Curriculum Overload
A Way Forward
For the first time, the OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030 project conducted
comprehensive curriculum analyses through the co-creation of new knowledge with a
wide range of stakeholders including policy makers, academic experts, school leaders,
teachers, NGOs, other social partners and, most importantly, students. This report
is one of six in a series presenting the first-ever comparative data on curriculum
at the content level summarising existing literature, examining trends in curriculum
change with challenges and strategies, and suggesting lessons learned from unintended
consequences countries experienced with their curriculum reforms.
Schools are constantly under pressure to keep up with the pace of changes in society.
In parallel, societal demands for what schools should teach are also constantly changing;
often driven by political agendas, ideologies, or parental pressures, to add global
competency, digital literacy, data literacy, environmental literacy, media literacy,
social-emotional skills, etc. This “curriculum expansion” puts pressure on policy
makers and schools to add new contents to already crowded curriculum. This report
aims to support reflecting on questions such as “how to avoid creating a ‘mile wide
– inch deep’ curriculum?” and “how to shift a paradigm to curriculum centred around
student well-being?” It also discusses the trade-offs tied to design choices.
Published on November 25, 2020