This article arises from a systematic review of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP). Four databases were consulted, and after the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, 21 articles were selected and analysed in the following categories: year and author, country, type of research, participants, purpose and results. The results show a growth in PYP research in recent years, coming from several countries around the world, using mainly qualitative or mixed methodologies with small samples of teachers, students, administrators and families in IB schools. There is great variety in the purposes of the studies, the most representative being comparative analysis of the implementation of the programme, the use of a language for IB teaching other than that of the country in which the school is located, and the treatment of interculturality. These studies find differences in the ease of implementation of the programme depending on the context and geographical location of the schools, and also highlight the benefits of the programme for intercultural education and foreign language learning. Some tensions can be observed between the PYP curriculum and national policies, and also in the training and predisposition of teachers towards this particular methodology. More research is needed on the academic benefits of the PYP in comparison with other methodologies that are also working well at the curriculum level.
AlexanderRJ (2001) Culture and Pedagogy: International Comparisons in Primary Education. Oxford: Blackwell.
2.
Anderson-LevittKM (2002) Teaching Cultures: Knowledge for Teaching First Grade in France and the United States. New York: Hampton Press.
3.
Ashley-WelbeckAVlachopoulosD (2020) Teachers’ Perceptions on Using Augmented Reality for Language Learning in Primary Years Programme (PYP) Education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET). 15(12): 116–135.
4.
BabuSMahajanA (2021) Branding an international school: Fusing ‘Indian values’ with a global diploma. International Studies in Sociology of Education. 30(3): 287-305.
5.
Ben-JaafarSBodolicaVSpraggonM (2023) Understanding the International Baccalaureate as an emerging field of research: a systematic literature review using bibliographic coupling. Educational Review. 75(3): 535-557.
6.
BraunVClarkeV (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology. 3(1): 77-101.
7.
Bueno-VillaverdeASteffenVVan VoorenC (2018) Additional Language Teaching in International Schools through Inquiry in the Primary Years Programme. Porta Linguarum. 30(1): 117-129.
8.
BunnellTFertigMJamesC (2020) The institutionalisation of schools and the implications for identity of experienced teachers: the case of International Baccalaureate World Schools. Cambridge Journal of Education. 50(2): 241-260.
CanterCBrumarC I (2011) Transdisciplinary niches fostering lifelong learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. 28(1): 636-639.
11.
CarderM (2006) Bilingualism in International Baccalaureate programmes, with particular reference to international schools. Journal of Research in International Education. 5(1): 105–122.
12.
CreswellJW (2014) Research design. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
13.
DaviesPManganJHughesA (2009) Participation, financial support and the marginal student. Higher Education. 58(1): 193–204.
14.
DrakeSM (2012) Creating standards-based integrated curriculum: The Common Core State Standards edition. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
15.
EllingsonLL (2017) Embodiment in Qualitative Research. London: Routledge.
16.
FornäsJ (1995) Cultural theory & late modernity. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
17.
GibbonsP (2014) Scaffolding Language, Scaffolding Learning: Teaching Second Language Learners in the Mainstream Classroom. London: Heinemann Publishing.
18.
GorskiPC (2009) What We’re Teaching Teachers: An Analysis of Multicultural Teacher Education Coursework Syllabi. Teaching and Teacher Education. 25 (1): 309–318.
GuignonC (2004) On being authentic. London: Routledge.
21.
GülerTYaltırıkİ (2011) A Review of Primary Years Program in Early Childhood Education According to Teachers’ Views. Education and Science. 36(160): 266.
22.
GürkanB (2021) The Effects of Designing a Transdisciplinary Inquiry-based Curriculum on Pre-service Teachers: A Case of International Baccalaureate. Education and Science. 46(206): 407-440.
KarnesFNugentS (2003) The Primary Years Programme in the United States: An Overview and Analysis. Gifted and Talented International. 18(1): 44-46.
29.
KauffmanN (2005) Variations on a theme: Implementation of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Journal of Research in International Education. 4(3): 243–261.
30.
KidsonPOdhiamboGWilsonR (2019) The International Baccalaureate in Australia: trends and issues. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. 49(3): 393-412.
31.
KushnerSCochiseACourtneyMSinnemaCBrownG (2016) International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in Aotearoa New Zealand: A case-study in whole-school innovation. University of Aukland.
32.
LawEMcDowallJFederT (2012) The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program in Australia: Parents and school choice. International Journal of Learning. 18(10): 295-310.
33.
LebretonM (2014) Additional language teaching within the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme: A comparative study. Journal of Research in International Education. 13(1): 3–18.
34.
LeekJ (2020) From educational experiment to an alternative to the national programme. International Baccalaureate Programmes in Poland – policy and practice perspectives. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. 52(3): 475-491.
35.
LesterJNLochmillerCR (2015) A mixed-methods case study of International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programmes in four Colombian schools. Indiana University.
36.
LochmillerCRLuceroALesterJN (2016) Challenges for a new bilingual program: Implementing the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme in four Colombian schools. Journal of Research in International Education. 15(2): 155–174.
37.
LucasTGrinbergJ (2008) Responding to the linguistic reality of mainstream classrooms: preparing all teachers to teach English language learners. In: Cochran-SmithMFeiman-NemserSMcintyreJDemmerJ(eds). Handbook of Research on Teacher Education: Enduring Questions in Changing Contexts (pp 606-636). London: Routledge.
38.
LüddeckeF (2016) Philosophically Rooted Educational Authenticity as a Normative Ideal for Education: Is the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme an example of an authentic curriculum?Educational Philosophy and Theory. 48(5): 509-524.
39.
MackLHalicOBurdE (2019) Career oriented and university bound: higher education outcomes of IB Career-related Programme graduates in the US. Journal of Vocational Education & Training. 71(2): 289-311.
40.
MoherDLiberatiATetzlaffJAltmanD GPRISMA Group (2009) Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS medicine, 6(7): e1000097.
41.
NoddingsN (2003) Happiness and Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
42.
O’BoyleÉ (2009) Whispers from within: Students’ perceptions of the first year of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme in an international school. Journal of Research in International Education. 8(1): 30–56.
43.
OgayTEdelmannD (2016) ‘Taking Culture Seriously’: Implications for Intercultural Education and Training. European Journal of Teacher Education. 39(3): 388–400.
44.
PalmerN (2016) Seeing the forest for the trees: The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme exhibition and Global Citizenship Education. Journal of Research in International Education. 15(3): 208–223.
45.
PillerI (2017) Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
46.
QuaynorL (2015) Connections and contradictions in teacher practices for preparing globally minded citizens in two IB public schools. Teachers College Record. 117(9): 1-38.
47.
RoihaASommierM (2021) Exploring teachers’ perceptions and practices of intercultural education in an international school. Intercultural Education. 32(4): 446-463.
48.
SavageMDrakeS (2016) Living Transdisciplinary Curriculum: Teachers’ Experiences with the International Baccalaureate’s Primary Years Programme. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. 9(1): 1-20.
49.
Solano-CamposA (2017) Language Ideologies in a US State-Funded International School: The Invisible Linguistic Repertoires of Bilingual Refugee Students. Journal of Research in International Education. 16(1): 36–54.
50.
SousaD (2006) How the Brain Learns. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
51.
SparkesACSmithB (2014) Qualitative research methods in sport, exercise and health. From process to product. London: Routledge.
52.
SperandioJKongPA (2018) Forging professional learning communities: the role of external agency. International Journal of Leadership in Education. 21(1): 80–94.
53.
SplitterLJ (2009) Authenticity and constructivism in education. Studies in Philosophy and Education. 28(1): 135–151.
54.
SteffenVBueno-VillaverdeA (2018) Perceived difficulties between early years and primary teachers in International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme implementation. Journal of Research in International Education. 17(2): 116–133.
55.
Suresh BabuSMahajanA (2021) Branding an ‘Inter’national school: Fusing ‘Indian values’ with a global diploma. International Studies in Sociology of Education. 30(3): 287-305.
56.
TaylorC (1991) The ethics of authenticity. Boston: Harvard UP.
57.
TéllezKWaxmanHC (2006) A meta-synthesis of qualitative research on effective teaching practices for English language learners. In: NorrisJMOrtegaL (eds) Synthesizing Research on Language Learning and Teaching (pp 245–277). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
58.
ThessinRAStarrJP (2011) Supporting the growth of effective professional learning communities districtwide. Phi Delta Kappan. 92(1): 48–54.
59.
TuglukMN (2020) The effect of primary years program (PYP) on children’s science process skills (SPS) in early childhood education. Cypriot Journal of Educational Sciences. 15 (5): 1276–1287.
60.
TwiggVV (2010) Teachers’ practices, values and beliefs for successful inquiry-based teaching in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Journal of Research in International Education. 9(1): 40–65.
61.
WalshLCasinaderN (2019) Investigating the moral territories of international education: a study of the impact of experience, perspectives and dispositions on teachers’ engagement with difference in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education. 28(2): 136-150.
62.
WaltonJPriestNKowalEWhiteFFoxBParadiesY (2018) Whiteness and national identity: teacher discourses in Australian primary schools. Race Ethnicity and Education. 21(1): 132-147.
