Diploma offers students worldwide opportunities
Thu 26 June 2008
Lana Stewart, Journalism
A group of 28 students from Mountain Creek State High School are set to graduate with a Diploma of Education, recognised by universities all over the world.
Called the International Baccalaureate (IB), its popularity is rapidly growing in Australia.
The IB is an alternative to standard year 11 and 12 studies, with six subjects and a final 
exam worth 76 per cent.
There are currently over 200 authorised and candidate schools in Australia offering IB programs.
Seventy-four of those are government schools.
The IB diploma was introduced at Mountain Creek in 2004 and has since become an integral part of the school’s curriculum.
Principal Greg Peach said the IB was a way for students who wanted to be well-prepared for university to extend themselves.
“I think it’s really important for kids to be crucial thinkers when they leave high school,” he said.
Mountain Creek IB co-ordinator Trisha Valentine said the IB prepared students for the independence they would need to be successful at university.
“These students are learning ways to spread the pressure, spread the due dates and to work consistently,” she said.
“Even students who are borderline diploma students … are finding that they are so prepared for university in terms of their skill level, discipline level and their strategic look at how to study.”
Current year 12 IB student Danielle Strong said learning to cope with the stress of IB was difficult but extremely rewarding.
“I spend a lot of time working and it is difficult to find that balance between doing school work and sport as well as fitting in other parts of your life,” she said.
“It’s hard, but you have really good relationships with your teachers and there is a really good sense of closeness.”
Inaugural IB graduate Emma Guinea said the course offered a tremendous opportunity for students who were university bound.
“Because of IB, I was able to choose any university anywhere in the world,” she said.
“I was far more confident and prepared leaving school.”
Despite its benefits the IB has caused some disagreement between educational bodies.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) claimed the use of international assessment credentials undermined the autonomy of Australian education decision-making.
In its 2004 Policy on National School Consistency the AEU said such credentials could give external authorities too much control over Australian curricula.
IB regional representative Greg Valentine said this was not the case and the IB was not a substitute to current education systems.
“The IB offers a curriculum and a philosophy that complements the State and Territory curricula and does not replace them,” he said.
Ms Valentine said the IB diploma program was simply another choice on the menu.
“Just like we choose different schools for different reasons and different subjects for different interest levels, the IB diploma is a challenging academic program,” she said.
“Not all students aspire to that.
“It’s all about tailoring a pathway and it will be a choice.”
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