and observations of classes in three schools in each educational system. We argue that the international dimensions of the IBDP have been appropriated differently in each of these three educational systems, depending on the type of actors that were involved, the ways in which the IBDP was combined with other educational policies, the idiosyncratic characteristics of each educational system, and the kind of issues that the IBDP was set to address in each context. The empirical analysis of the idiosyncratic enactment of the IBDP in each system illuminates the complex ways in which a global model is recontextualized interacting with local political and pedagogic cultures and aspirations. Results suggest we need to think of processes of internationalizations in the plural, since the IBDP as a global model is mediated by national and local political and pedagogical cultures.

Bernstein (1999, 2000) proposes that contrasting educational discourses construct contrasting retrospective, prospective, decentred (market) and decentred (therapeutic) pedagogic identities. In different times and geographical locations the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) has been projected onto a variety of pedagogic identities. In its earliest years there appears to have been vacillation between a weak form of retrospective identity, expressed as nostalgia for a grouped curriculum that prevailed before the introduction of A level in England, and an educational discourse projecting selected elements of the past into the future. A ‘progressive’ decentred therapeutic identity, exemplified by the IB Learner Profile, is the version the IB currently appears to project. However, this article proposes that the IB is assailed by market forces and that the IB DP is being driven towards a decentred (market) identity.

This study explores the integration of the three core components of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme—Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), and the Extended Essay (EE)—through a qualitative analysis of secondary data, including official IB guides, implementation handbooks, and documented case studies. The research aimed to understand how these components function collectively to promote holistic education, align with the IB Learner Profile, and support academic and personal development. Using thematic analysis, six key phases were followed: familiarization, initial coding, theme development, reviewing, defining, and synthesis. Five central themes emerged: Integrated Pedagogy, Reflective Growth, Rigorous Inquiry, Learner Identity Alignment, and Real-World Connected Learning. These themes reveal how the core elements are not isolated but interdependent, enhancing inquiry-based learning, ethical reasoning, self-awareness, and global citizenship. Findings indicate that successful integration of the core requires collaborative planning, consistent reflection practices, professional development, and alignment with the IB mission. The study highlights both the transformative potential of core integration and the implementation challenges due to contextual variability. Recommendations include investing in educator training, improving resource equity, and developing stronger interdisciplinary frameworks. While limited by its reliance on secondary sources, the study provides valuable insights and a foundation for future research focused on student outcomes and cross-cultural implementation.

This paper focuses on the implementation of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) at Chung Nam Samsung Academy (CNSA), an autonomous private high school located in Asan, Republic of Korea. CNSA became the second Korean school in the country to be authorized by the International Baccalaureate (IB) when it became an IB World School in August 2020. In the context of IB in Korea―dominated by international schools on the one hand and the expectations surrounding the development of the IB Dual Language Diploma Programme (IB DLDP) in Korean on the other hand―one distinctive about the IBDP at CNSA is the choice to offer the program in English, as part of a Korean school. The goal of integrating it into the school as a whole and making it as accessible as possible to interested students presents both practical and more abstract challenges. In planning for IBDP implementation, the school developed a language policy to articulate its language philosophy, explain possible reasons behind why students would want to pursue the IBDP in English, and develop strategies for English-language learning for both IB students and staff, while at the same time affirming the use of Korean as a mother tongue and identifying specific ways to continue to cultivate students’ Korean linguistic competency and cultural awareness. It is suggested that, with a proper approach, students can develop in both their Korean and English abilities, and, in tandem, become more engaged both locally and globally. In other words, they can become more internationally-minded―one of the goals of IB education. The idea of autonomy and student choice ultimately underscores the educational approach at CNSA, as the English-language IBDP is just one of many curricular options available in the school.

Globally, decision makers in an increasing number of schools from the governmental, nongovernmental, and international sectors are making the decision to change their curriculum and pedagogical frameworks to implement the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes (Booth, 2015; Doherty, 2009; Gough, Sharpley, Vander Pal & Griffiths, 2014; IB, 2019a; Marshall, 2014). The IB is an international education foundation which provides a continuum of four education programmes for primary, middle and secondary years of schooling. While the IB Diploma Programme (for the 16 to 19 age group) is the oldest, most established and widely recognised of the IB programmes, it is the Primary Years Programme, catering for the 3 to 12 age group, which has shown the greatest growth, at approximately 8%, in the past ten years (IB, 2019a). With the aim of providing a better understanding of why and how school decision makers are deciding to implement the Primary Years Programme than is currently available, the phenomenon was investigated through the following research question: How can we understand school decision makers’ decision to implement the Primary Years Programme? The investigation was a qualitative, single-site case study, which allowed for an analysis of the context in which the site was located, and employed problem-based methodology (Robinson, 1993) as a framework through which the decision makers’ actions, their personal and contextual constraints, and the consequences of those actions, could be viewed, and a theory of action be produced. By relying on interview and document data, and employing constant comparative analysis, categories and themes were generated which then allowed for the development of a theory of action for the decision makers’ decision to implement the Primary Years Programme. The findings of the study indicate that although the reasons for implementing the Primary Years Programme at this site aligned with the reasons reported in the existing literature, the circumstances of the school played a far larger part in the decision than has been previously reported. It was also found that the process of deciding to implement the Primary Years Programme was far more complex and intricate than reported in existing literature. The process involved a number of actions on the part of the decision makers which were designed to prepare the Elementary School to make the decision to implement the programme. These findings suggest that the decision to implement the Primary Years Programme can only be understood in the context in which it is made. It is envisaged that the findings of this study can be drawn upon by school decision makers who are currently considering the decision to implement the Primary Years Programme, as well as the IB consultants who assist interested schools through the Primary Years Programme authorisation process.

Supporting critical thinking skills needed for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: A content analysis of a national and two international education programs in Turkey

International mindedness is considered by many educational researchers and organizations as a determining feature in international education. This article used data as part of a PhD case study inquiry to explore how international mindedness is developed by two students in an IB school in an Indian Ocean Island Nation. Through a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm, it provides insights into the complexities of the students' development of international mindedness through the following questions: Why do the students aspire to develop international mindedness? What are the tensions they experience in developing it through the theory of knowledge programme in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)? Using socio-cultural frameworks, the article discusses theories on knowledge development, identity and post-colonialism. Data were collected through a survey, journal entries and interviews. The analysis was conducted using theoretical sampling, categorization and coding. The findings revealed that students' cultural backgrounds and identities are critical factors determining their sense of engagement with the development of international mindedness in the IBDP. They indicated also that the Diploma Programme (DP) knowledge content needs to be carefully addressed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) host school, which also must consider the socio-cultural and historical factors of the country in which it is found, in negotiating a locally meaningful implementation of the IB's international mindedness.

This study examines differences in educational experiences and outcomes for high school (HS) students who participated in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and earned full diplomas compared to those who participated in the IB Diploma Program but did not earn the diploma. ACT scores, after-HS placement, and HS graduation rates of 256 participants were collected. One hundred and twenty two participants completed an online survey, and 12 participated in interviews. The results revealed that the educational outcomes and experiences for diploma and nondiploma earners were vastly similar. Diploma earners had significantly higher ACT scores, but their college entrance and other academic outcomes were similar to nondiploma earners. However, students who participated in the IB program had significantly higher academic success than other students. Even students who did not earn the full IB diploma had higher graduation rates and high average ACT scores than students at this school, state, and even at the federal level.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme has been introduced in the Central and Eastern European countries since the beginning of the 1990s. Developed in the 1960s by the International Baccalaureate Organisation in Geneva, it became since then an important part of the world educational system. The number of schools authorised by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) has increased considerably. This paper aims to present the history of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia).

This article reports on a qualitative investigation exploring the perspectives of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) students in the Enrichment and Learning Support programmes at an independent, all-girls school located outside of London, UK. The school had been engaged in an on-going effort to align its pedagogy with the IB’s student-centred, inquiry-driven pedagogy to foster a teaching and learning context in which Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills would be valued and taught by teachers, and valued and applied by students. This investigation sought to understand the extent to which teachers at this school were explicitly teaching ATL skills and whether students considered it important for their teachers to do so. Two focus groups were conducted, one with students involved in the school’s Enrichment Programme and the other with students with special educational needs and disability (SEND) who were involved in the school’s Learning Support Programme. Findings indicate that although ATL skills tended not to be explicitly taught in DP classrooms, a range of ATL skills were embedded by DP teachers as part of process-focused instruction; nonetheless, students did not always recognise this as being taught how to learn and were unaware that these skills formed part of the curriculum. Both groups perceived effective Approaches to Learning skills to be fundamental to success and well-being in the IB Diploma Programme and believed these skills should be explicitly taught by DP teachers.