International Baccalaureate (IB)

Alongside their bilingual Swiss Matura, students at Stiftsschule Engelberg also work towards the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma. The programme was introduced under the guidance of Dr. Hansueli Flückiger, who played a pivotal role in its establishment and implementation.

Dr. Flückiger, what is the International Baccalaureate?
The International Baccalaureate is a globally respected non-profit organization that develops a range of educational programmes, enabling schools to deliver teaching of a high international standard. Among its most distinguished offerings is the renowned IB Diploma Programme.

Is the IB offered at Stiftsschule Engelberg?
Indeed. This programme leads to the award of the IB Diploma, recognized by leading universities around the globe. At Stiftsschule Engelberg, it is taught in tandem with the Swiss Matura.

What are the advantages of the IB?
One of the principal advantages lies in its emphasis on inquiry-based learning, enabling our students to develop skills that serve them exceptionally well at university and beyond. Many of our alumni have remarked that holding the IB Diploma distinguished them from other candidates and even opened doors to career opportunities. While not essential for university admission within Switzerland, the IB Diploma is particularly valued by international universities and institutions for the calibre of scholarship it fosters.

When does the IB Diploma Programme begin? Is it from the very first year?
No, it begins in the second semester of Year 10 (the second year of the Upper Form) and runs through to Year 12 (the fourth year of the Upper Form), concluding with both the IB Diploma and the Swiss Matura certificate.

What knowledge and skills do students acquire? What subjects are taught?
In terms of knowledge, there is little difference from the Matura, which is why the two programmes complement each other so well. The key distinction lies in the skills developed, with a strong emphasis on inquiry-based learning.

Could you provide an example?
Take Biology, for instance: students design and carry out their own independent research project, then present their findings.

It sounds as though your students are already at university or embarking on their careers.
Indeed, they develop key skills such as time management, self-motivation, organization, critical thinking, self-reflection, and an awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. These skills are essential at university but are less emphasized in a traditional Gymnasium.

Which IB subjects are offered besides Biology?
We offer German, French, English, Geography, and Mathematics – all taught with an inquiry-based approach. A student, aspiring to become a cardiologist, recently told me how excited he was to dissect a pig’s heart for a biology assessment.

CAS – What does this acronym mean?
CAS stands for Creativity, Activity, and Service, covering the arts, sport, and community work. Students independently plan, carry out, and document their projects, aiming to take on something personally meaningful and genuinely challenging.

How so?
For example, by starting a project in an area they know is a personal weakness. CAS encourages this kind of growth and is a core element of the IB, alongside the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge.

Does this not place a considerable additional burden on students? Aren’t they already fully occupied with the bilingual Matura? How does it complement their studies? What has the school’s experience been?
Surprisingly, the workload is not significantly greater. A survey at a cantonal school offering the bilingual Matura with and without the IB showed that students spend roughly the same amount of time on homework in both programmes.

But IB students do, in effect, take on considerably more – CAS, the Extended Essay, and Theory of Knowledge.
True. The perceived extra workload is hard to pinpoint, as the knowledge requirements for the IB and Matura are quite similar. The added pressure likely comes from the nature of the tasks – independent planning, strict deadlines, and sustained project work. While this can be demanding, it offers excellent preparation for university, particularly through the Extended Essay. In our experience, even less academically inclined students complete the IB Diploma successfully, which we’re proud of. The dual diploma is by no means limited to top-performing students.

You are a classical philologist, teaching Ancient Greek, Latin, and Philosophy. Why do you feel so strongly about the rather modern IB programme?
What convinces me most about the IB is its focus on inquiry-based learning and helping students form a personal connection to the subject matter. I find this approach especially appealing. Interestingly, the IB isn’t as modern as it seems – it dates back to the 1960s, and its first director, Alec Peterson, was inspired by the early 20th-century progressive education movement.

Thank you!
It was my pleasure.

A Fascinating Calculation
Each year, around eight classes in Switzerland graduate with both the Swiss Matura and the IB Diploma – roughly 160 students. In 2020, 11,077 Swiss Matura certificates were awarded, according to the Federal Statistical Office. This makes the dual diploma quite exclusive, with fewer than 1 per cent of students achieving it.

At the Forefront of Contemporary Education
The IB updates its curricula every six years, placing strong emphasis on university feedback and research into graduate outcomes. By contrast, the Matura changes far more slowly – the last major revision was in 1995. With all due respect, IB subjects are much more aligned with current developments.

As a graduate of Stiftsschule Engelberg (Matura 1979), Dr. Flückiger studied philosophy and classical philology at the University of Bern and received his doctorate on Pyrrhonism. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University. At Stiftsschule Engelberg, he teaches Latin; previously, he also taught Ancient Greek and philosophy. In 2011, he established the school’s IB program. He lives with his family in Engelberg.

Background
The International Baccalaureate (IB) was founded in Geneva in 1968 as a non-profit educational institution. The IB Diploma Program is an academically challenging, balanced educational program with final exams that prepare students aged 16 to 19 for successful university studies and professional careers. The program normally spans two years and is recognized by leading universities around the world. The IB program pursues the ideals and visions of the men and women who founded it, and considers it its task – as layed out in its mission statement – to help create a better world by offering high-quality education:

The International Baccalaureate program aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end, the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations in developing challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with all their differences, can also be right.

Recognized by Universities across the World
The IB Diploma Program is recognized as a leading international educational program. It promotes the knowledge, abilities and attitudes that empower students to perform on a high level at university. IB works together with universities in almost 150 countries in order to gain further recognition for its diploma program in the interest of the 120,000 IB graduates who begin university studies each year. More than 3,000 schools offer the DP, in 147 different countries worldwide.

Through the IB Diploma Program, students acquire a sound, balanced academic basis and an ability to refer to knowledge and understanding of different cultures and their histories. It gives them experience in critical thinking and the opportunity to apply what they learn in new contexts, ones beyond disciplinary boundaries. IB is aware that university and career success demand critical, creative thinking. The demanding curriculum of the IB Diploma Program offers a holistic approach to educating students. It enables them to develop the ability to investigate, to research and to solve problems. It provides them with the fundamental abilities of communication and cooperation.

For now 50 years, the IB program has been carrying out diligent, rigorous assessments of student performance across the world. The special IB assessment model guarantees a high degree of predictive validity and reliability, as has been proven by the many years of constant pass rates and the lack of inflation in grade marks. IB assessments are conceived so as to emphasize the training of higher-order cognitive skills. These are criterion-based, designed to measure the students’ abilities to think analytically and critically as they integrate and apply what they have learned, encouraging them to work cooperatively, and to communicate what they have learned orally and in writing.

In 2017 over 670’000 students took the IB diploma examinations. These IB students come from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds in some 140 countries, all with different experiences and perspectives as reflected in their learning experiences in the diploma program. In the context of the diploma program’s emphasis on cosmopolitanism and scholarly precision, these experiences provide students with a unique set of abilities, attitudes and perspectives for success at university, in their future professions and in our 21st-century lives.

The most recent evaluations of students with an IB diploma confirm that they perform well, attain significantly higher grades and promise better graduation rates than students without an IB diploma. The grades attained in their IB exams are also indicative of their future grades at university.

“We very much value the learning that IB students have had in their Diploma Programme. I have personally seen over the years while I have been in charge of admissions at HKU that they do not just have an understanding of their subject areas, but much more importantly, typically show levels of communication, thinking skills and all-round knowledge that equip them very well for tertiary education and beyond.” (Professor John A. Spinks, Senior Advisor to the Vice Chancellor, University of Hong Kong).

Applying for University Admission
Whoever is planning to use an IB diploma to apply for studies at a foreign university (in particular, in a British country) must understand that these universities also take note of which subjects were completed and at what level (Standard or Higher Level) when reviewing an application. There is an IB database that holds relevant information regarding many universities around the world.

The additional information listed here is translated or copied from various documents found on the IB websites.