the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme in 1956 in which students across the UK could challenge themselves through service and physical adventure.
Continuing to see that the only way to change the future was by changing the schooling of young people, Hahn became part of a greater movement that was changing the face of education worldwide. Having seen the benefits of cross-cultural collaboration in the NATO war colleges, Hahn went on to develop the United World Colleges, a group of schools founded in 1962 whose mission is to unite people, nations and cultures for a sustainable future. In 1966, he founded the Round Square network of like-minded schools to hold international conferences, exchanges and service projects for young people. A few years later, he joined a team of other education reformers to craft the structure and philosophy of the International Baccalaureate( IB) Programme.
Hahn and the International Baccalaureate IB pundits will recognise the similarities between Hahn’ s models and the instructional approaches used by the International Baccalaureate Organisation in mainstream schools around the world. Both had their origin stories in a Europe reeling from effects of two world wars and the Industrial Revolution. When Hahn joined the team, a group of educators were working to formalise the international school experiences and qualifications of graduates emerging from schools like the International School of Geneva, originally founded for League of Nations employees, and the United Nations School established in New York, along with other international schools emerging under embassy umbrellas.
The educators were influenced by progressive thought leaders who, rather than content, put concepts, the student and the global community at the centre of educational design. Following on from John Dewey’ s propositions in Experience and
Education( 1938) the IB forebearers also saw schools as the agents of social reform and laid a framework where students would be allowed to experience and interact with the curriculum and take part in directing their own learning. Further influenced by Hahn’ s positive learning experiences outside of the classroom, IB schools established a balanced approach to academics, extracurricular and personal development. The IB’ s Creativity, Action and Service programme developed from the four pillars at Gordonstoun. And with these components in their lifeboat, the IB pushed out to unknown challenges and discoveries.
The IB has remained afloat on its journey to change the world through education for 50 years. In IB schools today, students develop the personal, academic and social skills that, when applied to the world outside the classroom, will allow them to thrive in a globalising society characterised by rapid change, complexity and mobility. Student-centered and global-minded at its core, the IB prides itself on developing resilient and reflective individuals who, like Hahn’ s first graduates, will be prepared for life, not just university.
In familiar terms, an IB education is an education defined by experience. It is not always easy for parents to understand an education based outside the confines of our own familiar memories of school and schooling. Likewise, the language of practice used by the IB can often present a challenging and unfamiliar landscape as parents navigate waters different from their own experience. But much like an outward bound boat sets a compass heading, we can navigate this educational philosophy using Hahn’ s waypoints: learning is active, learning is challenging, learning is meaningful and learning is collaborative.
Going Outward Bound at LCIS While Hahn’ s programmes regularly take people outside of their comfort zones to increase their