In 2019, the Department for Education introduced the core content framework (CCF) in initial education in England. The framework, which has been criticised for being heavily shaped by research from cognitive science, has, inadvertently, become the baseline curriculum for initial teacher education. This article explores how experiential learning is…

Finland has long been culturally and linguistically varied and continues to grow even more diverse every year. However, this heterogeneity has not been reflected in the country's history curriculum, which has traditionally been built on the idea of a homogenous Finnish nation. This study examines the representation of both old and new minorities…

The paper discusses the Finnish core curriculum (curriculum framework) for basic education, with focus on how lower secondary education in general, and history teaching specifically, is meant to develop the student's democratic citizenship. Developing the student's democratic citizenship is not an explicit aim of history teaching in the current…

ACTA has released the second edition of "No U.S. History? How College History Departments Leave the United States out of the Major." The report found that 18 of the top 25 public universities did not have a wide-ranging American history requirement for students seeking a B.A. in history in the major or core curriculum. Top universities…

In this case study, we explore pedagogical practices that could promote powerful knowledge in school history. We analyse teaching sessions conducted by two teachers. The cases were selected from an observation study that focused on historical literacy in Finnish schools. While Michael Young's ideas of powerful knowledge have gained considerable…

ACTA's What Will They Learn?® (WWTL) project is designed to help students choose the best college or university for them. The printed report and its online companion WhatWillTheyLearn.com represent the only assessment of U.S. colleges and universities that focuses on what schools are actually teaching. This report assigns grades to over 1,130…

"What Will They Learn?" has been documenting for the last 13 years the crisis of weak core curriculum requirements. In addition to helping students choose the right college for the right reasons, American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) works with college and university leaders on campuses around the country to strengthen curricula…