KIS IB Curriculum

At KIS International School, Bangkok all students learn through the International Baccalaureate, or IB, curriculum. The curriculum is well-known, recognized and respected throughout the world for helping children and young adults to become well-rounded students who know how to think critically and be the best and most involved global citizens.

The IB, which started in the 1960s, suits internationally-minded families who are looking for the best, consistent and high quality education that is available, recognized and respected worldwide.

The IB programmes were designed for increased adaptability and mobility of students. No surprise then that there are over 1.4 million IB students in over 5,400 IB schools in 158 countries. Enrolling your children in an IB school in Bangkok will provide them with the best international perspective, while allowing them to maintain and explore their home culture and their mother tongue language. As each IB school must be authorized and regularly re-visited by the IB organisation, you can rest assured that the high standard of the IB is maintained at each school. At KIS, our standards in many cases are set even higher than the IB requires. We provide an excellent student-teacher ratio, a warm and caring international community, and a commitment to teaching, learning, and discovery for all students.

The three programmes at KIS are articulated, so that they connect as a coherent continuum of learning. Our curriculum utilizes the IB programmes as a framework for all disciplines. At KIS, we have further developed these by incorporating the best aspects of many national curricula to extend the quality and internationalism of the taught curriculum.

To this effect, our curriculum is broad and balanced, globally conscious, and ensures the best possible benchmarks and outcomes for student learning in Bangkok. Because our curriculum is not specific to one national or state curriculum, it can more easily transfer to other schools (especially IB schools) when expatriate students move back to their homes or on to any other location.

The IB Learner Profile

The IB  learner profile is a key component of all IB programmes. It promotes attitudes and characteristics in students that develop international-mindedness. Students are encouraged to recognize their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet and to help create a better and more peaceful world. 

The learner profile provides long-term vision for education and is a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of the entire school community-students, teachers, administrators, and parents, uniting them in a common purpose of international-mindedness and global citizenship.

What is the philosophy of the IB Programmes?

The programmes are learner-centred and inquiry-based. They emphasize education as a process (learning how to think, learning how to learn) and not just as a product (a collection of knowledge), thereby stimulating the students' natural creativity and curiosity.

Do students have to study all three as a continuum?

No. Each programme was designed as a stand-alone programme. Approved IB world schools around the world may offer one or two or all three of the programmes. However, all three programmes have these common characteristics:

• A strong international dimension
• Draw on content from educational cultures around the world
• Require study across a broad range of subjects
• Include both individual subjects and opportunities to make connections between various disciplines
• Give special emphasis to learning languages
• Focus on developing learning skills across the curriculum
• Encourage students to become responsible members of their community and the world beyond

Can IB students transfer to other types of schools?

Yes. Students transferring to other IB world schools will have common learning experiences in terms of conceptual development and skill acquisition. The content may be different as schools in other countries would wish to reflect the unique nature of their locations. Close attention is paid to a range of national curriculums when developing the best IB programmes. IB students transferring to countries with national curriculums should have no trouble with meeting the standards of national schools.

Are the best IB programmes only available in private schools?

The IB programmes can be taught in state, private, national and international schools. They can be offered individually, but a growing number of schools offer them as a continuum of learning. The IB does not own or manage any schools. Instead, the community is made up of state and private schools called IB World Schools. There are currently over 5,000 IB World Schools around the globe. We continue to have some of the best IB scores and best Diploma pass rates in Bangkok and are one of the few international schools in Bangkok, and indeed Thailand, to offer the IB continuum (three IB programmes).