A Curriculum for a Sustainable Future: Lessons from Developing Countries

The Foundation has worked with a range of developing countries to help them design a national curriculum for the 21st century. Such a curriculum must meet the highest international standards, enabling learners to compete in... [ view full abstract ]

The Foundation has worked with a range of developing countries to help them design a national curriculum for the 21st century. Such a curriculum must meet the highest international standards, enabling learners to compete in the global economy, and be located in the heritage and culture of the country, taking account of local needs and circumstances. Hence curriculum development is driven both by a largely common international agenda and by diverse national priorities. This leads to both substantial overlaps and significant contrasts between the curricula of different countries.

The paper will draw on the Foundation’s broad experience of working in Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean, and will explore issues relating to how countries respond to this complex challenge in terms of:
• Developing a curriculum framework that takes account of local, regional, national and international policies and priorities
• Building in and consistently reflecting key national values
• Developing and expressing curriculum aims
• Building on what works
• Developing curriculum design principles and prioritising sustainability
• Incorporating knowledge, skills and competencies
• Developing and incorporating key cross-cutting /sustainability issues
• Maintaining the focus on curriculum aims when faced with diverse social and political forces
• Securing an environment in which the new curriculum can be successfully implemented and kept under review so it is dynamic and sustainable

There are clear commonalities as well as marked contrasts between the challenges faced by different countries. The paper will share the lessons emerging from the Foundation’s on-going action research.