Several key factors either drive or hold back changes in the curriculum:
Vision: For a curriculum to change, people’s understanding and expectations of the education system must evolve. The overall goals and purposes need to be seen differently.
Leadership: Change often hinges on strong leadership. Effective leaders inspire faculty to unite around clear educational goals that everyone agrees need updating.
Financial Pressure: Budget constraints play a huge role. For example, class sizes often reflect how tight the finances are. Money issues affect more than just staffing ratios—they impact many decisions.
Staffing and Workload: Even if funds are available to hire, it’s not always easy to find willing staff. Many educators resist new methods. Plus, curriculum changes usually follow a zero-sum rule—adding something new means cutting something else.
Teaching and Learning: Modern curricula rely on research about how students learn best. The focus is on helping all students develop higher-level skills like problem-solving, communication, and teamwork. Without updating teaching methods, other changes don’t really matter.
Administration: For real classroom change, administrators at every level need to shift from a top-down control style to one that supports teachers and encourages shared decision-making.
Employer and Industry Opinions: Employers want curricula to focus more on transferable skills such as communication, critical thinking, and social skills. They often feel changes are happening too slowly, especially in these key areas. Schools tend to focus on theory, and limited resources slow progress.
Student Perspectives: Students want a wide range of elective options, but their preferences don’t strongly influence curriculum choices. Studies show students usually pick courses based on personal interest rather than pushing for more academic or vocational content.
Student Abilities: Ideally, curricula would challenge all students to reach their highest potential. But often, weaker students struggle with core skills like math and English, leading schools to design programs that suit the average learner. While many average students go on to succeed, this approach may shortchange the top performers.
Public and Political Support: For changes to take hold, public and political backing must grow. This means people need to understand why changes are needed and feel included, especially diverse communities.
Education Departments and Regulations: Over time, schools have added many subjects, but rarely remove them. Pressure to cut low-enrollment courses can influence teaching methods. Schools also face demands to meet benchmarks at local, national, and international levels, competing for both students and future jobs.
Policy Alignment: State and local policies must support the new vision by aligning curriculum standards, teaching methods, assessments, and resource distribution to ensure all students are included.
Networking: Creating networks of educators who study, test, and promote new educational ideas is key for lasting change. These networks often connect people across different schools and districts without relying heavily on formal structures.
Academic Trends: Curricula should be appealing to students by being academically strong, current, industry-relevant, and well-taught. However, students often choose courses based on ease of passing and flexibility, which can both help and hinder innovation.
