Updated on
August 20, 2026
IB Learner Profile: The 10 Attributes Explained
The 10 IB Learner Profile attributes explained with observable classroom examples, inclusive guidance and practical planning across PYP, MYP, DP and CP.
The IB Learner Profile describes ten attributes: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. These learner profile attributes provide shared language for the aims of the IB programmes, across the Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP).
For teachers, the profile is most useful as a planning and reflection tool. Choose two or three relevant attributes, connect them to real subject work, and notice what learners say, make, revise and decide. Do not teach all ten as separate traits, grade character, or assume that one visible action reveals a fixed trait.
Key takeaways
- The learner profile is the IB's shared description of ten capacities and responsibilities that extend beyond academic attainment.
- Plan for two or three attributes through an existing unit rather than teaching all ten as a separate checklist.
- Name observable actions in learner work and discussion. Do not grade personality or label a learner as permanently caring, balanced or principled.
- Keep the same ten attributes across PYP, MYP, DP and CP, while changing the task, language, independence and evidence expected at each stage.
- Interpret communication, balance, risk-taking and reflection inclusively so learners can demonstrate them through accessible modes and culturally meaningful practice.
Stillisano et al. (2016) gathered survey data from DP teachers and leaders in 31 schools. The team then used interviews, student surveys and classroom visits at six case-study sites. This mix of evidence shows why classroom examples matter.
It links broad reports with what people said and did in real settings. It does not prove that one practice caused an outcome.
What the IB Learner Profile Is
The learner profile is a shared description of the kind of learning and conduct that IB education seeks to develop. It joins subject knowledge with inquiry, communication, ethical responsibility, openness, care, considered courage, wellbeing and review. The current official profile names the same ten attributes across the full IB continuum (International Baccalaureate, 2026).
It is a guiding teaching framework, not a test of whether a learner is a good person. An attribute becomes useful when it helps a teacher design a richer task, model a way of working, give precise feedback or prompt useful review. A poster can introduce the words, but the teaching has to give learners repeated chances to practise them.
The profile also sits alongside, rather than replacing, subject knowledge and skills. The Approaches to Learning categories help teachers teach research, thinking, communication, social and self-management skills. The profile expresses broader purposes and duties. A learner may use research skills to act as an inquirer, but a single research task does not prove a permanent trait.
This distinction protects both rigour and fairness. You can ask, “What did this learner do in this context, and what support would help next?” That is more useful than deciding that someone “is not reflective”. It also leaves room for growth, cultural difference, disability, language development and other ways of participating.
The 10 Attributes at a Glance
The table translates each official attribute into plain classroom language and one action a teacher could truly observe. These are examples, not universal measures or assessment criteria. The same learner may show an attribute differently across subjects, languages, relationships and stages of growth, so use several pieces of work before drawing a conclusion.
| Attribute | Plain-English meaning | One observable classroom example |
|---|---|---|
| Inquirers | Ask worthwhile questions and learn how to investigate them. | A learner turns curiosity about melting into a fair test and explains what they would measure. |
| Knowledgeable | Build connected understanding of ideas that matter locally and globally. | A learner uses the idea of systems to connect food webs, transport networks and a local planning problem. |
| Thinkers | Use critical and creative reasoning to understand problems and decide what to do. | A learner compares two flood-defence proposals, tests assumptions and justifies a recommendation. |
| Communicators | Make meaning clear and work with others through suitable modes and languages. | A learner uses an annotated diagram and speech-generating device to explain a scientific process to a group. |
| Principled | Act with integrity, fairness and responsibility for choices and consequences. | A learner corrects an inaccurate source credit and explains how AI supported part of their draft. |
| Open-minded | Value personal and cultural histories while seriously considering other perspectives. | A learner revises an interpretation after accurately representing a classmate's contrasting reading. |
| Caring | Show empathy, compassion and commitment through attentive, responsible action. | A project group consults the people affected before proposing a community response. |
| Risk-takers | Meet uncertainty with forethought, courage and a willingness to learn. | A learner shares an unfinished method, invites challenge and revises it without hiding the original error. |
| Balanced | Attend to intellectual, physical and emotional wellbeing in context. | A learner identifies overload, agrees a manageable sequence and uses a planned regulation break before returning. |
| Reflective | Consider experience and evidence to understand strengths, limits and next steps. | A learner compares two drafts, identifies the change that improved the argument and plans what to try next. |
Use this table to sharpen planning, not to create ten columns in an action tracker. A strong task often makes several attributes possible, but that does not mean every one needs naming. Select the few that clarify the learning purpose, then use daily work and talk to see how learners respond.
How the 10 Attributes Look in Learning
The attributes become useful when teachers connect each one to a worthwhile subject task, an explicit teacher move and signs in the learner's response. The examples below avoid turning definitions into slogans. They show how an attribute could develop, while recognising that no single lesson can establish a fixed trait or describe full growth.
Inquirers
Inquiry starts with a question that can lead somewhere, not simply with permission to wonder. A Year 4 learner asking whether an ice cube melts faster in sunlight becomes an inquirer when they decide what to compare, find what to measure and use the result to improve their account. The teacher protects curiosity by asking, “How could we find out?” instead of supplying the answer.
Use the inquiry cycle to make the process visible: notice, question, investigate, make meaning, act and reflect. Scaffolds such as a choice of equipment, a worked example or a planning conference do not make inquiry less real. They help learners take increasing control. Avoid praising the number of questions alone, because a careful revision of one question may show more growth than a page of disconnected wonderings.
Knowledgeable
Knowledgeable learners build a strong grasp and connect it across contexts. In Year 7, a learner could use the concept of systems to explain a food web, compare it with a transport network and find where a disruption has wider effects. The teacher move is to ask, “Where else have we met this idea, and what differs here?”
Knowledge is not the opposite of inquiry. Learners need vocabulary, examples and secure subject content if they are to ask better questions or judge an answer. In PYP planning, PYP key concepts can help a class examine knowledge through form, function, causation, change, connection, perspective and responsibility. Avoid treating general awareness or confident recall as proof of deep grasp.
Thinkers
Thinkers analyse facts, test ideas and make sound choices. In a geography unit, groups could compare flood-defence proposals, find who benefits, calculate costs and challenge the facts behind each claim. A useful teacher prompt is, “What makes that reason strong, and what facts would change your mind?”
Make thinking visible through annotated models, comparison grids, counterexamples and short accounts. Good classroom questioning includes wait time and requests for reasons, rather than a rapid sequence of guesses. Creative thinking also matters, but novelty is not enough. Learners should test whether an idea is workable, ethical and suited to the problem.
Communicators
Communicators make ideas understandable and work well with others. In a science lesson, offer equal ways to explain a finding: a short talk, a labelled table, an annotated photograph, a signed response or an AAC-supported contribution. Ask every learner to include facts and a reason. Judge the clarity and responsiveness of the meaning, not eye contact, speed, accent or performance confidence.
Communication also includes listening, interpreting and changing an account for an audience. A learner who asks a clarifying question, sets out a partner's point well or translates an idea between home and school languages may be communicating powerfully. Do not make public speaking the default sign. Some learners think best before responding, and accessible preparation often improves the quality of everyone's contribution.
Principled
Principled action involves integrity, fairness and responsibility for consequences. In a Year 9 history task, a learner could find an untraceable AI-generated citation, replace it with a checked source and disclose how the tool supported the draft. The teacher should model this as normal scholarly practice, not wait to punish an error after submission.
Ethical dilemmas make principles discussable. Ask learners who is affected, whose rights or interests matter, what facts are missing and what duty follows. A compliant learner is not automatically principled, and respectful disagreement can be principled too. Give feedback on the choice and reasons in context, rather than inferring honesty or morality as a fixed character score.
Open-minded
Open-minded learners understand their own cultural and personal standpoints while engaging seriously with other views. In English, pair texts that frame the same event differently. Ask learners to find each assumed audience, present the strongest version of a reading they initially reject, and then explain whether their reading changed.
Open-mindedness is not agreement, politeness or withholding judgement. Learners can listen well and still reject a claim for sound reasons. Establish talk routines that protect challenge without humiliation, and include views through teaching rather than occasional celebration days.
Avoid rewarding only learners who adapt quickly in public. Thoughtful reconsideration may appear later in writing, creative work or private review.
Caring
Caring is empathy expressed through responsible attention and action. Before designing a food-bank campaign, learners could speak with the organisation, examine what is actually needed and revise a well-intentioned plan that would create extra work. The teacher asks, “How do we know this action helps, and who has shaped the choice?”
Care should not be confused with constant agreeableness, unpaid emotional labour or rescuing others. Boundaries, consent and fairness matter. A quiet learner who notices exclusion and changes a group routine may show care without public warmth. Service can provide a useful context, including MYP Service as Action, but the quality of listening and response matters more than how visible the activity is.
Risk-takers
Risk-takers meet uncertainty with forethought and determination. In Year 9 mathematics, show a plausible wrong solution and ask pairs to find the first faulty step. Learners can then share a tentative correction and explain why the error was tempting. The teacher makes draft thinking safe, models being stuck and separates exploration from final graded performance.
Careful courage is not recklessness, compulsory disclosure or showy confidence. The level of risk depends on the learner and context. Asking for clarification, trying an unfamiliar representation or defending a minority view respectfully may be a strong step. Offer predictable routines, preparation time and alternatives, mainly where anxiety, language development or previous experiences affect taking part.
Balanced
Balanced learners recognise that mental, physical and emotional wellbeing affect one another. A learner facing several deadlines could find overload, prioritise essential work, ask for clarification and use a planned sensory or movement break. The teacher supports sound planning and recovery rather than praising constant output.
Balance does not mean equal time for every activity, perfect calm or the same achievement across subjects. A period of intense focus can be healthy and useful, especially when followed by rest. Avoid using the attribute to police emotion, body shape, family routines or disability-related needs. Ask what sustainable participation looks like for this learner in this context, and make structural changes where workload or access is the problem.
Reflective
Reflective learners use experience and facts to understand what happened and choose a next step. After a test, a Year 5 learner could write, “I changed two variables, so I cannot tell which caused the result. Next time I will change one.” The value lies in the clear diagnosis and planned adjustment, not in producing a long diary entry.
Stillisano et al. (2016) studied reflection in the DP and found that schools interpreted and supported it in varied ways. Their findings support practical structures such as modelling, focused prompts, conversation and repeated chances, but they should not be applied to every attribute or programme. Link reflection to metacognition by asking learners to compare ways, facts and results, then use the answer in the next task.
How to Plan with the Learner Profile
Start with the subject learning, then choose two or three attributes that truly deepen the unit. Define what learners could do, say, make or revise, teach the needed action through the content, gather normal work samples, invite reflection and use what you notice to adjust the next task. This keeps the profile focused and easy to manage.
- Choose a narrow focus. Select two or three attributes because they fit the unit, not because every box needs coverage. Faria's learner profile planning guidance also recommends a narrow unit focus. A debate could focus on thinkers, communicators and open-minded learners. A field test could focus on inquirers, principled learners and risk-takers.
- Define visible signs. Finish the sentence, “In this task, we may notice this when learners...” Use actions such as comparing sources, revising a method, acknowledging uncertainty or adapting an account. Avoid vague descriptors such as “shows a caring attitude”.
- Teach and model the action. Think aloud while evaluating a claim, show how to disagree well or show how a failed draft changes. If learners have never seen the process, simply naming an attribute will not make it easy to access.
- Build it into subject work. Use the current reading, experiment, design brief, problem or performance. Do not add a disconnected worksheet asking learners to copy definitions. Connect the chosen attribute to the clear knowledge and skill the unit is designed to develop.
- Gather normal work. Keep a revised paragraph, a photograph of an annotated model, a brief observation note or an audio account. One artefact can illuminate both subject learning and a profile-related action without creating a second assessment system.
- Invite focused reflection. Ask what changed, what facts informed a choice and what the learner will try next. Give options for spoken, written, visual or supported reflection. A prompt tied to a real choice is stronger than “How were you reflective?”
- Adjust the next task. If group accounts remain unclear, model audience awareness and change the talk structure. If learners avoid uncertain methods, add a low-stakes rehearsal. Planning closes the loop when the work changes teaching.
The unit plan should remain readable. Record the selected attributes, one or two likely signs, the learning experiences that make them possible and the reflection point. The preserved planning tool below can help connect profile intentions with teachable skills, but teacher judgement still decides what belongs in the unit.
How the Profile Changes Across PYP, MYP, DP and CP
The ten attributes remain shared across PYP, MYP, DP and CP, but their expression should become more complex, independent and context-sensitive. Programme structures offer different chances for inquiry, projects, disciplinary reasoning, service and reflection. The profile itself is not a separate graded subject, and CAS does not independently assess or add points for learner profile attributes.
| Programme | Typical emphasis | Example evidence | Teacher stance |
|---|---|---|---|
| PYP | Recognising, naming and practising attributes through play, inquiry, relationships and action. | A learner explains how sharing materials changed a group's investigation, then chooses a next step. | Use concrete language, model the action and offer frequent supported reflection. |
| MYP | Applying attributes through disciplinary and interdisciplinary inquiry, projects and service. | A design team tests an unusual material, records failure and communicates a justified redesign. | Make criteria for the academic task clear and prompt learners to connect choices with consequences. |
| DP | Handling complex knowledge, ethical and research questions with growing independence. | A learner evaluates competing claims in Theory of Knowledge and explains a change in perspective. | Expect disciplined evidence and critical reflection without converting the profile into subject marks. |
| CP | Connecting academic study, career-related learning, community engagement and responsible professional action. | A learner adapts communication after workplace feedback and evaluates the effect on colleagues or clients. | Connect reflection to authentic professional contexts, access needs and ethical responsibility. |
In the Primary Years Programme, staff often make abstract language concrete by noticing actions and inviting learners to explain them. In the Middle Years Programme, learners can show growing independence through inquiry, collaboration, the Personal Project, Community Project and service. Recognition still matters, but the work should include the learner's reasoning and response to challenge.
In DP, the core provides rich contexts rather than a profile scoring system. TOK develops examination of knowledge, views, methods and ethics. Creativity, Activity, Service requires engagement and reflection, but CAS is a completion requirement and does not add points to the DP score. CP contexts can make principled action, communication and reflection visible through career-related learning and community engagement.
Age alone does not determine the right level of support. A younger learner may reason with striking depth, while an older learner may need visual structure, language support or modelling in a new context. Growth means increasing the strength of the work, independence and transfer where appropriate, not steadily removing every scaffold.
How to Notice Growth Without Grading Personality
Notice growth through clear actions, work samples and learner accounts gathered over time. Use action-based feedback and reflection to support the next step, but keep profile notes separate from character scores, conduct grades and fixed labels. The question is what happened in this learning context, not what kind of person the learner is.
Begin with the work you already collect. A revised method can show scientific reasoning and a reflective response to error. A source comparison can show historical grasp and open-minded consideration.
A group design record can show technical choices and communication. This approach reduces workload and prevents a parallel system in which staff try to score ten abstract qualities.
Use formative assessment to move learning forward. Feedback such as, “You tested both accounts against the data before deciding; next, state what evidence would overturn your conclusion,” is useful. “You are a good thinker” is flattering but vague. “You are not open-minded” turns a moment into an identity judgement.
- Observation notes: record a brief action and context, not a reading of character. Write “asked the group to check the quieter partner's diagram” rather than “very caring”.
- Portfolio samples: pair a normal piece of work with a short account of the choice, revision or way it shows.
- Conferences: ask learners to compare evidence from more than one lesson and find where support or context changed their taking part.
- Peer feedback: give a narrow observation focus and teach respectful, evidence-based comments. Peers should not judge one another's morality or character.
- Reflection prompts: ask about a concrete choice, difficulty or change. Offer multiple response modes and use the answer to plan another opportunity.
A rubric may describe features of a task response, such as whether a source judgement is explained, but it should not award levels for being caring, balanced or principled. Moderate the quality of learning chances and feedback rather than comparing learners' supposed character. School leaders can audit where schemes of work require inquiry, ethical reasoning and reflection without building an attribute league table.
Inclusive and Neurodivergent Learner Profiles
An inclusive learner profile focuses on the purpose of each attribute and accepts varied ways of showing it. Communication may be spoken, written, signed, visual, multilingual or supported by assistive technology. Balance is not constant calm.
Risk-taking is not forced exposure. Reflection does not require rapid speech, eye contact or a standard diary.
For communicators, separate the quality of meaning from the mode used to express it. A concept map, AAC contribution, captioned video, signed account, bilingual draft or carefully prepared written response can all make complex thinking visible. Provide materials in advance, processing time and clear turn-taking. Do not use volume, spontaneity or sociability as proxies for communication.
For balanced learners, recognise regulation needs, fluctuating energy, disability, medical routines and deep interests. A learner using headphones, movement, a quiet space or a flexible sequence may be actively staying involved. Balance does not demand equal time across activities or suppression of distress. Sometimes the right response is to change an inaccessible environment, not train the learner to tolerate it.
For risk-taking, agree what careful courage means for the individual. An autistic learner may take a useful risk by asking what an ambiguous instruction means. A learner with anxiety may contribute through a rehearsed recording before joining live talk.
Choice, predictability and psychological safety allow courage without coercion. Never frame the removal of necessary support as bravery.
Reflection can happen through sorting examples, drawing a process, recording audio, selecting from prompts or discussing work with a trusted adult. Some learners need help recalling or sequencing an experience. Provide the artefact, timeline or photographs as anchors. Assess the insight used to improve learning, not handwriting, emotional disclosure or the ability to produce self-aware language on demand.
Avoid positive stereotypes too. It is not safe to assume autistic learners are always principled, unusually logical or naturally focused. Start with the individual learner, consult them and their family where appropriate, and check work across settings. Inclusive planning expands valid ways for everyone to take part without lowering the intellectual demand of the task.
Common Questions About the IB Learner Profile
Teachers most often ask whether the attributes are assessed, how many to plan at once and how the language applies beyond authorised IB schools. The short answers are to avoid character grading, focus on two or three relevant attributes, use clear evidence and keep any non-IB change honest about its status.
What are the 10 IB Learner Profile attributes?
They are inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. The official IB learner profile explains the current wording and places the attributes within the wider aim of developing internationally minded people (International Baccalaureate, 2026). The ten remain shared across PYP, MYP, DP and CP.
Are the learner profile attributes formally graded?
The profile should not be treated as a separate character grade or a formal scoring rubric. Programme tasks, projects, service and reflection can provide work linked to the attributes, while the subject or programme requirement keeps its own criteria. CAS reflections, for example, support learning and completion processes, but learner profile attributes do not add points to the DP score.
How many attributes should a unit focus on?
Usually two or three are enough. Choose attributes that sharpen the purpose of the subject task and can be supported through explicit teaching. Trying to focus on all ten encourages superficial references and unnecessary paperwork. Other attributes may emerge, but teachers do not need to label every positive action that occurs.
Can non-IB schools use the profile?
A non-IB school can discuss or adapt the attributes as language for lesson planning, reflection and ethical action. It must not imply IB authorisation or present a local change as an official programme. Staff should also examine whether the language fits their community, what it adds to current values and how they will avoid character scoring.
Is “risk-taker” the same as being reckless?
No. The intended idea is courage with forethought when facing uncertainty. A learner could ask a difficult question, try an unfamiliar method or share tentative reasoning. Teachers should make the intellectual purpose and reasonable boundaries explicit. Unsafe behaviour, forced personal disclosure and unmanaged physical risk are not a sign of the attribute.
How does the profile relate to international-mindedness?
The profile gives shared language for capacities linked to understanding views, communicating across difference and acting responsibly. International-mindedness still requires strong subject content and local talk. A learner does not become internationally minded by memorising ten terms. Text selection, historical framing, language policy, community relationships and whose knowledge counts all shape the work.
What is the learner profile's role in the PYP?
In the PYP, the learner profile is central to how the programme describes the learner and the development of international-mindedness. The official page on the learner in the PYP places it alongside agency, action and approaches to learning (International Baccalaureate, 2026). Teachers make the attributes concrete through inquiry, relationships, play, reflection and action.
How should school leaders review implementation?
Sample units, tasks, learner work and feedback across subjects. Ask where the teaching creates real chances for inquiry, perspective, ethical judgement, communication and reflection, and whether all learners can take part. Look for depth and growth, not the number of profile words on displays. Discuss inconsistencies with teachers and learners before changing policy.
Limitations and Cultural Safeguards
The learner profile is a useful pedagogic language, but it is not a complete or culturally neutral account of human flourishing. Meanings such as balance, communication, principled action and open-mindedness can shift across communities. Schools should discuss local readings, examine who is advantaged by visible norms and resist treating the list as universal character standards.
Rizvi et al. (2014) compared implementation and adaptation in India, Australia and Hong Kong. The study shows why the profile cannot simply be copied from a poster into the same practice across settings. Schools interpret attributes through local histories, expectations and school aims. This is a reason for careful dialogue and local change, not for assuming one fixed meaning or that any local reading is beyond question.
Ask families, learners and staff what an attribute could look like in their languages and contexts. Does “communicator” privilege quick public speech? Does “open-minded” become pressure to accept harmful claims?
Does “caring” place extra expectations on girls or particular cultural groups? Does “balanced” individualise a workload problem created by the timetable? These questions improve use by exposing hidden assumptions.
Transfer is another limitation. A learner who reasons fairly in one supported debate may not act the same way elsewhere. Any signs should stay tied to the setting, and claims should remain modest.
Repeated chances can support growth, but you cannot infer stable virtue from isolated performances. The profile guides learning and reflection; it does not diagnose character.
Use safeguards: define observable and context-specific actions, allow culturally and linguistically varied expression, gather more than one piece of work, invite learner interpretation, protect dissent, review access barriers and keep profile observations out of punishment-based conduct systems. Where local values conflict, make the tension discussable rather than quietly rewarding conformity.
References
These sources support the official description, PYP context, cross-cultural safeguards, reflection guidance and selective planning approach used in this article. The evidence widget from the previous version has been removed because its provenance was not confirmed. No broader research claim is presented as Consensus-backed.
- International Baccalaureate. (2026). IB learner profile.
- International Baccalaureate. (2026). The learner in the Primary Years Programme.
- Rizvi, F., Acquaro, D., Quay, J., Sallis, R., Savage, G., & Sobhani, N. (2014). IB learner profile: A comparative study of implementation, adaptation and outcomes in India, Australia and Hong Kong. International Baccalaureate.
- Stillisano, J., Wright, K., Boriack, A., Hodges, T., Sonnenburg, S., Metoyer, S., Rollins, K., & Waxman, H. (2016). A study of reflection in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. International Baccalaureate.
- Faria Education Group. Learner profile attributes. Accessed 20 August 2026.
For your next unit, choose two or three attributes, write one observable action for each, and add a single reflection prompt beside the subject task that will produce the evidence.
