Responsive curriculum development: which factors support breaking through institutional barriers?

Abstract

To meet society’s changing demands, the responsive development of curricula is vital, and curriculum developers need to increasingly foresee and incorporate changes into their curricula in a timely manner. However, responsive curriculum development is a complex problem for curriculum developers in vocational and (higher) professional education, and comprehensive research on this theme is scarce. This study focused on responsive curriculum development processes in a Dutch higher professional education institution (N = 77 experts). A group concept mapping study into the supportive factors of this process revealed six factors: (1) a vision of education and learning, (2) a continuous and iterative development process, (3) teamwork, (4) involving stakeholders, (5) a conducive environment and conditions, and (6) agency. Participating experts highlighted the importance of ensuring that equal attention is devoted to each of these factors. However, the results also reveal the challenges that curriculum developers face. To deal with these, a framework of factors is suggested to facilitate curriculum conversations in which developers can negotiate–and give meaning to–the desired change in the curriculum context.