イギリスにおける国際バカロレア認証に伴う資格試験制度変容に関する研究

抄録

  This paper clarifies what changes are occurring in the qualifications and examinations system in the UK by examining the International Baccalaureate (IB). It especially focuses on the case in England, which has recognised the IB and has been accepting IB students into universities since the development of the IB in 1968.

  To accomplish this task, this paper looks at differences between the way competencies are taught in the IB and GCE-A Level, the traditional academic qualification in the UK. IB consists of 6 subject groups (including social and natural sciences) and 3 core studies known as the Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge (TOK) and “Creativity, Action and Service” (CAS). The purpose of these core studies is to build capacity not just within the academic subjects but also outside these subjects and ability of students to apply knowledge gained from the 6 subjects. On the other hand, A Level does not offer any core studies, because there is a traditional notion that core studies will somehow lower the golden standard of A Level.

  In 2006, Tony Blair, then Prime Minister announced that he wanted to open at least one IB school in each local authority and fund schools who wish to offer the IB programme with 2.5 million pounds. This boosted the number of IB schools in the UK, especially in the public sector. Another reason for the increase of the IB schools was the fact that A Level was suffering from criticisms of grade inflation and declining standards.

  As the number of IB increased throughout the UK, the need to maintain the quality of qualifications and the qualifications in the market arose. Therefore, the government decided to set up an institution known as The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulations (Ofqual) which officially authorized IB organisations. By gaining this official authorisation, IB are now officially recognised as having UK qualifications, giving more choice for UK students to choose their university entrance qualifications. This also resulted as an increase in university applicants holding the IB within and outside of the country. An NGO, the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) set up a standard (called UCAS Tariff) to recognise IB students by maintaining equivalence with other qualifications.

  Meanwhile, at the university level, and especially among selective universities, some institutions have set up their original recognition standard and refused to use the UCAS Tariff. This means that there is a dual standard within countries with regards to recognising IB qualifications. The problem with this dual standard is that the UCAS Tariff recognises the core studies of the IB, except it does not give any points to the CAS element. Also, the standards set by the universities do not recognise the CAS, which means it only compares the subject grades between IB and A Levels. It can therefore be said that this dual standard results in problems with recognising the whole aspect of the IB holder’s competence and skills.

  There are also problems in maintaining IB schools. Once a school becomes an IB school, they must pay an annual fee to the IB organisation to maintain their IB school status. Following the change of power in 2010, the Conservative Party in England cut the public sector budget, and as a result many state schools had to drop the IB and the number of IB schools in the country has seen a great decrease.

  A new alternative movement in the UK has the number of qualifications containing the word “baccalaureate” increasing. Some examples would be the AQA Baccalaureate, the Sixth Form Baccalaureate, the Welsh Baccalaureate, the Scottish Baccalaureate, the Advanced Baccalaureate (ABacc), and the Technical Baccalaureate. A Baccalaureate in the UK is seen as an education model that offers a wide choice of subjects both in social and natural sciences (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)