What could the design of a curriculum framework look like?
Based on the different levels of curriculum design, the different activities and approaches, what might the development of a curriculum framework look like in practice?
The steps described above are an example of what the design process can look like. There is no single recipe for developing curricula, and each context might require a different approach.
At the start of the curriculum development process it is important to decide the level at which the curriculum will be developed. In more centralised systems, a curriculum at macro level is probably preferred, whereas in more decentralised systems the curriculum will be developed at regional or school level. A curriculum developed at meso level often allows for more flexibility and will also create more ownership. It is easier to make changes in a curriculum at school level than at national level, because changes made at national level need to be communicated to all schools and then to all teachers. It is also more difficult to involve all stakeholders in curriculum revisions. When developing and revising curricula at meso level teachers and students can be more easily involved which will also create more ownership. Involving representatives from industry is possible at both levels. A drawback of developing at meso level is that curriculum development expertise needs to be available at that level. Developing curricula of good quality requires thorough knowledge of curriculum development.
Backwards design is a common principle in curriculum development. This means that the final learning outcomes defined in the qualification are used as a starting point. Based on these learning outcomes, assessment standards, criteria and the form of assessment will be defined. Based on this, the broader learning outcomes can be divided into smaller learning objectives which the learners will have to acquire to enable them to achieve the final learning outcomes.
In the context of this toolkit we assume that we would like to develop a modular curriculum, which is easier to adapt than a subject-oriented curriculum in the event of changing labour market demands.
Our starting point is the qualification standards. The first step is to analyse the current situation, to define the desired situation and to take into account the backgrounds and entry point(s) of the learners. Based on this, we define design principles and desired pedagogical approaches. These principles and approaches guide us through the next steps of developing a modular curriculum.
One of the steps is to define the different building blocks – modules in a modular curriculum. The broader learning outcomes described in the qualification will be divided into smaller outcomes, or objectives, which the learner will have to acquire step by step in order to achieve the final learning outcomes. Therefore, the next step will be to discuss which learning outcomes are related, how they relate to each other and which learning outcomes it makes sense to cluster in one module. Modules are usually not separate subjects, such as biology or physics, but are clustered around a specific task. The necessary knowledge and skills to perform this task will be learned during the module. At the end of the module, the learners should be able to perform the task independently.
Another aspect to take into account is the order of the modules. In really flexible, modular curricula the order should not matter. But this is not always realistic, since some modules might build on skills and knowledge acquired in previous modules and in these cases there is a specific order. Another reason could be that a specific task is too complex to learn during one module, in this case two or even more modules can be created to learn the required task. If this is the case, the complexity increases with each module.
Another question is whether all modules are compulsory for all learners. Learning outcomes should be formulated in a general way, allowing learners to follow different learning pathways to acquire the same learning outcomes. Some learners will acquire learning outcomes while working and will use validation of non-formal or informal learning to validate the outcomes, while others follow specific learning programmes to acquire the learning outcomes. But even within the programmes, different modules can be developed to achieve the same learning outcomes, and in this way programmes can be more tailored to the individual interests of the learners. In this case, different modules can be developed offering learners an opportunity to choose the modules they are most interested in.
Another important element to discuss is where learning takes place, whether at school or in a workplace, or whether this choice can be taken at a lower level of the curriculum design process (for example, when developing a specific module). Different choices can be made here, depending on the context of the country/region and the business and industry involved. Sometimes, specific modules or parts of modules will be learned during work based learning, in other cases a minimum number of hours of a whole curriculum are followed.
Once the structure of the modules is clear, we need to allocate time to the modules. This is also a good test to check if we can cover all modules in the available time. If not, it is important to discuss whether the allocated time is correct and/or whether all content included in the modules is really necessary to achieve the defined learning outcomes, or whether any content can be removed from the modules in order to reduce the number of hours allocated to the modules.
At the end of this part of the design process we will have an overview of the different modules and, when applicable, the order of different modules. Each module should have a title, and defined learning outcomes and time allocated to it. A short description of the pedagogical approach that would best support the learning is desirable, but this could also be defined during the design of a module.
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