The South China Morning Post looks at IB or DSE and explains the pros and cons of Hong Kong secondary school curriculums.
The article reports that the IB programme is rapidly gaining ground in Hong Kong, but there is no one study option that's right for everyone. Justin Woo, currently studying at an American university to become a pilot, has been through both the Hong Kong national system - the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) - and the IB programme. The article quotes Justin:
"After switching to IB, I felt happier as it involved fewer tests and less repetitive homework. The coursework requirement was flexible enough for me to work to my interests and develop new perspectives on knowledge. Everybody has different learning styles. It just happens that IB is a better fit for me as it is not as knowledge- or practice-intensive. It emphasises research and ... encourages self-exploration. I learn because I want to learn, not because I need to learn."
The report also follows Justin’s younger brother, Janseen, a 17-year-old student at St Stephen's College, who has not felt the need to switch to IB. Janseen is now sitting his DSE exams, with physics, chemistry and geography as electives, and has already received a conditional offer from the University of Waterloo in Canada to study urban planning.
But the article explains that Janseen went through some of his brother's IB physics work during his studies and found that it dug deeper into the subject:
"It will encourage you to research more on the subject rather than simply doing papers and answering exam questions, as the DSE does."
You can read the full article on the South China Morning post website.
