The IB believes in an inclusive approach to education designed to remove or reduce barriers so that every student can fully participate in IB programmes.
Inclusive education is facilitated in a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, support and problem-solving involving the whole school community.
Across the world, inclusive education has grown from a movement that was about the inclusion of students with disabilities to a holistic approach that is about all learners.
The IB approaches inclusive education in two main ways:
- inclusive principles in the design of IB programmes
- inclusive education practices in IB World Schools.
Inclusive principles in the design of IB programmes
IB programmes are designed to ensure that all IB learners to have equal opportunities to learning pathways, learning experiences and educational recognition. The IB applies these principles for programmes and subjects.
When designing and developing the curriculum, the IB aims to:
- design and develop a universally designed curriculum that is inclusive, fair and accessible for all IB learners
- take into consideration planned access and inclusion (inclusivity and accessibility for groups of students who would need specific access) and student well-being
- draw upon a range of ways of knowing and incorporate experiences, contribution and histories from across nationalities, cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives
When designing and developing IB assessments the IB aims to:
- use the principles of universal design of assessments in assessment design and development
- consider student well-being during assessment design and development
- provide inclusive access arrangements for students with access requirements
- support students who are impacted by adverse circumstances during examinations
- ensure that evaluation of achievement is carried out in a reliable and valid manner by providing instructions to IB examiners to reduce or eliminate bias during the marking process.
Inclusive education practices in IB World Schools
Inclusive education is designed to meet the unique needs and strengths of individual students, ensuring that every student can fully participate, thrive and flourish in their IB education. The IB creates and maintains policies and produces resources to support the implementation of this vision of inclusive education in IB World Schools.
Access and inclusion policy
The access and inclusion policy is designed to enable full participation of all students across all four IB programmes in teaching, learning and assessment (formative and summative), by reducing and removing barriers using appropriate and well-planned access arrangements.
There are tens of thousands of students who are enrolled in IB programmes worldwide who are supported through inclusive pedagogy and access arrangement provisions. They are also supported in their IB assessments (Diploma Programme, Career-related Programme and MYP eAssessments). This policy applies to all students who require additional support, as well as to the diverse learning preferences of all students.
Read the access and inclusion policy (PDF, 3.1 MB)
Adverse circumstances policy
The adverse circumstances policy supports individual students who are impacted by circumstances such as bereavement, injuries, illnesses, or groups of students impacted by circumstances such as natural disasters during the assessment period.
Read the adverse circumstances policy (PDF, 1.5 MB)
The IB principles of inclusive education focus on all students – opportunity for every student to fully participate and engage in IB programmes.
