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Overview
The International Baccalaureate Organization's original intent was to provide schools with a curriculum which would be universally acceptable to all institutions of higher learning throughout the world. This idea led to the creation of the IB Diploma Programme in 1968 at the International School of Geneva. The Middle Years Programme and Primary Years Programme were created in 1994 and 1997, respectively, allowing the IBO to offer educational programmes from the age of three to the end of the secondary level. The IBO functions on fees charged from schools who wish to implement one or more of the organisation's educational programmes. Traditionally, the schools offering the programmes were private international schools, but the number of state schools (public schools in the U.S.) is increasing. Today, over half of all Diploma Programme students are from these schools and there are currently 1,903 schools in 124 countries implementing the organisation's programmes to more than 500,000 students aged 3 to 19 years. [1] The organisation has four regional offices: IB North America and the Caribbean (headquartered in New York), IB Latin America (Buenos Aires), IB Asia-Pacific (Singapore), and IB Africa, Europe, and Middle East (Geneva). The organisation's first director-general was Alec Peterson, who played a crucial part in the development of the IB and the formation of the organisation. The IBO's current director-general is Jeffrey Beard.[2]
Programmes
The set of educational programmes managed by the IBO is intended for students aged 3 to 19.[1] These programmes provide schools with curriculums that are broadly applicable worldwide. The three IB programmes are the following:
- IB Primary Years Programme[3] (PYP) for pupils aged 3 to 12
- IB Middle Years Programme[4] (MYP) for pupils aged 11 to 16
- IB Diploma Programme[5] (DP) for pupils aged 16 to 19
References
- ^ a b International Baccalaureate Organization (home page). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Director general biography. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
- ^ International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
