Promoting excellence in teaching and learning, both on campus and more broadly, is a fundamental goal of the Aga Khan Academies. Each Academy has a Professional Development Centre (PDC), which strengthens the profession of teaching in the region by investing substantially in teachers’ professional development.

Developing strength in teaching

We identify and develop teachers of the highest quality who are committed both to the all-round development of young people and to their own professional growth as excellent teachers.

Our PDC supports excellence in teaching by promoting best practices in teaching and learning. We provide ongoing, collaborative training for Academy faculty as well as outreach programmes for teachers and head teachers from neighbouring government, private and not-for-profit schools. Our faculty members also have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across the globe and to teach abroad within the Aga Khan Academies network.

Learning at the PDC

Progamming at the Academy’s PDC began in June 2010 with a course from the Professional Learning for Educators Series (PLES). The PLES programmes are designed by the Aga Khan Academies. They respond to the need to improve the standard of teaching and learning identified during extensive market research and interaction with government and departments of education.

The series includes programmes for teachers in various subject areas as well as specialised programmes focusing on skills and understandings related to education. We build professional competence by enhancing teachers’ subject knowledge and by examining how to teach that subject effectively. Each programme provides participants with a balance of intensive learning activities followed by an extended period of assisted application and observation within their own classrooms.

Strengthening curriculum and community

Through our professional development provision, we help create a professional community of competent, well-resourced teachers. These teachers will continue to support and collaborate with one another on resource development, by sharing best practices, and in establishing diverse academic, cultural and social projects.

The Aga Khan Academy Mombasa offers an education of an internationally recognised standard of excellence to prepare students to become intellectually curious, global-minded citizens of the world.

The Academy programme develops students who are committed to positive change and are able to understand and analyse complex issues of local, national and global significance.

Our curriculum is built on the framework of the International Baccalaureate (IB). The IB is a thorough, multidisciplinary curriculum that fosters:

• Intellectual curiosity
• Creativity
• Leadership development
• Social consciousness
• A pluralistic sensibility 

The IB is also known for preparing students for admission to the best universities in their own countries and abroad.

Our focus is on developing students' critical thinking skills and the ability to analyse issues. We also emphasise multicultural understanding and awareness. One of the ways in which we help our students develop skills for ethical leadership is through the Aga Khan Curricular Strands. These are cross-disciplinary areas of study that have been developed for the network of Aga Khan Academies.

Overall educational programme

Our curriculum is complemented by co-curricular, athletic and community service initiatives. The overall educational programme is designed to educate well-rounded, civic-minded individuals. It enhances students’ academic excellence, leadership skills, sense of civic responsibility, understanding of global issues, and analytical and study skills. The programme also reinforces an understanding of local languages, history, cultures and environment.

When they graduate from the Academy, students are expected to be computer literate and have a thorough understanding of the diverse academic disciplines covered in the IB curriculum. They should have mastered at least two languages, including English. Through the planned international exchange programme, our students will be able to enhance their foreign language learning and appreciation of other cultures. 

Our graduates are thus well prepared for the rigours of higher education and to pursue opportunities in an increasingly interdependent world.

For further information on the IB programmes offered at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa please visit the following pages:

• Primary Years Programme (years 1–5)
• Middle Years Programme (years 6–10)
• Diploma Programme (years 11–12)

The Aga Khan Academy Maputo is a Candidate School* for the Diploma Programme. The Academy is pursuing authorisation as an IB continuum school. These are schools that share a common philosophy — a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that the believes is important for our students.

What is the MYP?

The MYP is a challenging and exciting inquiry-based curriculum that actively engages students in their learning by encouraging them to make connections between what they study and the wider world.  The five-year programme offers students access to a curriculum that is broad and balanced, conceptual and connected.  What matters is not absorbing facts that can be repeated but developing ways of thinking that can be applied to new situations.

There are 8 subject groups within the MYP.  Here at the Aga Khan Academy in Maputo our students study Portuguese and English language and literature, Portuguese, English and, in MYP3, French language acquisition, humanities, sciences, mathematics, visual arts, design and physical and health education.

In addition to the academic subjects our MYP students also develop leadership skills, library research skills and initiate and participate in service with the community.

In the final year of the programme students complete a personal project that encourages them to strengthen their approaches to learning skills, consolidate prior and subject-specific learning and develop an area of personal interest. In the context of the Aga Khan mission, vision and values it also develops awareness of a community need and seeks to address it in a meaningful way. The personal project is challenging, motivational and interesting as each student develops a personal project independently.

MYP Learners

The MYP promotes open communication, based on mutual understanding and respect. It encourages students to become active, compassionate lifelong learners.  The programme is holistic and as such is concerned with developing the whole person.  Along with cognitive development, the programme addresses students’ social, emotional and physical well-being. Students are encouraged to become active and caring members of local, national and international communities who respect themselves, others and the world around them. They develop effective communication skills, social skills, self-management skills, research skills and thinking skills that will enable them to adapt to a range of contexts, as they make their way through life.

Assessment for learning

Teachers use a variety of assessment strategies to address the MYP subject-group objectives. The assessment for learning tasks include, among other things compositions, creating solutions or products in response to problems, essays, examinations, investigations, questionnaires, research tasks, performances, presentations, research task and reports.

In the fifth and final year of the MYP, to be eligible for the internationally recognized MYP certificate students must successfully complete eight eAssessments:

On-screen examinations in:

• Language and literature
• Individuals and societies (Humanities)
• Sciences
• Mathematics
• Interdisciplinary learning

ePortfolios (coursework) in:

• language acquisition
• physical and health education, arts or design
• the personal project

Students must also meet the school’s expectations for service and action. 

The MYP bilingual certificate additionally requires successful results from on-screen examinations of:

A second language and literature instead of a course in language acquisition

The maximum total score for the IB MYP certificate is 56, with a grade from 1-7 assigned to each required eAssessment.

Students must achieve a total of at least 28 points, with a grade of ‘3’ or higher n each eAssessment component, to be eligible to receive the MYP certificate.

Transition to the IB Diploma (DP)

MYP subject groups form an important common foundation for all students and provide strong alignment with the six subject groups in the DP which follows.  The two year DP course encourages depth and breadth of learning and builds on students’ prior learning experiences. This encourages them to become confident, independent learners. It also encourages students to develop their critical thinking skills, self-management and global mindedness. Further, research carried out on behalf of the IB demonstrates that successful DP graduates are much more likely to be enrolled at top higher education institutions than entrants holding other qualifications.

Please visit the Admission Requirements page or contact us to find out more about applying to the MYP programme at the Academy.

*Only schools authorised by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org.