9.2.5 Involvement of stakeholders – a curriculum conference

Involvement of stakeholders – a curriculum conference

The involvement of different stakeholders in curriculum development is an important condition for developing sustainable and flexible curricula. At the start of the curriculum development process it is important to identify which stakeholders need to be involved. For some stakeholders, it is clear that they will have to take part in the process. For example, to ensure that the developed curriculum actually meets market demands, representatives of the related industry will have to provide input during the curriculum development process. Moreover, the end users will have to take part in the design process to ensure that the curricula meet the expectations of students and to create ownership among teachers. These three main stakeholder groups should always take part in the design process. Besides these, there could also be other stakeholders that need to be involved, depending on the context. Sometimes it can be useful to include representatives from the community, because the programme or school plays an important role in the community.

Not all stakeholders will need to be involved during each step in the development process. Sometimes it is sufficient when stakeholders provide input at the beginning of the process and provide feedback at one or more points during the design process.

One way to receive input at the beginning of the design process is to organise a curriculum conference. The different stakeholders can be invited to discuss workplace trends, new and current pedagogies, and expectations of the new curriculum. The conference can be organised around a set of questions or dilemmas. The discussions held during the conference could result in a set of defined learning outcomes, design principles and desired pedagogical approaches.

After the conference, a work group can be established to continue the curriculum development process based on these conclusions. Ideally, representatives of all stakeholders should participate in the work group. The results of the curriculum development process can be presented to the initial participants of the curriculum conference, to check whether the final curriculum meets the criteria formulated during the conference.