Local Implementation of International Baccalaureate in the Japanese Secondary School System

Author(s):  
David Gregory Coulson ◽  
Shammi Datta ◽  
Mai Sugawara

Japan is moving from a traditional focus on prescriptive English education towards a more forward-looking hybrid model, melding the influences of the world-class international baccalaureate (IB) curriculum into the existing Japanese educational model. In this chapter, the authors review the background and describe developments that are framing the debate regarding secondary school reform. Specifically, they investigate how IB in Japan is shaping new practices, which will be shown to have duals aims. The first is to nurture the higher-order reasoning abilities of students, in addition to analytical research and presentation skills. The second is to promote stronger English second-language acquisition. The authors also explore in what ways the introduction of IB is engendering positive changes to the English curriculum in the non-IB sector and in the university sector. This is an issue that is being keenly observed by both policymakers, educators, and the international baccalaureate organization.

Author(s):  
Erda Wati Bakar

The Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) has become the standard used to describe and evaluate students’ command of a second or foreign language. It is an internationally acknowledged standard language proficiency framework which many countries have adopted such as China, Thailand, Japan and Taiwan. Malaysia Ministry of Education is aware and realise the need for the current English language curriculum to be validated as to reach the international standard as prescribed by the CEFR. The implementation of CEFR has begun at primary and secondary level since 2017 and now higher education institutions are urged to align their English Language Curriculum to CEFR as part of preparation in receiving students who have been taught using CEFR-aligned curriculum at schools by year 2022. This critical reflection article elucidates the meticulous processes that we have embarked on in re-aligning our English Language Curriculum to the standard and requirements of CEFR. The paper concludes with a remark that the alignment of the English curriculum at the university needs full support from the management in ensuring that all the stakeholders are fully prepared, informed and familiar with the framework.


Author(s):  
TMGP Duarte ◽  
AM Lopes ◽  
LFM da Silva

Understanding how the academic performance of first year undergraduate students is influenced by home, personal and institutional factors is fundamental to delineate policies able to mitigate failure. This paper investigates possible correlations between the academic performance of students at the end of high school with their achievements at the end of first year university. Data for students in the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering (MIEM) program within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto are analysed for the period 2016/2017 to 2019/2020. The students’ performance is measured by two metrics and the students are structured as a whole and by groups, according to their gender (Male/Female), type of secondary school (Public/Private), living place (Away/Home) and the rank of MIEM in their application list of options (Option 1/Option 2–6). The information is organized statistically and possible correlations between the data are investigated. The analysis reveals limited correlation between the two metrics, meaning that all students may exhibit good or poor results at the end of first year in MIEM, independent of their status at entrance. An unanticipated pattern is exhibited for the group Option 2–6, since it shows that, despite entering into MIEM without top application marks, the students in this group can perform as well as the others. This behavior is consistent over time.


Author(s):  
Rui Zhao ◽  
Wan-Bing Shi

The graduate attributes of the University of Sydney innovatively include the enabling conceptions and the translation conceptions of attributes and ensure that they are specifically oriented, reasonably structured and comprehensively designed. These scientifically constructed graduate attributes of the University of Sydney prove strong efficiency by the university taking up a high position in QS Graduate Employability Rankings in recent years. Chinese top-level universities, in the process of building world-class universities, also face the task of revising the graduate attributes and substantially enhancing the quality of talents cultivation, and can, therefore, learn the successful experience to revise their own graduate attributes on the basis of universities’ history, vision and specialty, on the premise of a sound cognition of the connotation, levels, and relationship of graduate attributes, and by means of System Theory, Phenomenography and comparative study.


Perspectiva ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48
Author(s):  
Diana Estela Pipkin

What does the learning of social sciences to the trajectories of young citizens? What to teach social sciences in secondary school? Why curricular changes in Argentina did not change classroom practices? We believe that the answers to these questions involve, though not exclusively, in the field of teacher training. Precisely, this paper aims to reflect on the characteristics of the training of teachers of History and Sociology at the University of Buenos Aires, taking account both the disciplinary aspects of the pedagogical-comment- from our students and our experience as teachers of these teaching careers. We are concerned to analyze, in particular, the presence / absence of epistemological contained in the careers of these faculties and their implications when thinking teaching.


Author(s):  
Sarah Pavey

Box Hill School is an independent school in Surrey, England. In 2008 the English curriculum was abandonedin favour of the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD). A library is a statutory requirement of theInternational Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) endorsement who also recommend this be managed by aqualified teacher-librarian. In May 2008, I was employed to create a library and develop independentlearning throughout the school. This paper considers the rationale behind the physical design. It outlines theimplementation of independent learning in an international school community where no infrastructure topromote this style of teaching and learning previously existed.


Author(s):  
Cici Adeliani ◽  
Alamsyah Harahap ◽  
Dedi Sofyan ◽  
Ildi Kurniawan ◽  
Azhar Aziz Lubis

This research aimed to find out the students’ access to ICT application and how far ICT application helps students in mastering English language skills faced by English students of English Education Study Program at the University of Bengkulu in the 2020/2021 academic year. This research was an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. The population of this research was English students of English Education Study Program at the University of Bengkulu. The sample of this research was selected by using purposive sampling technique, totaling 80 students for questionnaire and 24 students for interview. The data were collected by using questionnaire and interview. The instruments were consisted of 15 items adapted from Dang Hoang Tri and Nhung Hong Thi Nguyen (2014). This research used Microsoft Excel to analyze the data.  The result of this study showed that students access 15 ICT applications in English learning. Also, researcher found that the majority of students have positive perception towards ICT application can help students in mastering English language skills.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 205
Author(s):  
Syamsul Bahri ◽  
Ika Kana Trisnawati

This study aimed to investigate the student perceptions of plagiarism and the reasons that led to plagiarism in the students’ assignments. The population of the study included the students of English Education Department at UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh, with 166 students randomly selected as the sample. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for collecting data. The data were then analyzed with the SPSS in order to obtain their descriptive statistics. The results of the study showed that there were various students’ perceptions about the notion of plagiarism and the underlying reasons for their plagiarism. It was generally understood that plagiarism wa the use of words/ideas of others recognized as one’s own. Further, the major causes of plagiarism in the assignments were due to lack of English language skills and lack of time management. In addition, the behaviors of lecturers and the university involvement in socializing the concept of plagiarism also became the causes for the higher proportion of academic dishonesty among the students. These findings are expected to be the input for the creation of campus policy so that academic integrity and better lecture system can be achieved in any university.


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