Ministry to rework Estonia's national curricula again after just 3 years
National curricula completed 15 years ago were overhauled in 2023 but the Education Ministry plans another rewrite, targeting electives in basic schools and grading priorities.
An adviser at the Ministry of Education and Research said a team of researchers has been working since early last year on developing a concept for new national curricula for general and vocational education.
Helen Köhler, curriculum policy adviser at the ministry, told ERR that the working group is reviewing core values, schools' objectives, general competencies and the overall approach to learning.
"Individual learning pathways and the acquisition of general competencies have become more important than before. The assessment system definitely needs a shift in emphasis, so that alongside measuring results it focuses on supporting learning," Köhler said.
She noted that the 2011 curricula did not — and in some areas could not — sufficiently take into account changes in the school network and labor market, as well as developments such as artificial intelligence.
"It is also important to stress the international trend that, at least at the general level, students pursuing both vocational and general upper secondary education need a unified curriculum to avoid future dead ends," Köhler added.
Education Minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) recently said on the radio program "Reporteritund" that Estonia is currently undergoing a process also described in the Human Development Report, in which the old paradigm no longer works and a new one has yet to emerge.
"I am of the view that we need to completely rethink what we learn at school, how we learn and what framework we use when preparing students for life. That framework — the national curriculum itself — is outdated for us today," Kallas said.
More electives
The Human Development Report also pointed to the need for "subtraction" — while schools have continually been asked what more they should do, the report's authors argue it is now time to ask what schools should stop doing, since every new role added to education comes at the expense of something else.
According to the Education Ministry's curriculum policy adviser, this idea has also been taken into account.
"As mentioned, the basic school timetable needs to make more room for electives. In upper secondary school, that space already exists. We are also considering, for example, abandoning the definition of cross-curricular themes in the curriculum, since the link between general competencies and cross-curricular themes is not clear enough to form a coherent whole," Köhler said.
In her view, the overall structure of the curriculum will likely remain the same, but its practical implementation needs strengthening: the curriculum must belong to the teacher, who should see it as a supportive rather than an imposed document.
"Teachers' representatives will be involved at as early a stage as possible. At the same time, the state cannot approach teachers empty-handed when seeking to change the curriculum, which is why prior academic groundwork is necessary," Köhler explained.
The research working group tasked with developing the curricula includes academic representatives from Tallinn University, the University of Tartu and several other institutions. In total, the group comprises 10 researchers. In cooperation with the ministry, they have prepared a working version outlining the general principles of the new curriculum.
Köhler said the ministry aims to provide teachers with a clearer societal and values-based framework, define the role of schools more precisely and link general competencies, stage-specific competencies and subject curricula into a more coherent whole.
"We are trying to create stronger continuity between different school levels. In the future, students in general and vocational education will have a shared foundational framework regardless of their educational path, allowing them to choose and switch learning tracks more easily after completing basic education," Köhler said. "The basic school curriculum should definitely allow more room for electives in line with each school's particular character and assessment should support learning."
New curricula won't land for many years
Köhler acknowledged that the curriculum is an issue that affects everyone and one on which many people want to express an opinion. That opportunity will arrive soon, as various stakeholder groups — including local education policymakers, teachers, school leaders, employers, employees, parents and students — will be involved starting this year.
The new curriculum concept has already undergone international evaluation and received feedback. Köhler said this is highly valuable in curriculum development, as it allows comparisons with European trends, helps avoid isolated development and supports viewing the curriculum as a system.
A draft of the general part of the national curriculum under development has been discussed with renowned Dutch curriculum expert Jan van den Akker.
"The expert shares the working group's view that curriculum development must be research-based and should first focus on the general part of the curriculum, after which it can move on to subject fields and more detailed specifics," Köhler said.
In his feedback, Van den Akker emphasized that Estonia should maintain a strong and broad-based national curriculum that supports national identity, values and principles and covers a wide range of competencies and subjects.
He also recommended considering how Estonia's curriculum aligns with European development trends and what constitutes a reasonable balance between the national and school levels. Among other things, he advised granting schools greater autonomy in decision-making and curriculum implementation.
By the end of last year, a draft explanatory memorandum for the general part of the curriculum had been completed, bringing together issues related to core values, schools' objectives and general competencies.
By the end of this year, the working group will agree on the principles for drafting standards for basic and upper secondary education. Subject field curricula will also need to be developed, a process the ministry plans to begin in 2027.
Under the current plan, the new curriculum will be fully implemented in 2035. Köhler said the lengthy timeline is due to the need to pilot the curriculum before full implementation, in line with common international practice, which takes time.
--
Editor: Marcus Turovski
