If you enjoy learning about the environment, human-nature interactions, and sustainability from cultural, social and economic perspectives, Environmental systems and societies (ESS) is the perfect subject for you! And, you’re in luck because the IB has recently changed the Environmental Systems and Societies syllabus to incorporate new data and improve on the existing program.
When will it be introduced?
The first teaching of the new syllabus will be in July/August 2024. So if any of you are incoming DP 1 students, you will be learning the new syllabus. Thus, the first exam would take place in May 2026. If you give your exams in November 2025 or before, your papers will be based on the old syllabus.
Content and Teaching Hours
Most changes in the syllabus have to do with the name of the topics with minor differences such as subtopics being added or removed are expected, but the overall content is likely to stay similar to the old syllabus.
The more important change is the new option to take ESS which affected new changes to the teaching hours of existing topics, and the creation of additional HL-specific lenses. Among these HL topics are environmental law, environmental and ecological economics, and environmental ethics. Described as more demanding than the general topics, they allow for a more balanced viewpoint and encourage students to form connections between the different parts of the syllabus, creating a more comprehensive understanding.
| Old Syllabus | Teaching Hours | New Syllabus | Teaching Hours | ||||
| SL | HL | ||||||
| Core Content | 120 | Syllabus Content | 100 | 190 | |||
| Topic 1: Foundation of ESS | 16 | Topic 1: Foundation | 16 | ||||
| Topic 2: Ecosystems and ecology | 25 | Topic 2: Ecology | 22 | 35 | |||
| Topic 3: Biodiversity and conservation | 13 | Topic 3: Biodiversity and conservation | 13 | 26 | |||
| Topic 4: Water and aquatic food production | 15 | Topic 4: Water | 12 | 25 | |||
| Topic 5: Soil systems and terrestrial food production | 12 | Topic 5: Land | 8 | 15 | |||
| Topic 6: Atmospheric systems and societies | 10 | Topic 6: Atmosphere and climate change | 10 | 23 | |||
| Topic 7: Climate Change and energy production | 13 | Topic 7: Natural resources | 10 | 18 | |||
| Topic 8: Human systems and resource use | 16 | Topic 8: Human populations and urban systems | 9 | 15 | |||
| No HL Specific Lenses | NA | HL Specific: Environmental Law | NA | 5 | |||
| HL Specific: Environmental and Ecological Economics | 7 | ||||||
| HL Specific: Environmental Ethics | 5 | ||||||
| Additional Teaching Hours | |||||||
| Practical Scheme of Work | 30 | Experimental Program | 50 | ||||
| Practical activities | 20 | Practical Work | 30 | ||||
| Individual investigation | 10 | Collaborative Science Project | 10 | ||||
| Scientific Investigation | 10 | ||||||
Assessment Objectives
Assessment objectives, or “AOs” are the aims of the ESS course, the idea being that every student has achieved them over the course of their 2 years in IBDP. While these new AOs aren’t very different from the ones in the old syllabus, there are a few small but important changes.
For one, the word terminology is new part ‘a’ in AO1. Part ‘c’ changed altogether from values and attitudes to perspectives and worldviews. The words primary and secondary have been added in AO2, as has examples. For AO3, the main difference is that part ‘d’ was in AO4 earlier. Like I said, the changes are small but impactful. Keeping these assessment objectives in mind when learning is key to making the most out of the subject.
| AO1 | Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of relevant:Terminology, facts and conceptsMethodologies and techniquesPerspectives and worldviews | This criteria requires students to be familiar with ESS specific vocabulary and concepts. Students must know of the information being taught in their classes, as well as the methodologies used to collect the same. |
| AO2 | Apply this knowledge and understanding in the analysis of:Explanations, concepts and theoriesPrimary and secondary data modelsCase studies and examplesArguments and values | The topics learnt should be accompanied by knowledge on real life situations that relate to the same. An analysis of various data sources and perspectives is required for an unbiased view. |
| AO3 | Evaluate, justify and synthesise, as appropriate:Explanations, concepts, theories and modelsArguments and proposed solutionsMethods of fieldwork and investigationPolitical, economic, ethical and sociocultural contexts of issues | Students must consider the advantages and disadvantages of each process, argument and solution, justifying their opinions using ESS lexicon. Scenarios must be examined from political, social, cultural, economic and ethical perspectives. |
| AO4 | Investigate sustainability issues at the local or global level through:Identifying an appropriate environmental issue and research question for investigationSelecting and demonstrating the use of appropriate methods and skills to carry out insightful and ethical investigations into environmental issues. | Students are expected to use their ESS knowledge to identify environmental issues and create research questions. They must develop research methodologies and apply data collection procedures in an ethical and efficient manner. |
Assessment
The majority of the ESS assessment components remain the same. In the external assessments, the only major difference is that the questions for HL students will increase in scope to incorporate the larger amount of content provided by the HL-specific lenses of environmental law, environmental and ecological economics and environmental ethics.
However, in the internal assessment (the individual investigation), students will now be given the opportunity to collaborate with each other in small groups, compared to the individual investigations of the previous syllabus. Depending on the nature of the investigation, students will be allowed to share methodologies, provided that their variables differ and that the data collected is unique to each individual. Moreover, another criteria has been introduced in which they are to explore how various perspectives impact the outcome of a strategy and the student’s investigation. This is an entirely new addition to the ESS IA component, and didn’t exist in the old syllabus. Furthermore, the word limit has increased from 2250 to 3000 to accommodate the additional criterion.
Note: The marks mentioned below are based on the old syllabus and still apply for SL students. IB has not yet released the exact number of marks per assessment for HL students.
| Assessment | Type | Description | Time (hours) | Weightage (in %) | ||
| SL | HL | SL | HL | |||
| External | Paper 1 | Students are given a range of data in a variety of forms (maps/ images/ diagrams/ tables/ lists etc) relating to a specific, previously unseen case study. Questions are basis the analysis and evaluation of the data from the case study. All questions are compulsory and the paper is worth a total of 35 marks. (This is based on the old syllabus and is applicable for SL students. Total marks possible for HL students has not yet been released). | 1 | 2 | 25 | 30 |
| Paper 2 | Section A is made up of data based, short answer questions. The data is given to students during the assessment. It is worth a total of 25 marks. (This is based on the old syllabus and is applicable for SL students. Total marks possible for HL students has not yet been released) Section B requires students to answer 2 essay questions from a choice of 4. However, this is only for SL students and may change for HL students. Each question has three sub-questions worth 4, 7 and 9 marks. It is worth a total of 40 marks. (This is based on the old syllabus and is applicable for SL students. Total marks possible for HL students has not yet been released) | 2 | 2.5 | 50 | ||
| Internal | Individual Investigation | Students will be allowed to collaborate in groups and share methodologies | 10 | 25 | 25 | |
Conclusion
For all the environment enthusiasts who get to study the new syllabus, you’re extremely lucky! It definitely seems that IB has focused on providing a detailed and interesting update to the ESS program. There is still quite a bit of information that is not yet known, but don’t worry, we’ll update this when possible. Till then, don’t hesitate to put any doubts in the comments.
You can check out the IB website for more information!
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