Framework

  • The IAB is based on the Profile Shaping Education (PSE), an educational framework revolving around a profile the students are expected to develop at the end of the twelfth grade. This profile enables students to succeed not only to pass exams but also to succeed in modern life. This profile is based on field research in the domain of cognitive sciences showing that: (a) professionals, especially those in academic communities, share common expert paradigms for knowledge construction and deployment, and (b) there are patterns in the structure of expert paradigms and practice of accomplished professionals in various communities. PSE subsequently calls for education to systematically empower students with profiles that recapitulate such patterns that are more clearly visible in the 4-P profile (Figure 1).

    Paradigmatic

    A paradigmatic student realizes that knowledge construction and deployment in every profession are governed by certain paradigms in line with which he/she needs to develop his own profile. For efficient transcendence of personal paradigms, the student concentrates on a balanced and comprehensive repertoire of foundational and generic episteme and cross-disciplinary habits of mind that allow him/her to realize the big picture within and across disciplines.

    Productive

    A productive student relies on systematic ways and means, cognitive and technical, for meaningful development, constructive deployment of conceptions and mental habits within each discipline in everyday life.

    Proactive

    A proactive student adopts a clear vision of his/her education and future, and develops an affinity for detecting and resolving problems, anticipating new challenges and coping with them. The student continuously seeks and assumes control of new learning experiences in order to evaluate and regulate his/her own profile. He constructively engages with others to help them do the same, and subsequently to empower himself and others for lifelong learning and continuous profile development.

    Principled

    A principled student embraces positive dispositions, especially those that characterize his own culture and expert paradigms and realizes, respectfully, the importance of constructive interaction with others and with his surrounding environment.

WHY IAB?

The International Arab Baccalaureate (IAB) is a high-standard educational program created by the Educational Research Center (ERC) in the Arab World, for the Arab World. The implementation of the IAB in schools is based on the framework of the Profile Shaping Education (PSE) that focuses on empowering students for meaningful learning. This baccalaureate works within the framework of enriching the curriculum while respecting local cultural heritage and aspirations in the Arab World. The IAB Diploma has received equivalence to the British GCE A Levels, by UK ENIC, the National Agency for the Recognition and Comparison of International Qualifications and Skills.

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What is International Arab Baccalaureate (IAB)?

IAB is a pan-Arab comprehensive educational initiative designed in the Arab World, for the Arab World, by Arab and international experts, to enhance students’ overall academic performance and equip them to succeed in the future by integrating the 21st century skills into the academic program. It was launched in 2010 after many years of planning and preparation. Its first phase included workshops to introduce the theoretical part and to train teachers to design high order thinking skills items. In 2014, the in-class implementation started (Phase 2). This phase included workshops to train the teachers on IAB deliverables prepared by the IAB team of experts. It currently covers grades 10 to 12 (and eventually K-12). After graduation in Grade 12, the students receive the IAB diploma. In 2017, the IAB Diploma received the equivalence to the British GCE A Level by UK ENIC, the National Agency for the Recognition and Comparison of International Qualifications and Skills.