Crawford International now authorised to offer International Baccalaureate (IB)

The Crawford International group has joined the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme, active in more than 5 200 schools globally, after it became the first school group to simultaneously complete the authorisation process with 7 of its preparatory schools becoming IB schools.

Although an intensive process, the school group are now able to offer the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) which aims to develop active, life-long learners, grappling with challenges and engaging in relevant discussions related to the world of which they are a part.

The IB programmes are divided into 4 core phases depending on school structures:

PYP for 2-12-year olds; Middle Years Programme (MYP) for 12-16-year olds and a Diploma Programme (DP) for 16-19-year olds, as well as a careers certification offering.

PYP in practice:

The programme incorporates local and global issues into the curriculum, asking students to look at 6 related, transdisciplinary themes and to consider the links between them.

These themes include ‘Who We Are’, ‘Where We Are in Place and Time’ and ‘How the World Works’.

The PYP is committed to structured, purposeful inquiry that engages students actively in their own learning.

The programme supports students’ efforts to construct meaning from the world around them by:

• drawing on their prior knowledge,
• providing provocation through new experiences,
• creating and delivering units of learning that are interconnected and focused on being relevant in the world of today,
• providing opportunities for reflection and consolidation.

The PYP framework encourages and supports connections across learning and teaching as a means to raise students’ awareness of the relevance of their learning to their reality.

For example, instead of learning about ‘Water’ as a topic, students inquire into how ‘people depend on, and need to conserve, Earth’s limited resources’.

Instead of simply repeating the experiment the teacher has designed, students inquire into how ‘scientific investigations can help people to make sense of the world’.

Why the school group chose the IB PYP should be obvious, but in-case you missed out on the why:

The programme is aimed at teaching students about learning how to learn – with constant self-reflection, student agency with voice and choice and ultimately, the expectation to consider the next steps needed to progress in their learning.

Teachers across the school group continue to receive, and attend, training offered by the International Baccalaureate Head Office as well as from the Head of IB:

ADvTECH South Africa, Traci-Salter Willis and the IB PYP Coordinators appointed at every school.

For more information, contact tsalter@advtech.co.za.