CAS Explained by IBO

Courses | What Is The Diploma | Diploma Timeline | Theory of Knowledge | Creativity, Action, Service | Extended Essay | Advice | College Information | Academic Honesty | Diploma Handbook | CAS Handbook | Extended Esay Handbook

Each IB Diploma candidate is required partake in CAS – extracurricular activities comprised of Creativity, Physical Action, and Community Service.

The International Baccalaureate Organization views the CAS program as a critical element in the Diploma Program.

The creativity, action, service (CAS) requirement takes seriously the importance of life outside the world of scholarship, providing a counterbalance to the academic self-absorption some students may feel within a demanding school curriculum. The creative, physical and social development of human beings can be shaped by their own experiences. Participation in CAS encourages students to share their energies and special talents while developing awareness, concern and the ability to work cooperatively with others. The IBO?s goal of educating the whole person and fostering more caring and socially responsible attitudes comes alive in an immediate way when students reach beyond themselves and their books. The educational benefits of CAS apply in the school community, and in the local, national and international communities.

CAS should extend the students. It should challenge them to develop a value system by which they enhance their personal growth. It should develop a spirit of open-mindedness, lifelong learning, discovery and self-reliance. It should encourage the development of new skills on many levels: for example, creative skills, physical skills and social skills. It should inspire a sense of responsibility towards all members of the community. It should also encourage the development of attitudes and traits that will be respected by others, such as determination and commitment, initiative and empathy.

Although there are three elements to CAS, it is important not to consider them as mutually exclusive. CAS is about the education of the whole person, and the three elements are therefore interwoven. Together, they enable a student to recognize that there are many opportunities in life, away from formal academic study, to grow in knowledge of life, self and others. Creative and physical activities are particularly important for adolescents (probably more so than for any other age group) because popular culture informs and shapes their desires and values. There are also pursuits, which offer much opportunity for fun and enjoyment at a time, which is, for many young people, full of stress and uncertainty.

The service element of CAS is, in itself, the most significant, but the two other elements are also very important, as they provide access, balance, and flexibility to meet individual students’ interests and preferences. However, even more important in the model is that it is not just a matter of three individual parts: uniquely in the Diploma Programme it is the interaction of them all that creates the richness of CAS. The whole of CAS is greater than the sum of its parts. While it might be maintained that the Diploma Programme hexagon model is currently the best available to develop academic skills and talents, it is more difficult to determine what the formula should be to develop a student’s “informed heart”. The development of an “informed heart” should be an integral part of a student’s international education. But how it can happen is obviously the crux of the matter; at the very least we need to take into account vast individual differences.