INTRODUCTION TO MY RESEARCH
My research aim is to foster an exploratory study into understanding quality within the teaching of Visual Arts in the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma program in International Schools to inform teacher training. The research will explore quality as defined both within the literature and the International Baccalaureate’s curricular presets and evaluate how quality is obtained by identified teachers resulting in a work of research-creation (optional) and a culminating recommendation for professional development support for Visual Arts teachers (new - 5 years) who are teaching the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Visual Art course.
RESEARCH QUESTION:
What do I need to know in order to create a support program that encourages quality for International Baccalaureate Diploma Visual Art teachers within the Visual Arts classroom?
PROPOSED COMPONENTS OF THE STUDY:
The study will be conducted in 4 stages
Stage 1: Assessing the Field
Stage 1: Assessing the Field
- Systematic Review of the Literature
- Online Survey
- Case Study - Individual and Focus Group Interviews (3 iterations)
- Research-Creation - fictional/artistic novella based on research and case study finding
- Recommendations for PD support for IB DP VA teachers.
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Established in 1968, the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme (IB DP), places a strong emphasis on encouraging students to develop intercultural understanding, open-mindedness, and attitudes necessary for them to respect and evaluate a range of points of view (IBO, 2014, p.2). Because of connections with quality education, the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum continues to evolve globally through international schools and into private and country funded schools (Elpus, 2019). As of December 2020, 7,232 IB programmes were being offered globally, across 5,402 schools in 158 countries and within the Diploma (DP) program, 3,487 schools (1139 in Africa, Europe and Middle East, 696 in Asia Pacific and 1652 in Americas) (IBO, 2021).
The IB DP program is the culminating curriculum for the last two years of secondary schooling. Students choose one subject to study from six Groups for the full two years, along with mandatory Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE) courses. The study of the Visual Arts (VA) subject is categorized within Group 6, which is dedicated to the Arts subjects. Group 6 is the only group within the program that is optional for students. Students can choose to forego studying a Group 6 subject in lieu of an additional language or science. The optioning of the Group 6 subjects is contested within the IB DP community as well as among Art Education scholars (Adams, 2019, p.90).
When looking specifically at the IB DP Visual Arts ( IB DP VA) course, which was intentionally designed as a “response to the marginalization of arts education for secondary-age students” (Blaikie, 2019, p.9), its growth globally is more nuanced than the IB DP curriculum due to its “choice” status. Based on 2019 statistical gatherings, the IB DP VA course currently enrols candidates from over 1000 schools spread across 80 different countries. The United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and then Canada enrols the highest concentration of VA candidates in the Americas while China, India and Australia comprise the three dominant countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Adams, 2019, p.90).
The IB DP VA course is meant to encourage students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is designed to be a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing VA from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with, and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media (IBO, 2020).
IB DP VA Curriculum
The curriculum of the IB DP VA course is focused on 3 key areas: Visual Art (VA) in Context, Visual Art (VA) Methods, and Communicating Visual Arts (VA). VA in Context is structured to provide a lens through which students are encouraged to explore perspectives, theories, and cultures that inform and influence visual arts practice. VA Methods address ways of making artworks through the exploration and acquisition of skills, techniques, and processes, and through engagement with a variety of media and methods. Communicating VA involves students investigating, understanding, and applying the processes involved in selecting work for exhibition and public display (IBO, 2014, pp.17-22).
The 3 key areas are represented with three practical areas of focus; theoretical, art-making practice, and curatorial and within each is a standardized assessed component.
Teachers Role within the IB DP VA
According to the IB DP VA (2014) teacher’s guide, IB DP VA teachers are encouraged to “approach the teaching of the VA course holistically” (p.44) and to “interpret the syllabus creatively according to their local circumstances and the context”(p.44). As an international VA course, teachers are further encouraged by the guide to explore art and artists from various local cultural contexts and to not only teach familiar practices but “should be risk-takers” (p.44) and expose their “students to unfamiliar traditions and art forms”(p.44).
IB DP VA teachers are not expected to be “sources of all knowledge, deliverers of information” (p.55), or experts. Their role is to actively organize learning experiences for the students, directing their study to enable them to reach their potential and satisfy the demands of the course. Students “should be empowered to become autonomous, informed, and skilled visual artists” (p.55).
The IB DP program is the culminating curriculum for the last two years of secondary schooling. Students choose one subject to study from six Groups for the full two years, along with mandatory Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) and Extended Essay (EE) courses. The study of the Visual Arts (VA) subject is categorized within Group 6, which is dedicated to the Arts subjects. Group 6 is the only group within the program that is optional for students. Students can choose to forego studying a Group 6 subject in lieu of an additional language or science. The optioning of the Group 6 subjects is contested within the IB DP community as well as among Art Education scholars (Adams, 2019, p.90).
When looking specifically at the IB DP Visual Arts ( IB DP VA) course, which was intentionally designed as a “response to the marginalization of arts education for secondary-age students” (Blaikie, 2019, p.9), its growth globally is more nuanced than the IB DP curriculum due to its “choice” status. Based on 2019 statistical gatherings, the IB DP VA course currently enrols candidates from over 1000 schools spread across 80 different countries. The United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and then Canada enrols the highest concentration of VA candidates in the Americas while China, India and Australia comprise the three dominant countries in the Asia-Pacific region (Adams, 2019, p.90).
The IB DP VA course is meant to encourage students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It is designed to be a thought-provoking course in which students develop analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing VA from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with, and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media (IBO, 2020).
IB DP VA Curriculum
The curriculum of the IB DP VA course is focused on 3 key areas: Visual Art (VA) in Context, Visual Art (VA) Methods, and Communicating Visual Arts (VA). VA in Context is structured to provide a lens through which students are encouraged to explore perspectives, theories, and cultures that inform and influence visual arts practice. VA Methods address ways of making artworks through the exploration and acquisition of skills, techniques, and processes, and through engagement with a variety of media and methods. Communicating VA involves students investigating, understanding, and applying the processes involved in selecting work for exhibition and public display (IBO, 2014, pp.17-22).
The 3 key areas are represented with three practical areas of focus; theoretical, art-making practice, and curatorial and within each is a standardized assessed component.
- Theoretical culminating with Comparative Study (CS); externally assessed, 20%
- Art-Making Practice culminating with Process Portfolio (PP); externally assessed, 40%
- Curatorial Practice culminating with Exhibition(EX); internally assessed and externally moderated, 40%. (IBO, 2014, p.31)
Teachers Role within the IB DP VA
According to the IB DP VA (2014) teacher’s guide, IB DP VA teachers are encouraged to “approach the teaching of the VA course holistically” (p.44) and to “interpret the syllabus creatively according to their local circumstances and the context”(p.44). As an international VA course, teachers are further encouraged by the guide to explore art and artists from various local cultural contexts and to not only teach familiar practices but “should be risk-takers” (p.44) and expose their “students to unfamiliar traditions and art forms”(p.44).
IB DP VA teachers are not expected to be “sources of all knowledge, deliverers of information” (p.55), or experts. Their role is to actively organize learning experiences for the students, directing their study to enable them to reach their potential and satisfy the demands of the course. Students “should be empowered to become autonomous, informed, and skilled visual artists” (p.55).
THE CONCERN
asThe majority of IB DP VA teachers are recruited from western countries (US and UK being the current dominant countries, with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and South Africa following). Given that the number of international schools has shown large expansion in recent years, the IB curriculum has only recently been adopted within public/state school systems (ISC, 2022), and the fact that the current IB DP VA guide (2014) was heavily modified from its previous incantation, it can be assumed that most current IB DP VA teachers did not themselves experience the IB DP VA course as VA students. During the past 10 years, I have worked as an IB DP VA teacher and examiner in three different international school environments (International School Eastern Seaboard, Thailand, Yew Chung International School, Qingdao, and Shekou International School, Shenzhen, China) I also belong to three (private) Facebook (FB) groups, have attended international school and international art teaching conferences (EARCOS, 2016- 2019, EdTeach Summits, 2017-2017, ARWAE, 2019). It is through these experiences, that I have come to a personal hypothesis that most teachers lack experience teaching or knowledge of the IB DP VA program prior to their hire by international schools. Training for IB DP VA courses is available from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), but only through an IBO World School. This means that teachers are only authorized to attend IB DP VA training after they are hired by an IBO World School and have experience teaching the IB DP VA. I have yet been able to source any Art Education programs in Universities currently teaching pre-service teachers to prepare for teaching the IB DP VA.
VA programs are commonly marginalized. This “othering” has been well documented in Art Education literature as early back in 1981 by Georgia Collins (Collins, 1981). Marginalization is exacerbated within the IB DP program as international schools can offer the IB DP program without any Group 6 subjects, due to costs associated with maintaining those programs and/or academic directions of the students (Elpus, 2019). I have observed and discussed with colleagues a concerning conception among students (and parents) within the IB DP that Group 6 subjects, particularly VA due to their practical submission expectations, are most challenging to achieve high grades leading to a further diminishment of the Group 6 programs (Adams, 2019, p.90).
This is due to an underlying expectation that is paramount to the current teaching environment of the IB DP within international schools; students’ final assessment scores. Each subject within the IB DP has specific internally and externally assessed components; the majority of subjects from Groups 1-5 culminate in a final exam. All component scores are combined to derive a final subject course out of 7. Group 6 courses also have internally and externally assessed components, however, there is no final exam. With the VA course, students are required to submit digital copies of their PP, CS and photographs of their EX. For the VA course, internally assessed components are moderated by the IBO. Both internally and externally assessed components are anonymously assessed by external examiners. Examiners are selected by an application process from current IB DP VA teachers and are expected to have at least one year of experience teaching the IB DP VA course in an IBO school. All assessment scores for the IB DP VA courses are released to the IB coordinator at each IBO world school and then to the students. Combined with TOK, CAS and EE scores, a perfect IB DP score is 45. In 2020, a year when scores were higher than the previous five, 0.45% of students (339 out of 75093 students worldwide) achieved 45. (IB DP, 2020)
In an attempt to garner statistical information on achievement scores to support my study, I emailed IB directly. In response, I was informed that the IBO itself does not rank IB World Schools or provide statistics on individual school performance as they recognize that international school environments are “diverse and have varying contexts and socioeconomic positions” (IB Answers, personal communication, February 23, 2022). However, international schools generally make their own student’s performance available to the public and parents, particularly the student achievement scores, as part of their marketing campaigns.
VA programs are commonly marginalized. This “othering” has been well documented in Art Education literature as early back in 1981 by Georgia Collins (Collins, 1981). Marginalization is exacerbated within the IB DP program as international schools can offer the IB DP program without any Group 6 subjects, due to costs associated with maintaining those programs and/or academic directions of the students (Elpus, 2019). I have observed and discussed with colleagues a concerning conception among students (and parents) within the IB DP that Group 6 subjects, particularly VA due to their practical submission expectations, are most challenging to achieve high grades leading to a further diminishment of the Group 6 programs (Adams, 2019, p.90).
This is due to an underlying expectation that is paramount to the current teaching environment of the IB DP within international schools; students’ final assessment scores. Each subject within the IB DP has specific internally and externally assessed components; the majority of subjects from Groups 1-5 culminate in a final exam. All component scores are combined to derive a final subject course out of 7. Group 6 courses also have internally and externally assessed components, however, there is no final exam. With the VA course, students are required to submit digital copies of their PP, CS and photographs of their EX. For the VA course, internally assessed components are moderated by the IBO. Both internally and externally assessed components are anonymously assessed by external examiners. Examiners are selected by an application process from current IB DP VA teachers and are expected to have at least one year of experience teaching the IB DP VA course in an IBO school. All assessment scores for the IB DP VA courses are released to the IB coordinator at each IBO world school and then to the students. Combined with TOK, CAS and EE scores, a perfect IB DP score is 45. In 2020, a year when scores were higher than the previous five, 0.45% of students (339 out of 75093 students worldwide) achieved 45. (IB DP, 2020)
In an attempt to garner statistical information on achievement scores to support my study, I emailed IB directly. In response, I was informed that the IBO itself does not rank IB World Schools or provide statistics on individual school performance as they recognize that international school environments are “diverse and have varying contexts and socioeconomic positions” (IB Answers, personal communication, February 23, 2022). However, international schools generally make their own student’s performance available to the public and parents, particularly the student achievement scores, as part of their marketing campaigns.
Criticisms of the VA assessment scoring are not unfounded. When compared with other subjects in Group 6, the VA course consistently dominates in population numbers, usually attracting double the uptake numbers of Music and at least triple when compared with Drama and Film courses (Elpus, 2019). However, the VA course is also consistently the lowest scoring Group 6 course. Only 3.6% of VA students score 7 (top marks) compared with 15.9% scoring 7 for Theatre, 12.5% for Music, 6.2% for Film, and 11.5% for Dance. In fact, the IB DP VA course is consistently one of the lowest 5 scoring courses out of the 219 that are available within IB DP curriculum (IBO, 2019).
My interest in looking specifically at quality within teaching the IB DP VA comes from a two-fold realization I had based on my postionality as an IB DP VA teacher, mentor, and examiner combined with my observations (explained above). The current low achievement scores in the VA program create obstacles for students, negatively impacting their choice to explore the VA program as one of their 6 courses. This results in low uptake numbers of students when compared with higher-scoring subjects. This scoring malaise and resulting marginalization create added pressures for IB DP VA teachers, both to create programmes that exceed worldwide averages and to attract students to their course. This is exacerbated by IB’s own data policy that prevents the release of “specific exam data” (IB Answers, personal communication, February 23, 2022). This reluctance to compare assessment results data against other schools, areas or countries not only creates a void of communication but limits the circulation of quality exemplars and/or teaching strategies.
Further complications arise for IB DP VA teachers due to the “diverse and varying contexts and socioeconomic positions” (IB Answers, personal communication, February 23, 2022) that are inherent within the international school sphere, and the very broad expectations from IBO, in that IB DP VA teachers are “encouraged to approach the teaching of the VA course holistically” (IBO, 2014, p.44) and interpret the syllabus “creatively according to their local circumstances and the context” (p.44). IB DP VA teachers are given limited support and training in how to approach the specific components of this course, in a way that is conducive for the specific environment and context of their international school campus while promoting the quality required to achieve the high scores.
Adding to the challenges discussed above is the assessment process. VA teachers are required to predict scores for their students’ final submissions. The predictions are used within the moderation process of internally assessed components, but teachers do not directly receive feedback from the examiners. The IB coordinator in each international school receives general subject examiner reports and statistical bulletins are published each year by IBO. The concerns among IB DP VA teachers that I have attempted to explain (above) are echoed in a recent survey of 51 IB DP VA teachers and examiners by Shantelle Kotowich (2021) exploring “Authenticity in the IB DP Visual Arts Course”. Based on the coded responses, Kotowich flagged respondents’ concerns into three themed areas of complaints: “The Course is only as good as the teacher,” “Teachers Need Support” and “Teachers Don’t have a clue” (p60).
Kotowich’s findings align with my observations during the past few years, where increasing amounts of IB DP VA teachers have reached out to form community to support each other in understanding the IB DP VA course. Participation and questions in (private) IB DP VA Facebook (FB) groups focused on IB DP VA support have increased in number. (IB Visual Arts Teachers 2.7 K, IB Visual Arts Teachers group 2.5 K, IB Visual Art Warrior Teachers 716 and ChineseTEA: Hong Kong Art Teachers 214) A personal support website, I created initially for my students in 2019 (https://ibdpvawithmissa.com/) which had 5000 visitors with 13, 439 views in 2019, grew to 30,772 visitors with 109,777 site visits from nearly 30,722 individual visitors in 97 countries in 2021. I have recently had an increase of IB DP VA teachers reaching out personally for support from one teacher via email with questions in 2019 to (this year) mentoring three teachers via zoom on a weekly basis, being invited to create and host Professional Development (PD) workshops for IB DP VA teachers for Australia International School in Hong Kong and Korea Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea.
Since teachers have the largest impact on student achievement (Berger, 2003), I propose that developing a supportive professional development programme for the IB DP VA teachers will have a positive effect.
Further complications arise for IB DP VA teachers due to the “diverse and varying contexts and socioeconomic positions” (IB Answers, personal communication, February 23, 2022) that are inherent within the international school sphere, and the very broad expectations from IBO, in that IB DP VA teachers are “encouraged to approach the teaching of the VA course holistically” (IBO, 2014, p.44) and interpret the syllabus “creatively according to their local circumstances and the context” (p.44). IB DP VA teachers are given limited support and training in how to approach the specific components of this course, in a way that is conducive for the specific environment and context of their international school campus while promoting the quality required to achieve the high scores.
Adding to the challenges discussed above is the assessment process. VA teachers are required to predict scores for their students’ final submissions. The predictions are used within the moderation process of internally assessed components, but teachers do not directly receive feedback from the examiners. The IB coordinator in each international school receives general subject examiner reports and statistical bulletins are published each year by IBO. The concerns among IB DP VA teachers that I have attempted to explain (above) are echoed in a recent survey of 51 IB DP VA teachers and examiners by Shantelle Kotowich (2021) exploring “Authenticity in the IB DP Visual Arts Course”. Based on the coded responses, Kotowich flagged respondents’ concerns into three themed areas of complaints: “The Course is only as good as the teacher,” “Teachers Need Support” and “Teachers Don’t have a clue” (p60).
Kotowich’s findings align with my observations during the past few years, where increasing amounts of IB DP VA teachers have reached out to form community to support each other in understanding the IB DP VA course. Participation and questions in (private) IB DP VA Facebook (FB) groups focused on IB DP VA support have increased in number. (IB Visual Arts Teachers 2.7 K, IB Visual Arts Teachers group 2.5 K, IB Visual Art Warrior Teachers 716 and ChineseTEA: Hong Kong Art Teachers 214) A personal support website, I created initially for my students in 2019 (https://ibdpvawithmissa.com/) which had 5000 visitors with 13, 439 views in 2019, grew to 30,772 visitors with 109,777 site visits from nearly 30,722 individual visitors in 97 countries in 2021. I have recently had an increase of IB DP VA teachers reaching out personally for support from one teacher via email with questions in 2019 to (this year) mentoring three teachers via zoom on a weekly basis, being invited to create and host Professional Development (PD) workshops for IB DP VA teachers for Australia International School in Hong Kong and Korea Foreign School in Seoul, South Korea.
Since teachers have the largest impact on student achievement (Berger, 2003), I propose that developing a supportive professional development programme for the IB DP VA teachers will have a positive effect.
WORKS CITED
Adams, J. (2019). DP Visual Arts, Curriculum Research Report. [Unpublished Manuscript] International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Basecamp.
Berger, R. (2003). An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students, Heineman Publishing.
Blaikie, F. (2019). Education through Art: A Model for (Art) Education drawn from International Perspectives. Learning Through Art:Lessons from the 21st Century, InSEA, p.120.
Charmaz, K. (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN:978-0-85702-9133
Collins, G. (1981). Feminist Approaches to Art Education. The Journal of Aesthetic Educatio,. Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 83-94.
Elpus, K. (2019). Factors affecting uptake of the Arts in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Universiy of Maryland. https://ibo.org/contentassets/1fcefe0df17448bebe6781ea0396adff/dp-arts-uptake-full-report.pdf.
IBO. (2021). IBO World Schools Yearbook. John Catt Educational Ltd. https://www.ibyb.org/ib-world-schools-yearbook-2022-digital-edition
IBO. (2020). IB Programmes: Visual Arts. International Baccalaureate Organization. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/the-arts/visual-arts/
IBO. (2014). Diploma Programme Visual Arts Guide. First Examinations 2016. International Baccalaureate Organization. UK.
IBO. (2019). The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2019 Examination Session, International Baccalaureate Organization. https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/bc850970f4e54b87828f83c7976a4db6/dp-statistical-bulletin-may-2019.pdf,
ISC. (2022). White Paper: The Brands and groups leading the world’s international schools sector. ISC Research, UK.
Kotowich, S. (2021). Authenticity in the IB DP Visual Arts Course. [Unpublished Manuscript] University of Bath, UK.
Berger, R. (2003). An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students, Heineman Publishing.
Blaikie, F. (2019). Education through Art: A Model for (Art) Education drawn from International Perspectives. Learning Through Art:Lessons from the 21st Century, InSEA, p.120.
Charmaz, K. (2014) Constructing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN:978-0-85702-9133
Collins, G. (1981). Feminist Approaches to Art Education. The Journal of Aesthetic Educatio,. Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 83-94.
Elpus, K. (2019). Factors affecting uptake of the Arts in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Universiy of Maryland. https://ibo.org/contentassets/1fcefe0df17448bebe6781ea0396adff/dp-arts-uptake-full-report.pdf.
IBO. (2021). IBO World Schools Yearbook. John Catt Educational Ltd. https://www.ibyb.org/ib-world-schools-yearbook-2022-digital-edition
IBO. (2020). IB Programmes: Visual Arts. International Baccalaureate Organization. https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum/the-arts/visual-arts/
IBO. (2014). Diploma Programme Visual Arts Guide. First Examinations 2016. International Baccalaureate Organization. UK.
IBO. (2019). The IB Diploma Programme Final Statistical Bulletin, May 2019 Examination Session, International Baccalaureate Organization. https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/bc850970f4e54b87828f83c7976a4db6/dp-statistical-bulletin-may-2019.pdf,
ISC. (2022). White Paper: The Brands and groups leading the world’s international schools sector. ISC Research, UK.
Kotowich, S. (2021). Authenticity in the IB DP Visual Arts Course. [Unpublished Manuscript] University of Bath, UK.
