Choosing the right school for your kids can be a challenge, especially if you’re traveling frequently. Every country has a different education system and enrolling your kids in a different school each year can disrupt their learning experience. On top of that, the language barrier can be extremely difficult for traveling kids to cope with, especially if the school has very few international students.
The best alternative for traveler kids is an international baccalaureate. These schools are based on an international syllabus and offer degrees that are recognized worldwide. If you’re a digital nomad, traveler, diplomat, or in a profession where your job entails traveling to different countries frequently, an international baccalaureate school is ideal for your kids.
Apart from having a consistent syllabus, an international baccalaureate has an atmosphere that’s easier for kids to integrate into and the syllabus brings the best out of talented kids.
Why Choose International Baccalaureate for Traveler Kids?
Here are the reasons along with their evidence-based explanation on why you should choose an international baccalaureate for your kids if you’re a traveler.
Uniform Education System For Kids
The main motivation for traveler parents to choose an international baccalaureate for their kids is that these schools offer a single, uniform syllabus in a wide range of countries. Some subjects may change slightly due to the local laws of some countries, but the core syllabus is the same across different international baccalaureate schools worldwide.
This ensures that your kids stay on par with their studies and don’t have to face difficulties in adapting to the shift in syllabuses when you travel to a new country. Studies have shown that simply changing schools can have a significant emotional impact on children, especially if they’ve gotten accustomed to the previous school.
For this reason, one could only imagine the difficulty they may face if they had to change schools and face a completely foreign syllabus that’s not aligned with their previous studies.
International baccalaureate schools offer more than 7000 programs in over 179 countries, so you’re likely to find a school for your kids in most countries. The best thing about these programs is that they are uniform across all these countries, especially if you stick to the same program.
Therefore, if you want your kids to have seamless integration in their new school when you relocate to a different region or country, an international baccalaureate is the perfect option.
IB Programs are Globally Recognized
Another major advantage of choosing an international baccalaureate for traveler kids is that the programs are globally recognized. Most universities, and all the top-ranking ones, accept the 7700 programs offered by international baccalaureate.
While some countries require you to apply for equivalence certification if you’ve done schooling through an international baccalaureate program, most universities will accept your IB diploma, so there’s no need to worry about credibility.
While some other degrees, like A Levels, are accepted by most universities, the IB diploma will guarantee your kid admission into the university, regardless of which country you’re staying in.
Many international universities that offer virtual degrees also highly favor the international baccalaureate program due to its creative approach to learning and history of producing competent students. According to studies, students who have graduated from the international baccalaureate program are 21% more likely to be accepted by a prestigious university in the US.
Therefore, even if you’re not staying in a country with a reputable university, or the available universities don’t offer the degree program your child wants to study, you can enroll them virtually in a global university.
Teaching Style is Better
There has been a lot of research on how different teaching approaches impact a child’s ability to think critically and solve real-world problems. Unfortunately, many teaching systems are still based on outdated teaching systems that place more emphasis on repetition and memorization rather than reflective thinking and creativity. This results in children developing a closed mindset which leads to their inability to cope with change.
In contrast to this, the international baccalaureate system is based on an immersive learning experience, which allows for more one-on-one teacher and child interaction. They focus more on instilling leadership qualities in kids, and this is emphasized in everything from the syllabus design to extracurricular activities.
An international baccalaureate allows students to express their opinions and learn through trial and error as opposed to memorization and repetition. The active teaching strategy is significantly better than traditional lecture-based teaching, according to a recent study by Harvard.
The IB program is designed to encourage students to question concepts and converse more with teachers. This is made possible by the small classroom sizes and low student-to-teacher ratio. While this should ideally be part of most curriculums and school systems, it requires highly skilled and passionate teachers.
From this analysis, we believe that if you want your kid to get a quality education and become a lifelong learner, an international baccalaureate program is quite effective. Best of all, it will help them cope with the challenges of living in diverse environments.
Suggested Reading: Visa-Free Travel: A Comparison of the Most Powerful Passports
Helps Kids Appreciate Diversity
The fact that traveling kids have to adapt to different environments and visit schools in different countries can be daunting. It can be difficult to blend in with other kids, especially when there are cultural and language barriers. However, on the other hand, this can be a positive aspect of your kid’s learning experience as it helps them appreciate diversity.
This is why an international baccalaureate is ideal for traveler kids as it exposes them to children from diverse backgrounds. Children of diplomats and other traveling parents often attended international baccalaureate schools. Since most of them will be in a foreign environment, bonding with other kids in the same environment becomes much easier.
Not only will this allow your kids to appreciate diversity, but it also allows them to be more confident in front of people from other countries. In this age of globalization, the skill to connect with people from different cultures is underappreciated, and teaching this to your kids will give them an edge in their personal and professional lives.
In the future, when such children go across different walks of life, they do not have issues communicating with or tolerating others that are culturally different. It also helps in eliminating the ideology of racial profiling and helps foster a better mindset for the kids in the long run.
Programs are Often Advanced
Research has shown that many schools struggle to cope with changing technology and few know how to integrate new tech into their teaching programs. Fortunately, international baccalaureate schools are more advanced in this regard and incorporate technology in the teaching process. This helps kids develop essential tech and research skills while streamlining the teaching process.
Another advantage of having a positive attitude towards technological changes is that the curriculum prepares the kids for real-world challenges. For example, AI is projected to displace 40% of all current jobs by 2028.
By the time your traveler kids graduate, there’s a high possibility that they won’t be able to cope with technological changes unless they pursue specialized courses. Fortunately, the IB program regularly adds new courses to its curriculum to stay up-to-date with technological changes, so your kids are a step ahead in the professional sphere.
However, parents are also given the freedom to choose which courses they want their kids to study, especially for kids in higher classes. When choosing courses or helping your kids to choose their own courses, make sure that you choose ones that are relevant to their passion and future studies.
Related: How long can you stay in an EU country with a British passport?
Encourages Extra Curricular Activities
Many schools do great in teaching technical subjects but don’t place enough emphasis on extracurricular activities. However, research has shown that effective extracurricular activities can aid in a child’s intellectual and personal development. In fact, well-designed extracurricular activities can be more productive for long-term student development than lecture-based studies.
Best of all, your kid may discover a hidden talent, whether it be in arts, sports, or another field. Not only do international baccalaureate schools offer extracurricular activities, but they also identify and nurture talent in all areas.
Schools offering IB programs are often more proactive towards the children’s extracurricular activities in order to make them more confident and aware of themselves. They have designated marks and points for these activities which motivates many students to step out of the conventional learning system.
These activities are also great for building interpersonal skills, encouraging creativity, and making school time a positive experience for kids. It also encourages them to learn teamwork and forge lasting friendships.
With that being said, if you want your kids to have a degree from a reputable organization while developing their interpersonal and other “soft” skills, an international baccalaureate is a degree to go for.
Wrap Up!
From our analysis of the different benefits of the International Baccalaureate, we believe that this is one of the finest choices for traveler kids. Even if the kids do not end up traveling, they will be learning in one of the best-recognized programs worldwide. It will be an investment that you will not regret. For all of the mentioned benefits, we recommend choosing an IB program for your kids.
For many other guides related to travel, head over to our section on “Travel Explained“.
Why Should You Choose an International Baccalaureate for Traveler Kids - FAQs
The main advantage of an international baccalaureate is that the degree is recognized globally. Other benefits of an international baccalaureate include a more well-rounded approach to education, an up-to-date syllabus, and more teacher-student interaction.
While schools offering A Levels provide adequate education for traveler kids, the international baccalaureate program is ideal. It prepares kids for the challenges of globalization and has a more advanced syllabus and quality teaching system.
Most major universities will accept the international baccalaureate degree. Many universities will prefer students with an IB degree. Students graduating from these programs are also more likely to have better interpersonal skills and creative thinking, which increases their chances of acing the entry tests of most major universities.
Good job! Please give your positive feedback
How could we improve this post? Please Help us.
