Determining which school to send your child, out of the hundreds of institutions in Bangladesh, can be quite a challenging decision. This is where children and young adults are shaped, and the blueprint for their future is made.
The popularity of a school is typically what draws some parents. However, some critical things that are at times overlooked are the school's culture, philosophy, and teaching methods -- the curriculum to be specific.
Indeed, multiple curricula exist across Bangladesh today, all with a different focus and approach to teaching. Not all curricula are suitable for everyone. Most English-medium schools in the country follow the British curriculum, which is a more exam-driven system focussing on subject knowledge and skills development related to academic courses. It is more structured with a predetermined syllabus. Most Bangla-medium schools follow a traditional framework that tends to be based on memorization and rote learning.
In such a context, International School Dhaka (ISD) and a few other institutions noticed a gap. There was not a truly holistic curriculum, one that would not only develop academics but also produce well-balanced, confident, and capable young adults. One where children could explore a breadth and depth of diverse subjects, but also hone their personal skills and attributes that would help them function in a globalized world.
Thus, the first International Baccalaureate (IB) school emerged in Bangladesh. ISD was the first school in the country to fully embrace the IB across all its year groups, starting as early as 2004 as a fully authorized IB World School.
In fact, all IB schools offer an internationally recognized standard of education from age 3 to 18 years. The curriculum promotes a student’s voice, their choice, and agency and it develops an international-minded approach. It enables learners to take charge of their education pathway and develop the skills they need as well as the confidence to thrive.
However, the core aim of the IB is to make a lasting difference in the country and world by equipping students with practical knowledge and skills that have immediate real-world applications. IB graduates go on to attend leading universities around the world, as college admissions teams worldwide highly value and recognize the competencies of IB students.
The IB continuum starts with the Primary Years Program (PYP), where students from ages 3 to 11 are challenged to think for themselves and inquire about the world around them. By nurturing a young learner’s innate curiosity, the PYP program uses inquisitive questions to help learners explore their community, country, and beyond.
PYP students then move on to the Middle Years Program (MYP) where disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning is emphasized and critical approaches to learning skills such as research, communication, self-management, social and thinking skills are nurtured. The application of learning to real-world contexts enables students to become creative and critical thinkers who can problem-solve and adapt to changing circumstances.
The final stage is the two-year Diploma Program (DP), which involves in-depth study of chosen subjects that prepare students to enter university. The IB DP core is a requirement for students and includes theory of knowledge, extended essay, and creativity, activity and service (CAS), which are studied alongside six chosen diploma subjects. Therefore, the IB diploma is considered as one of the most academically rigorous programs leading up to university.
All of the three IB programs encourage students to actively engage with service to the community at age-appropriate levels. This enables students to develop empathy and a connection with their immediate community. IB schools create numerous opportunities for students to be engrossed in local and international environments, through field trips, engaging with guest speakers, and annual trips abroad. This is a core element of the IB as developing empathy through exposure to diverse cultures provides children with the foundation for learning tolerance, empathy, and respect for others -- which is critical within any society.
The IB approach towards education centres around the learner. All IB students are encouraged to develop the ten IB Learner Profile traits: Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Thinkers, Communicators, Principled, Open-minded, Caring, Risk Takers, Balanced, and Reflective.
In order to nurture the learner profile traits, IB programs use an inquiry-based, conceptually driven curriculum that emphasizes skill development. This enables each IB school to develop content that is relevant and meaningful to each context and student body, while maintaining standards and benchmarks at every level. Thus, learners are able to engage with meaningful and relevant content and demonstrate their learning through hands-on performance-based tasks and assessments such as presentations, website creation, research papers, podcasts, story writing, performances, robotics and projects.
With the focus on developing a global citizenship, encouraging critical thinking and inquiry-based learning, preparing for higher education, and fostering a holistic development, IB schools are an ideal choice for today’s generation. In order to take Bangladesh forward, as it seeks to become a Smart Bangladesh and a developed country, we need well-rounded individuals to lead with empathy while maintaining a global outlook.
Nilanthi Panabokke Das is the Vice Principal at International School Dhaka (ISD).
