Implementing Theory of Knowledge in a Non-IB Immersion Context: Benefits, Challenges, and Solutions

International Baccalaureate In Japan

The IB has gained recognition and praise within Japan as a way to internationalize the education system. In particular, since the goal to have 200 IB schools in Japan was announced in 2011, knowledge and promotion of the IB within Japan has increased (Yamamoto et al., 2016). A major reason for the promotion of IB was that learners with more international perspectives, and well-developed critical thinking skills, would enter Japanese universities (Sanders & Ishikura, 2018). While Japan has so far fallen short of its original deadline of having these 200 schools by 2018, now revised to 2020, there has been a growing discussion on, and knowledge of, IB within the field of Japanese education. One way the Japanese government attempted to increase the number of IB schools was by hosting IB workshops in Japan and covering the cost of workshop attendance for teachers until March 2018 (Moriguchi, 2018). By providing financial support to schools and educators, many teachers have become certified to teach in the IB. While the number of IB schools in Japan has increased since 2011, the original goal has still not been met.

The language ability of learners in Japan has become a significant barrier to expansion of the IB within Japan. Yoshida (2013) points to low English proficiency scores, and a lack of confidence in English abilities as a hindrance to the advancement of globalization in Japan. In particular, the IB did not have a specific dual language program developed for Japan when the 200 IB school initiative was announced. This meant that learners would need to have taken IB courses in the officially recognized languages of the IB, English, Spanish, or French, of which only English is compulsory within the Japanese education system. In 2013, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) negotiated with the IB in order to offer a dual language IBDP program, in which two thirds of the required DP courses could be completed in Japanese (Moriguchi, 2018). By creating a dual language program, the linguistic burden has been significantly reduced, and creates a more feasible option for schools that might not feel that their students would be able to complete the DP exclusively in English. While this does limit the use of IB to expand English education in Japan, it does create opportunities for other valuable aspects of the DP curriculum to be attained.