Unveiling the Mechanics of Governance in Education: How does the IBO system of governance work?
To change a system, one must first understand how it operates. Below is a list of questions addressed to the IBO regarding the governance system's functionality - encompassing school administrations, teachers, and parents.
On Thu, Jan 25, 2024 at 8:27 PM Theo Wyne <theo.wyne@uwccostarica.org> wrote:
Hi Mr. Heinonen - After 25 years of teaching for the IBO I do not know how the organization is governed. This means I also can not tell any of my motivated students how they can effect change in the IBO. I think all IBO stakeholders (educators, students, parents) would benefit from knowing how the IBO works. Without transparency we are only left with faceless bureaucracy.
Specific questions I have:
1. a) What is the governance system of the IBO?
b) How are strategic decisions made that affect all of the IBO system? E.g. a decision about changing/updating the mission, vision, purpose and values of IBO?
2. A few more questions about course content and planning and local level input in decision making:
How is decision making delegated within the organization concerning the structure (content and assessment) of any particular course?
Is there an oversight committee of some kind that looks at the whole DP program in relation to changes made to any given course?
What kind of checks and balances exist in relation to ensuring that any given changes to a DP course do not have unintended consequences for students in relation to other courses (assessment due dates, nature of work load, etc.)?
How much scope do local IBO schools have to adjust the requirements of the IBO (ex. number of instructional hours per course)?
What role in the policy and program decision making process can we share with students? How do we include students in the various levels of decision making?
How can we communicate to students that they have "agency" within the IBO?
How can motivated teachers effect change in the IBO?
Some BIG questions that I am wrestling with:
3. How can the DP program be reconstituted to better address the mental health needs of students?
4. How can IBO policy address the climate crisis with a greater sense of urgency?
5. What tangible outcomes can the IBO achieve to reduce its carbon footprint, and to model the regenerative leadership principles needed to inspire youth? If the IBO has 2050 as its zero-emission date, what is the plan to get there? What are the benchmarks, and will they be public?
Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my questions.
Regards,
--
Theo Wyne
IB TOK and English Teacher
he/him/his
Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica
Telephone: +506 22 82 56 09
On Sat, Jan 27, 2024 at 9:27 AM Theo Wyne <theo.wyne@uwccostarica.org> wrote:
Hello again - I should provide a bit more context to the questions in my previous email.
As a teacher at UWC Costa Rica, I am committed to following my school's new Mission Statement
Furthermore, I want to promote the UWC Pearson College in their CALD program and UWC Atlantic's Systems Transformation Pathway in IBO World Schools around the world. It is not enough to incubate a few programs like these in the UWC ecosystem; these programs need to be shared and promoted across the system of almost 6,000 IBO World Schools. Such programs are filled with hope and positivity. The potential for meaningful (transformative) change on multiple levels (addressing the climate crisis, youth mental health crisis, etc.) is amazing; I am certain that IB youth can lead this change; they just need to be empowered with the knowledge they need to effect change.
Central to empowering youth as change agents is helping them understand how the socio-economic and political systems around them work. The more transparency and understanding we can provide students about the power structure(s) that control their lives (IBO, municipal/state/federal/international institutions, etc.), the better we prepare them to take on active roles as progressive change agents.
We can not expect our youth to take on agency unless we give them the needed tools (knowledge) to effect change. In turn, we can not expect to transform youth education unless we are prepared to transform the education system. This all requires transparency of political power structures and systems. One could argue our liberal democracy and values depend on such transparency.
In conclusion, the UWC World Congress is coming up on February 29 - March 2. I am participating in the Educational Leadership and Partnerships track at the Congress. I would like permission to share your response not only with my students, but with my UWC and IBO co-workers too.
Thanks,
--
Theo Wyne
IB TOK and English Teacher
he/him/his
Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica
Telephone: +506 22 82 56 09
On Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 9:07 AM James Stranko <james.stranko@ibo.org> wrote:
Dear Mr. Wyne,
Thank you very much for your note to our Director-General Olli-Pekka Heinonen. By way of introduction, I am James Stranko, the IB's Head of Communications, and I would like to answer the questions you posed to the best of my ability.
First and foremost, I invite you to review the resources available on IBO.org. You can find many answers to governance questions here, including those around oversight and decisionmaking: The IB’s leadership - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org). Of particular interest should be the Board Charter ibo-board-charter-en.pdf and the Governance Structure chart ib-governance-structure.pdf (ibo.org).
Even more information about the governing structure of the organization can be found in our Act of Foundation, also publicly available: ibo-act-of-foundation-en.pdf.
Alongside the Board of Governors, Director General, and Executive Team, the International Baccalaureate has councils and boards that support the organization in its functions, including in the decisionmaking across multiple courses. This information can be found here: Advisory bodies - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org).
Regarding your questions about local adjustments, there is a lot of information available that would be of interest on our regional center page: The IB by region | International Baccalaureate® - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org).
Finally, we invite you to visit What it means to be an IB student - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org), which has valuable information about how we approach youth and their role in the organization, and also invite you to discover how our educator conferences (Educator conferences - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org)) and local events like the IB Day we just hosted in November in Costa Rica, allow teachers ample opportunity to continue building the IB together.
Regarding your final questions, the IB supports an emphasis on well-being in schools and a focus on nurturing learners' diverse talents and strengths in a stressful and competitive world. You can find much more about our efforts to do this here: Leading well-being - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org).
Also, regarding climate, I'd invite you to read a piece from our Director-General on how to foster young people as "agents of change" in this article. Developing the climate citizens of tomorrow | SDG Action (sdg-action.org)
We deeply appreciate your interest in these questions and your commitment to IB as an educator.
Thank you,
James
--
James Stranko, Head of Communications
International Baccalaureate Organization
IB Global Centre, Washington
3950 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
Tel: +1 240 729 8066
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