Curriculum Alignment between the IB DP and National Systems: Germany

Abstract

With IB programmes available across the world in diverse educational landscapes, alignment with national educational standards is important. This project aims to provide an empirical analysis of the alignment between IB standards with the Gymnasium in two German regions. More specifically, the report examines (a) the ways in which the IB DP written curriculum align with national standards in selected regions in Germany with regard to content, cognitive demand, and philosophical underpinnings, and (b) how the intended non‐scholastic attributes (if any) of international mindedness, civic‐mindedness, citizenship, engagement, and motivation compare among IB DP and German curriculum documentation.The report focuses on the Diploma Programme for students in the 16 to 19 age range in IB schools which corresponds to Years 11-13 (Oberstufe) in German Gymnasium–the main way to enter university in Germany. The study focuses on Baden-Württemberg and Berlin because these two federal states have historically either been conservative-governed (Baden-Württemberg) or in the hands of social democrats (Berlin) leaving quite distinct and different legacies on the ways in which the regional educational systems operate. The study compares and contrasts mathematics, Spanish, geography, history as well as biology. This design covers four of the six curriculum areas in the IB schools. The analysis compares content, cognitive demand and philosophical underpinnings taking into consideration also regional and national political contexts. There are several key findings: First, unlike in the social sciences and humanities (notably history and Spanish), there is a high-level of alignment between the IB DP curriculum and the curriculum of both federal states in the natural sciences (biology and mathematics). Second, there is little variation in the natural sciences between the two German states which may have to do with the fact that social science subjects such as history are more exposed to reflecting political ideologies and identities of the state.Third, alignment between the IB DP history curriculum is therefore much greater in Berlin than it is in Baden-Württemberg, and there is very limited alignment between the IB DP geography curriculum and both German state curricula. Fourth, curricula in the German states emerge to a greater extent from local and national roots compared to the more international and global approach in the IB DP curriculum.