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, social partners and, most importantly, students. This report is one of six in a…

We examined the possibilities of employing collaborative action research (CAR) to promote Mainland Chinese secondary school teachers' engagement with the recent curriculum reform. A brief background of the history of the examination culture and the curriculum reform is provided. We analysed key challenges leading to teachers' resistance to…

The ongoing cycle of educational reform in America has led policymakers and educational leaders to prioritize test-based results and de-prioritize noncognitive skills, equitable outcomes, and crucial socio-emotional aspects of schooling (Lynch et al., 2009). Despite the equitable goals outlined in previous education policy reforms, intended…

This paper reports teacher and learner perspectives on how assessment and reform influences pedagogical practices and behaviours. The research was conducted in a context of policy reform, at a time when Wales' revised General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) specifications had been implemented, and learners were preparing for their…

This paper focuses on how physical education (PE) teachers interpreted and implemented a new, minimalist and traditionalist National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) in England. Utilising a single-method, cross-sectional design, 43 teachers participated in semi-structured interviews which explored their approach to teaching the new…

Purpose: Shared understandings of curriculum reform within and between the levels of the educational system are suggested to be crucial for the reform to take root. The purpose of this paper is to explore variation in perceived curriculum coherence and school impact among state- and district-level stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach: The…

The California Next Generation Science Standards (CA NGSS)--adopted in 2013--have the potential to improve scientific literacy and strengthen the global competitiveness of California's workforce. However, longstanding underinvestment in science education and the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19 have heightened challenges faced by…

The era of educational accountability and high-stakes testing has often caused schools to react by frequently changing reading curriculum, with the quest of increased student achievement and attainment of rigorous standards. While curriculum changes may appear to be well planned and purposeful toward the goal of school improvement, changes that…

School curriculum change processes have traditionally been managed internally. However, in Queensland, Australia, as a response to the current high-stakes accountability regime, more and more principals are outsourcing this work to external change agents (ECAs). In 2009, one of the authors (a university lecturer and ECA) developed a curriculum…

As an early Common Core booster, Michael Petrilli had hoped that by now--10 years after most states adopted the standards--the nation's schools would have logged tangible improvements in teaching and learning that resulted in higher student achievement. In this article, Petrilli reviews what Common Core is and discusses the work ahead that is…

Global citizenship education (GCE) within schools in England is increasingly being reoriented to address a statutory duty to promote fundamental British values (FBV). This multi-method study investigates the influence of critical GCE within initial teacher education in reshaping awareness, understanding and disposition towards FBV amongst…

This study investigated initial implementation processes of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in public and private schools in a single Louisiana district. Results suggested participants' high level of concern in many aspects of the implementation of the CCSS in public schools related to timeline and instability of curriculum decisions, which…

We used a situative perspective to examine teachers' perceptions of a professional development intervention that integrated lesson study, video clubs, and animation discussions. The analysis of interviews with the five geometry teachers who participated in the intervention during two consecutive years showed three characteristics of professional…

The Common Core State Standards, released in 2010, were rapidly adopted by more than 40 states. Champions maintained that these rigorous standards would transform American education, but the initiative went on to encounter a bumpy path. A decade on, what are we to make of this ambitious effort? What kind of impact, if any, has it had on the…

The study aims to gain a better understanding of the national large-scale curriculum process in terms of the used implementation strategies, the function of the reform, and the curriculum coherence perceived by the stakeholders accountable in constructing the national core curriculum in Finland. A large body of school reform literature has shown…