CURRICULA IN EUROPE: HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS, EVOLUTIONARY FACTORS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES

Author: Apostolos Karaoulas

ABSTRACT

Curricula and timetables have consistently constituted one of the cornerstones of the European educational tradition, exerting a decisive influence on the formation and continual transformation of the educational edifice. From the early forms of learning that emerged during the Middle Ages to the complex educational pursuits of the 21st century, the character of curricula has been closely interwoven with the political, social, scientific and pedagogical ferment that has marked each historical era. Each period has highlighted new objectives and value orientations that have shaped the structure, teaching methods and subject areas of the curricula, reflecting the dynamic trajectory of educational practice over time.

The significance of curricula emerges as a living locus of confluence for the political, social, scientific and pedagogical transformations that have sculpted the identity of European education throughout its long historical course. The turning points that have defined its development, the theocentric worldview of the Middle Ages, the rediscovery of the human being during the Renaissance, the Enlightenment’s call for rationality, and the sweeping social and political upheavals of the modern era, have all endowed curricula with a role that transcends that of a mere vehicle for the transmission of knowledge. Curricula became a domain for the initiation into the values each era deemed essential for social cohesion and political order, shaping models of identity, behavioral imperatives and collective frameworks of orientation.

The central question guiding this study focuses on the nature of these historical transformations and the dynamic development of the curriculum. What political, social, pedagogical and scientific factors have shaped educational thought in each period, and how have prevailing conditions been inscribed into the strategy and structure of education? In seeking the mechanisms behind these processes, the methodological approach adopted is structured around the major historical turning points, highlighting the dominant factors that have influenced the evolution of curricula within the European context.

Keywords: Educational curricula, educational reform, pedagogical development, curriculum revision, adaptation of educational systems

REFERENCES

  • Acker, V. (2000). Célestin Freinet: Contributions to the study of education. Greenwood Pub Group.
  • Alexiadou, N. (2007). The Europeanisation of education policy: Researching changing governance and ‘new’ modes of coordination. Research in Comparative and International Education, 2(2), 102-116. https://doi.org/10.2304/rcie.2007.2.2.102
  • Altbach, P. G. (Ed.). (1997). The international academic profession: Portraits of fourteen countries. Jossey-Bass.
  • Banks, J. A. (2008). Diversity, group identity, and citizenship education in a global age. Educational Researcher, 37(3), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08317501
  • Beane, J. A. (1997). Curriculum integration: Designing the core of democratic education. Teachers College, Columbia University.
  • Biesta, G. (2011). Good education in an age of measurement: Ethics, politics, democracy. Routledge.
  • Black, R. (2001). Humanism and education in medieval and Renaissance Italy: Tradition and innovation in Latin schools from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Cambridge University Press.
  • Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (R. Nice, Trans.; 2nd ed.). Sage Publications
  • Brown, I. Q. (1971). The Renaissance in education Part I: William Harrison Woodward and humanistic education [Review of Vittorino da Feltre and Other Humanist Educators; Desiderius Erasmus concerning the Aim and Method of Education; Studies in Education during the Age of the Renaissance, 1400-1600, by W. H. Woodward & W. H. Woodward]. History of Education Quarterly, 11(3), 303-318. https://doi.org/10.2307/367296
  • Bruner, J. S. (1977). The process of education. Harvard University Press.
  • Burke, P., & Lehane, P. (2023). Weaving the literature on integration, pedagogy and assessment: Insights for curriculum and classrooms – Annex 2. National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
  • Chandler, K., Ochoa Siguencia, L., & Ochoa-Daderska, R. (2014). Lifelong learning and active citizenship: The case of directing life change project. Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, May 23th-24th, 2014, Volume III, 512-522.
  • Comenius, J. A. (1907). The great didactic of John Amos Comenius (M. W. Keatinge, Trans.). Adam and Charles Black. (Original work published 1657)
  • Darnton, R. (1987). The business of Enlightenment: A publishing history of the Encyclopédie, 1775-1800. Harvard University Press.
  • Davies, M. (1999). Aldus Manutius: Printer and publisher of Renaissance Venice. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
  • De Ridder-Symoens, H. (Ed.). (1988). A history of the university in Europe. Volume 1: Universities in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press.
  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Kappa Delta Pi, Macmillan Publishing Co Inc.
  • Facer, K. (2011). Learning futures: Education, technology and social change (1st ed.). Routledge.
  • Febvre, L. (1985). The coming of the book: The impact of printing, 1450-1800. Verso.
  • Friesen, N. (2011). The place of the classroom and the space of the screen: Relational pedagogy and internet technology. Peter Lang
  • Gillis, J. R. (1981). Youth and history: Tradition and change in European age relations, 1770-present. Academic Press.
  • Green, A. (1990). The state and the rise of national education systems: A comparative study of educational development in England, Prussia, France and the USA. Palgrave Macmillan
  • Herbart, J. F. (1806). Allgemeine Pädagogik: aus dem Zweck der Erziehung abgeleitet. J.F. Röwer.
  • Kaestle, C. (1983). Pillars of the Republic: Common schools and American society, 1780-1860. Hill and Wang.
  • Kersh, N., Toiviainen, H., Zarifis, G.K., & Pitkänen, P. (2021). Active citizenship, lifelong learning and inclusion: Introduction to concepts and contexts. In N. Kersh, H. Toiviainen, P. Pitkänen, & G.K. Zarifis (Eds.), Young adults and active citizenship (Lifelong Learning Book Series, Vol. 26, pp. 1-14). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65002-5_1
  • Kuiper, W., & Berkvens, J. (Eds.). (2013). Balancing curriculum regulation and freedom across Europe. CIDREE Yearbook 2013. SLO.
  • Le Goff, J. (1988). The medieval imagination (A. Goldhammer, Trans.). University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1985)
  • Lelièvre, C. (1999). Jules Ferry, La République éducatrice. Hachette Éducation.
  • OECD. (1971). Educational policies for the 1970’s: General report. OECD Publishing
  • Pestalozzi, H. (1801). Wie Gertrud ihre Kinder lehrt: Ein Versuch, den Müttern Anleitung zu geben, ihre Kinder selbst zu unterrichten, in Briefen. Heinrich Gessner.
  • Porter, R. (2001). The Enlightenment (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Rabil, A. (1988). Renaissance humanism: Foundations, forms, and legacy. University of Pennsylvania Press
  • Rousseau, J.-J. (1921). Emile, or education (B. Foxley, Trans.). J.M. Dent and Sons; E.P. Dutton. (Original work published 1762)
  • Rüegg, W. (2004). A history of the university in Europe: Volume 3, Universities in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (1800- 1945). Cambridge University Press
  • Schleicher, A. (2016). Teaching excellence through professional learning and policy reform: Lessons from around the world. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264252059-en
  • Selwyn, N. (2021). Education and technology: Key issues and debates (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
  • Shapin, S. (1996). The scientific revolution. University of Chicago Press.
  • Spring, J. (2008). Wheels in the head: Educational philosophies of authority, freedom, and culture from Confucianism to human rights (3rd ed.). Routledge.
  • Stone, L. (1969). Literacy and education in England 1640-1900. Past & Present, 42(1), 69-139. https://doi.org/10.1093/past/42.1.69
  • Torres, C. A. (1998). Education, power, and personal biography: Dialogues with critical educators (1st ed.). Routledge.
  • UNESCO. (1974/1994). Recommendation concerning education for international understanding, co-operation and peace and education relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms. Adopted by the General Conference of the UNESCO at its 18th session on 19 November 1974. In Human rights: A compilation of international instruments. Volume 1, part 2, Universal instruments (ST/HR/1/Rev.5(Vol.I/Part2), pp. 599-610). United Nations
  • UNESCO. (2017). Education for sustainable development goals: Learning objectives. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/CGBA9153
  • Verger, J. (2013). Les universités au Moyen Âge. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
  • Voogt, J., & Roblin, N. P. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44, 299-321. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2012.668938