Curriculum 21

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Logo curriculum 21 of the D-EDK

The curriculum 21 is a project of the German-speaking Swiss Education Directors Conference (D-EDK), which aims to harmonize the goals of the elementary school in the 21 cantons of German-speaking Switzerland with a common curriculum or curriculum . The project comprises the “Basics for curriculum 21” as well as the actual “curriculum 21”.

Legal basis

The legal basis in the broader sense is the “ administrative agreement on the implementation of the development project for a language-regional curriculum (project agreement curriculum 21)” of the D-EDK of March 18, 2010.

This administrative agreement (project agreement for curriculum 21) is not a legal basis in the narrower sense due to the lack of a legislative character. The non-binding character of Curriculum 21 is confirmed by the project agreement, in which the conference of the project cantons only decides on the approval of the definitive curriculum template for introduction in the cantons and the cantons involved in the development autonomously decide on the implementation. The administrative agreement (number 4 paragraph 2 sentence 2) states: The decision on the introduction of the curriculum in the canton and the development of any necessary adjustments and additions is the responsibility of the cantons (...) .

The D-EDK was created for curriculum 21 because the education system is the sovereignty of the individual cantons. The curriculum 21 of the German and multilingual cantons is based on voluntary coordination. It is considered an inter-cantonal soft law with a democratic deficit, because neither parliaments nor the people could rule on it.

Basics for curriculum 21

Important reform elements of the curriculum 21 were introduced with the "Project School 21" from 1995 to 2003 by Ernst Buschor as part of the impact- oriented management (wif!) In experimental schools in the canton of Zurich. Curriculum 21 was anticipated, as it were. In 1999, it was expected that School 21 could be implemented across the board in three to four years.

On May 21, 2006, the people voted in favor of the education article in the Federal Constitution, with which the basic values ​​of the education system should be harmonized throughout Switzerland.

In September 2006 the D-EDK set up a six-person project group to work out the basics for the curriculum. The project group went beyond the mere harmonization of the existing curricula of the cantons and developed a concept for a completely new curriculum with a new understanding of teaching, the competence orientation according to Weinert .

The project group justified its new curriculum concept with the fact that modern educational systems and curricula would be based on competencies.

With the competence orientation there is a changed view of the lesson. Learning is increasingly understood as an active, self-directed, reflective, situational and constructive process.

- Basics for curriculum 21, D-EDK March 2010

The competence orientation at the lesson level is self-directed learning , which is referred to as promoting competence. According to Weinert, competencies include skills, abilities and knowledge, but also readiness, attitudes and attitudes that students must have in order to be able to cope with new situations. This should enable students to document their knowledge and skills using the national or international portfolios recommended by the EDK for the HarmoS Concordat .

In the first project phase, the foundations were laid as to which terms are used, which ideas are associated with these terms, and how the common curriculum is conceptually structured and how it should be developed. Instead of the previous year goals, the 11 school years were divided into three cycles. The kindergarten enters the 1st cycle with the first and second grade of primary school. The 2nd cycle comprises the third to sixth school years of primary school and the 3rd cycle the three school years of lower secondary level I. Thus, the first 8 school years form the primary level (including kindergarten), while the school years 9-11 belong to lower secondary level. The previous individual subjects have been grouped into subject areas (collective subjects). For each subject area, competencies were described, which were broken down into four levels according to a competency development scheme.

In March 2010, the plenary assembly of the D-EDK approved the 40-page “Basics for Curriculum 21” and the project mandate for the development project for Curriculum 21.

Curriculum 21

In October 2010, the development of the curriculum began on the basis of the «Basics for curriculum 21» (conceptual structure and how it should be developed). At the same time, the departmental teams, which developed the curricula for the individual departments, started their work. The curriculum structure is designed to enable students to acquire verifiable knowledge and skills that they can apply and implement in different situations. Minimum requirements (national educational standards) should be defined and further goals based on this should be formulated. It should determine, in a performance-oriented and binding manner, what the students should know and be able to do at the end of the 2nd, 6th and 9th grade.

In 2013 the second version of the curriculum template with 557 pages, 453 competencies and 3123 competency levels was published and included in the consultation . The criticism expressed in relation to the draft curriculum concerned the scope and level of detail and, in some cases, the level of requirements. Due to the criticism, the curriculum was shortened by 20% and skills were described in less small steps. It now comprises 470 pages, 363 skills and 2304 skill levels. In order to introduce the curriculum, it had to be clarified which textbooks were already compatible with the competence orientation (example: Die Spracharken ) and where the publishers would have to develop new teaching materials.

By the end of 2017, 17 cantons had adopted and published curricula based on curriculum 21.

Learning objectives in the form of competencies (selection)

Students can ...

  • German (1st cycle, D.4.A.1 ): ... hear individual sounds, assign them to the appropriate letters and write down individual words true to the word.
  • Mathematics (1st cycle, MA.1.A.3.b ): ... add to the next 10.
  • Mathematics (2nd cycle, MA.1.A.3.f ): ... carry out basic operations with the computer.

Assessment of competencies

The grades are usually based on the achievement of the learning objectives. The goals to be achieved are defined in curriculum 21 in the form of competencies. The applicable definitions of the grading scale differ depending on the canton. Curriculum 21 does not regulate the form of performance assessment; grades are also possible with it.

Competence is not easily visible and can only be derived from the way the tasks are solved or from the performance. The competence descriptions are intended to facilitate the assessment of the students' performance level. With the help of assessment sheets, the derivation of the overall assessment in the certificate should be made comprehensible for students and parents. The derivation of the certificate grades from the grades on the assessment sheets remains a discretionary decision and cannot be determined arithmetically.

Whether the pupils meet the basic requirements or further competence levels of the respective cycle can only be assessed at the end of a cycle, as curriculum 21 does not define the basic requirements for each school year.

The Pisa tasks 2018 are around 80 percent congruent with the reading skills of curriculum 21. In Pisa 2018, 24 percent (Pisa 2015: 20 percent) of the tested Swiss school leavers are below level 2 (six-part competence level grid), together with those with level 2 it is 47 percent.

Advocates

The popular initiatives would restrict the educational offer. A canton that would reject curriculum 21 would be isolated nationwide. The curriculum 21 responds to developments since the last curriculum. If the popular initiative with curriculum 21 is accepted, one has to go back to field 1, so a successful system should not be changed. The curriculum is drawn up on the basis of pedagogical principles and guidelines. The millions already invested in curriculum 21 would be lost.

The fact that every canton has its own curricula and school systems, some of which differ greatly, is often a major burden for families who move from one canton to another. That is why it makes sense to make certain general guidelines, such as regional language curricula or compulsory schooling of the same length. These similarities would also increase equality of opportunity among the cantons. So far, the percentages of high school students have differed greatly within Switzerland.

The education director spoke of an impressive pioneering work and of the greatest innovation since the introduction of compulsory schooling. NZZ from December 20, 2013. Much will not change with curriculum 21, says Amsler . Because this is not a reform project. For the teachers, the choice of the method remains completely free , said Education Director Steiner .

critic

The main structural points of criticism are the early compulsory school enrollment, the transformation of the kindergarten, the increasing nationalization of upbringing at the expense of the parents' legal rights, the shifting of school sovereignty from the cantons to non-democratically elected bodies (EDK) combined with the de facto abolition of the called democratic participation in educational matters.

The main points of criticism in terms of content are mentioned that with the competence orientation, the focus is no longer on the acquisition of classic school material, but the acquisition of competencies and thus educational content becomes arbitrary. Since the concept of competence also includes attitudes and attitudes, the students could be influenced ideologically. The education administration would rely on fashionable promises and trust international organizations such as the OECD instead of experienced educational practitioners and prior testing of new things. Proven peculiarities of the Swiss education system would be lost. With “self-directed learning”, the social form of classroom instruction would be abolished, the teacher would be degraded to “learning companion” and a massive reduction in education would be accepted. The abolition of the year-end goals would give up the goal of bringing children to a comparable level in all subjects, which would make transparency, equal opportunities and simplified mobility more difficult.

The one-sided orientation of the teaching materials on constructivism means a considerable impairment of the freedom of method, because the compulsory teaching material is also accompanied by a compulsory method. It is impossible for the teacher to adapt his methods to the different types of learner, topics, age and ability levels. Worse still: Constructivist teaching aids literally push the instructor out of the children's learning process, since according to the theory they have to learn “independently” .

Referendums

In contrast to the Concordat , the “administrative agreement ” as the legal basis prevents the cantonal parliaments and the people from voting on curriculum 21. That is why popular initiatives were launched in eleven cantons. The popular initiatives were rejected by a two-thirds majority in eight cantons, and by a three-quarters majority in the cantons of Bern, Graubünden and Zurich. The initiatives demanded more co-determination and wanted the education councils (cantonal government, executive branch ) not to be able to approve the curricula they had drawn up themselves, but that the cantonal parliament ( legislature ) or the people ( facultative referendum ) should have the last word. That would also be the case with curriculum 21.

literature

  • Franz E. Weinert: Concepts of Competence. OECD, Paris 1999
  • Alessandro Pelizzari: The economization of the political: new public management and the neoliberal attack on public services . Constance 2001, ISBN 3-89669-998-9 .
  • Eckhard Klieme et al .: On the development of national educational standards . An expertise. Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Bonn 2007.
  • Competence Orientation - A changed view of teaching and learning in elementary school. Handout published by the Ministry for Schools and Further Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Ritterbach Verlag, Frechen 2008.
  • Konrad Paul Liessmann : The Disappearance of Knowledge . Essay. NZZ from September 15, 2014 [5]
  • Christoph Türcke : Teachers' twilight: What the new learning culture does in schools . CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 3-406-68882-9 .
  • Alain Pichard (Ed.): Objection! Critical thoughts on Bologna, Harmos and curriculum 21. 4th edition, self-published by Alain Pichard, Biel 2016.
  • Stephanie Appius, Amanda Nägeli: Zurich: School reform as an overall political package. In: School reforms in the multi-level system: A multi-dimensional analysis of educational policy. Springer VS, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-16850-6
  • Judith Barben: Children in the net of global corporations. The curriculum 21 as a manipulation tool . Eikos Verlag, Baden 2018, ISBN 978-3-9524324-2-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Administrative agreement on the implementation of the development project for a language-regional curriculum (project agreement curriculum 21) of March 18, 2010 (as of August 1, 2010), accessed on April 28, 2018
  2. ^ [1] Switzerland on the weekend of February 7, 2016: Michael Strebel: The curriculum 21 and the question of the competence of parliaments.
  3. ^ A b [2] Andreas Glaser , Corina Fuhrer: The curriculum 21: Intercantonal soft law with a democratic deficit.
  4. ↑ Zentralplus from February 18, 2018: D-EDK President Stephan Schleiss: The D-EDK was created for ‹Curriculum 21› . [3]
  5. ↑ Luzerner Zeitung of October 29, 2018: German-Swiss Conference of Educational Directors is dissolved
  6. ↑ D-EDK basic report, page 7
  7. ↑ Balance of December 31, 1999: Ernst Buschor - A man makes school
  8. ^ Stephanie Appius, Amanda Nägeli: Zurich: School reform as a total political package. In: School reforms in the multi-level system: A multi-dimensional analysis of educational policy. Springer VS, Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-16850-6
  9. ↑ The Confederation and the cantons agree on a few specific and verifiable goals for the current decade. These goals are based on the constitutional cornerstones of quality and permeability . Joint declaration by the EDI and the EDK dated May 30, 2011
  10. ^ Franz E. Weinert: Concepts of Competence. OECD, Paris 1999
  11. ↑ Hans-Günter Rolff : Self-directed learning and cooperative forms of learning are essential for constructivist teaching. Self-directed learning plays an essential role in competence-oriented teaching, because through exclusively teacher-controlled teaching, the students hardly have the opportunity to acquire skills . Rolff (Ed.): Handbook of teaching development. Beltz Verlag, Weinheim u. Basel 2015, ISBN 978-3-407-83184-2
  12. ↑ EDK: Balance 2015: Harmonization of the constitutional benchmarks (Art. 62 Para. 4 BV) for the area of ​​compulsory education. EDK, June 18, 2015, accessed December 28, 2019 .
  13. ^ D-EDK: curriculum 21 - elaboration
  14. ^ D-EDK: Basics for the curriculum 21
  15. ↑ D-EDK: Final report project curriculum 21
  16. ↑ Performance is a term from psychology and describes the behavior shown in a concrete situation or the manifestly achieved performance
  17. ↑ D-EDK: Assess. Technical report of the working group of the elementary school commission
  18. ↑ Education Monitoring Switzerland: PISA 2018 - Schoolchildren in Switzerland in an international comparison
  19. ↑ Limmattalerzeitung from January 16, 2018: Silvia Steiner warns of the initiative of opponents of the curriculum
  20. ↑ Less would be more in some areas . NZZ. December 20, 2013. Accessed July 13, 2019.
  21. ↑ Curriculum 21: "It won't change that much" . SRF. November 7, 2014. Accessed July 13, 2019.
  22. ↑ How much democracy does the school need? . Day indicator. February 13, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  23. ↑ Heinz Moser: Infosperber from December 6th, 2015. Curriculum 21 in the criticism: According to the report of the SonntagsZeitung from November 29th, 2015, the insecure EDK shoots back.
  24. ↑ Nadia Pastega: This calculation does not work, Sunday newspaper, November 29, 2015 [4]
  25. ↑ NZZ of August 13, 2013: A typical child of his time
  26. ↑ Willi Villiger: Learning as you please . Swiss time. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  27. ↑ Eiko Publisher: Children global corporations on the Net