Perspectives on curricular issues

14 organizations, researchers, and, of course, politics. Each group has its own considerations and preferences related to pedagogical views, concerns about qualification, subject-matter insights, and political or societal issues. Also, the predilection for tradition – the nostalgic curriculum – plays a part; from their own educational experience, people often have deeply rooted views on how education should be shaped. The more complex society becomes, the greater the pressure on education to do justice to a variety of social interests. In order to avoid overloading, it is important to prioritize. We need to make bold choices based on clear arguments. But which arguments really matter? In literature on curriculum development, three main sources for selection and prioritizing aims and content are mentioned: •฀ knowledge: academic and cultural heritage for learning and future development •฀ social preparation: issues relevant for inclusion from the perspective of societal trends and needs •฀ personal development: elements of importance to learning and development from the personal and educational needs and interests of learners themselves. This trichotomy is clearly articulated by Tyler 1949. Tyler believed that subject disciplines’ needs, society’s needs, and pupils’ needs, should together determine the educational objectives. In his view, a good curriculum strikes the right balance between these three perspectives. Additionally, educational-philosophical and learning-psychological considerations may help to further limit and refine. In addition to choosing the most relevant content, curriculum development also concerns the sequencing of content into a consistent and coherent curriculum. It is essential to arrive at a coherent organization of content, both horizontally and vertically. The horizontal coherence involves the coherence between subjects andor subject-transcending themes within domains of the same educational level. Horizontal coherence may also be realized by tuning in other components from the spider web, for example when teachers make mutual agreements upon forms of assessment. Also, the coherence between intramural and extramural activities can be looked into, for example in art and culture education. The vertical coherence of content across one or more school years is often visualized by means of curricular strands. Curricular strands, or longitudinal learning trajectories, are sequences of learning content. Such a sequence may be linear, stepped, or concentric. Curricular strands are also concerned with the alignment of educational objectives and content between subsequent educational stages.