Cathey's Middle Years Programme

International Baccalaureate World School

What is IB?

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) is a non profit educational foundation which was started in Europe in 1968.

It was started in response to international educators who were attempting to establish a common curriculum for international students. The organization used best practices from a variety of countries, and created the two-year Diploma Program for grades 11 and 12. In the early 1990's The Middle Years Program, (MYP) was introduced as a preparation for the diploma program. The IB completed its framework by adding the Primary Years Program (PYP).

The IB framework has three distinctive but complementary programs:

• Primary Years (grades JK-5)
• Middle Years (grades 6-10)
• Diploma (grades 11-12)

The IBO has over 1468 programs in over 115 countries.

What is MYP?

Our students are at an important age of transition, of personal, social, physical and
intellectual development.  They are full of uncertainty and questions, of searching for relevance and finding meaning in the world around them. Emerging adolescents, influenced by their years of primary schooling, are entering a phase where their social and cultural experiences in and outside school have a determining impact on their perception of themselves, their self-esteem, their sense of identity and their capacity to relate to others.

This programme is devised to help students develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills they need to participate actively and responsibly in a changing and increasingly interrelated world.  This implies a “living curriculum” (Beane, 1990), one which calls for more than “knowing”: it involves reflective thinking, both critical and creative, about ideas and behaviours. It includes problem solving and analysis, clarification and discussion of personal beliefs and standards on which decisions are made. It also leads to critical thinking and action.

The MYP is designed to teach students to become independent learners who can recognize relationships between school subjects and the world outside, who can adapt to new situations and combine relevant knowledge, practical and social intelligence to solve authentic problems alone or in groups. Successful teaching of the programme requires commitment to its fundamental principles on the part of the whole school community, and a high degree of communication and collaboration between teachers.

The programme aims to enable students to:

• build upon their spirit of discovery to develop an understanding and enjoyment of the process of learning, independently and in cooperation with others
• acquire knowledge and understanding and prepare for further learning
• recognize the extent to which knowledge is interrelated
• learn to communicate effectively in a variety of ways
• develop a sense of personal and cultural identity and a respect for themselves and for others
• acquire insights into local and global concerns affecting health, the community and the environment, and develop a sense of individual and collective responsibility and citizenship.

Three fundamental concepts underpin the development of the programme, in each participating school across the world.