IB Asia Pacific Newsletter

Quarter Two, 2008

Australasia

Programme Growth

Authorised:  DP:62  MYP:26 (+23 partners)  PYP:47   Total:135

Candidate:   DP:13  MYP:19                        PYP:46   Total:  78

LOI:            DP:11   MYP:23                       PYP:27    Total:  61

Teacher Registration in Australia

Across Australia Teacher Institutes have been established over

the past few years and teachers are now required to be

registered and assessed against criteria to meet and keep their

registration.

Recently meetings have been organized with the NSW

Association of Independent Schools, Association of Independent

Schools Victoria and the Victorian Institute of Teachers and we

have written to the NSW Institute of Teachers to request a

meeting.

It is important that we investigate the implications for IB

teachers of Teacher Registration under the newly developing

Institutes, the opportunities for recognition of IB Professional  

Development and potential areas of cooperation.

Community Initiatives Survey

The Sydney Office sent a short survey out to all PYP, MYP and

DP schools in Australasia asking for information about

Community Service Projects currently taking place in

Australasian IB schools. The purpose of the survey is to get a

feel for what is currently in place and how IBAP can best

support these activities as well as raise their profile.

AAIBS Conference and IBAP Workshops

Congratulations to Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College for hosting

a highly successful AAIBS Conference on 12 -14 April. Over 200

people registered for the Conference which had an excellent

programme and was well organized and hosted in superb

facilities. Keynote presentations are available on www.aaibs.org

It was encouraging to see 24 people from newly interested

schools present for the Conference and information sessions. A

number of schools have followed up with formal letters of

Interest since the Conference.

Monte also hosted the Diploma and Middle Years Programme

Workshops which followed the Conference. These Workshops which were attended by 480 participants from around and beyond the IB Asia Pacific Region were equally well organized and hosted by Monte Sant’ Angelo and their very capable support  team.

My personal thanks to the Workshop Leaders and IBAP staff for

their contributions, preparation and the quality of their presentations.

PYP Workshops for 170 participants were also held at Clifton’s

Training Centre. These workshops were also well organised and

professionally presented and participants from all the

Workshops provided us with constructive feedback for future

Workshops.

NB. It is very important that participants work closely with their

IB coordinators to ensure that they enroll in the most

appropriate workshop. Workshop descriptions can be

downloaded from the IB website

http://www.ibo.org/ibap/workshops

Feedback on Environmental Systems

The following response about the Environmental Science

Diploma Course was received from Professor Glyn Davis Vice

Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

“I have consulted with the course standing committees for

the University of Melbourne Bachelor of Environments

(BEnv) and Bachelor of Science (BSci), and the feedback has

been entirely positive.  The new subject is an excellent initiative

that reflects the growing awareness of the complex and multi-

-disciplinary nature of environmental issues and   decision-

making, which require expertise in both technical detail

and socio-political processes. 

The new subject accords with the aspirations of the new first-

year subjects in the University of Melbourne's BEnv and its

course standing committee hopes that the student experience

in subjects such as this will encourage an engagement

with the BEnv degree.  

I do hope this feedback is useful. Congratulations to the IB Diploma program on an excellent initiative.”

Responses like these highlight how important it is for all schools

and networks to maintain communications with related

stakeholders.

National Curriculum Reform

On 14 April the Federal Minister Julia Gillard announced the

National Curriculum Board. The Board will be chaired by Barry

McGaw and the Deputy Chair will be Tony McKay. The Board

Members and the Bodies they represent are listed below.

As part of the consultation process it is very important that IB

PYP, MYP and DP schools take the opportunity to have input and

I would encourage you to do so.

Mr Tom Alegounarias, NSW Rep
Mr John Firth, VIC Rep
Mr Kim Bannikoff, QLD Rep
Professor Bill Louden, WA Rep
Ms Helen Wildash, SA Rep
Mr David Hanlon, TAS Rep
Ms Rita Henry, NT Rep
Ms Janet Davy, ACT Rep
Mr Garry LeDuff, Non-government sector
Dr Brian Croke, Non-government sector
Professor Marie Emmitt, Non-government sector

It is hoped that the International Baccalaureate Organization will have some input to the National Curriculum Board’s deliberations.

Recent Reports/Research

In April ‘The Need for a New Federal Policy in Education’

Report by the Forum for Education and Democracy was

released in the USA. The Report focuses on Education Funding,

Teachers and Leaders, Research and Innovation and Schools

Engaging with local communities. Many of the themes and

proposed developments have relevance to issues currently

being debated in Australasia and Asia Pacific. We would

encourage you to have a look at it

The Victorian Education Minister and the Department of

Education and Early Childhood Development has released its

Blueprint on Early Childhood Development and School

Reform and has called for feedback. The Blueprint offers an

opportunity for submissions on the Vision and I would

encourage Victorian Schools (and others) to offer comment. The

reform concentrates on three themes: partnerships with parents

and communities, system development and reform and

workforce reform.

QUT has commenced its Australian Research Council (ARC)

Grant funded 3-year Diploma study and has conducted pilot

interviews with one school, has approached all IB Diploma

schools with a letter about the project, along with a letter from

IBAP and many have responded positively. We would encourage

all schools to support the project which will involve all

stakeholder groups (teachers, students and parents) being

involved in providing information about their perceptions of the

IBDP.

ACER Comparative Analysis of the IBDP and the

Collective Australian Curricula has now been completed and

the report has been received by IBAP. The Project looked at the

Diploma curriculum and assessment methodologies for English

A1, History, Chemistry and Mathematics and will be used to

inform curriculum review and “accreditation” and “equivalence”

discussions.

VRQA (the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority) is

about to commence a Credit Matrix Assessment of the Diploma

Programme. English A1, French B, Economics or History,

Chemistry, Mathematics HL, Visual Arts, Extended Essay and

Theory off Knowledge will be assessed by ‘Expert Teams’ which

will include experienced Victorian IB practitioners. The report

should be completed by July 2008.

MYP Teacher Education

An IBO Accreditation team visited Flinders University Adelaide

May 7th-9th to complete the Recognition of a Graduate

Certificate in Education (IBMYP) and a Master of Education (IB).

The programs which have been proposed by the School of Education at Flinders University in cooperation with Concordia College are planned to be available from September 2008 if the accreditation visit is successful.

The Graduate Certificate is an 18 Unit coursework award offered

to teachers currently in IB MYP schools who are new or

relatively new to IB teaching but may be extended to non-IB

teachers in future. The Master of Education (IB) degree is a 72

Unit professionally oriented coursework award to be offered for

experienced IB Educators.

An announcement about the outcome of the visit is expected

soon.

Successful completion of the programmes will enable

participants to register for an IB Level 1 or Level 2 Teacher

Award.With the successful accreditation and piloting of the

Middle Years offering, Australasian IB teachers will have post

graduate opportunities for PYP and DP through Melbourne

University and MYP in SA.

Macquarie University Global Futures Programme

In a first for an Australian University, Macquarie University vice-

chancellor Steven Schwartz has announced a partnership with Australia Volunteers International that will give undergraduate students the opportunity to do volunteer work overseas.

Called the Global Futures Program, it will develop programs with

local communities throughout Australia, the South Pacific and

Southeast Asia. Some form of community work will be

compulsory for all undergraduate students at Macquarie under

the new curriculum, to start in 2010.

In addition, the university will require all undergraduate

students to study subjects from the humanities, social sciences

and sciences so that arts students must take science subjects

and science students must take arts subjects. 

The university had considered making the learning of a foreign

language compulsory but it was not feasible at this stage.

Professor Schwartz said that the new curriculum was based on

three themes of place, planet and participation, and was

designed to provide students with a broader education than one

geared solely to a vocation and getting a job.

"Universities are more than just narrow vocational schools; they

have the opportunity to change the world, to shape society and

shape democracy," he said. "It's about education for life, not

just for a job.”

The program aligns with IB principles and practices and will be

attractive to Graduates.

Greg Valentine, Regional Representative Australasia

Stefanie Sandford, Personal Assistant

Email: ibapausreception@ibo.org