Curriculum in the 21st century: challenges, tensions and open questions

We attempt to summarize some of the tensions and open questions that characterize the current debate on curriculum, organizing them around four interlinked aspects, namely: (i) what principles should be considered and what essential content (in the broadest sense) should be included in twenty-first-century curricula; (ii) who should set curricula and how; (iii) what type of means should be used so that the intended curriculum translates into effective and meaningful learning; and (iv) how should content be taught.