The Impact of Implementing the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme on Students' Self-efficacy Beliefs

Nevine El Souefi

doi:10.13189/ujer.2021.090320

Abstract

The holistic approach of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes encourages students to become active, compassionate and life-long learners. The IB defines its international education programmes through a learner profile that consists of ten attributes; inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective [33]. For students to reach all IB learners profile attributes they need to be self-regulated learners [36]. Students’ self-efficacy beliefs are one of the components of self-regulated learning [15], and a key component of social cognitive theory [4]. Self-efficacy beliefs also contribute to students’ academic achievements, motivations and learning [41]. The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is the IB curriculum framework for children aged 3-11 that offers an inquiry-based, transdisciplinary curriculum framework building conceptual understandings. By learning through inquiry PYP students use their initiatives and take responsibility for their own learning [33]. This approach in learning claims to build students’ self-efficacy that contributes to self-regulation [36]. The paper presents an inductive qualitative study capturing the impact of implementing the IB PYP on students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The study was conducted in an IBPYP candidate school in Alexandria (second largest city in Egypt), which had been implementing the PYP for two years. Data was collected through four focus group discussions from different stakeholders; leaders, teachers, students and parents. The study findings revealed the perspectives of the different stakeholders about the reasons behind students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The study resulted in an interpretation of a spiral for the different aspects of PYP pedagogy that relate and integrate to support students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The study resulted also in identifying specific aspects in school culture that support students’ self-efficacy beliefs. The findings of the study will be beneficial to students, teachers, leaders, syllabus designers, and policy makers in IBPYP schools.

Highlights

According to [41], students’ self-efficacy beliefs are a key component of social cognitive theory as it contributes to the students’ academic achievements, motivations and learning
To find the answer of this question from the focus groups data, themes looking for specific signs of self-efficacy beliefs to accomplish Primary Years Program (PYP) tasks were guided by the following questions: 1. Do they believe that they have several solutions to any situation? 2
The data collected indicated that all stakeholders can identify signs for the four questions of self-efficacy beliefs to accomplish PYP tasks

Summary

Introduction

According to [41], students’ self-efficacy beliefs are a key component of social cognitive theory as it contributes to the students’ academic achievements, motivations and learning. Efficacy belief is a major basis of action. People guide their lives by their beliefs of personal efficacy.” Reference [1] introduced the concept of perceived self-efficacy that affect how people motivate themselves and how they feel, think and act. A group of teachers, leaders, parents and students from a PYP school in Egypt is to be chosen randomly to participate in the study. Leaders, parents and students volunteer to participate in the study. You can still withdraw if you do not want to be part of the study

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion