ABSTRACT Purpose This paper examines the revised Tripartite Curriculum Model by Valverde et al. (2002), a frequently cited framework in mathematics textbook research. It focuses on the empirical support for the models' assumed relationships between textbooks and other curriculum levels. Methods The paper combines a scoping review of 284 articles to structure the current state of research on the model’s conceptualized relationships between textbooks and other curriculum levels and a qualitative systematic review of 63 articles to synthesize research on textbook effects on the implemented and attained curriculum. Findings The scoping review identifies a persistent emphasis on textbook analysis and comparison and significant gaps in empirical research regarding the assumption that textbooks directly influence the implemented and indirectly influence the attained curriculum. The qualitative systematic review suggests that while textbooks are widely utilized, implementation varies, possibly due to teacher, student and contextual factors. Furthermore, results indicate potential textbook effects on student outcomes, although no study examined the model’s indirect pathway via the implemented curriculum, and many studies’ limitations restrict generalizability. Conclusion The findings highlight a critical gap in the empirical support for the model, suggesting a reorientation of research towards a comprehensive understanding of the interplay between textbooks, teaching, and student learning. A complementary perspective to incorporate teachers’ and students’ active role and contextual factors in the implementation process is proposed for future research.

ABSTRACT This essay explores the possibility of achieving two concurrent visions in secondary school mathematics: a civic education in mathematics for all students (Mathematics for All) and specialized preparation for future experts in mathematics, science, and technology. Historically, it has been difficult to achieve both visions at the same time. We investigate in what respect Sweden has managed to do so. The analysis focuses on the evolution of Swedish mathematics curriculum, particularly the distinction between a civic education at lower secondary level and upper secondary advanced courses. The essay is based on existing research on Swedish mathematics education. New facts have been gathered using official statistics. The main result is that Mathematics for All to large degree has been implemented in Sweden at lower secondary level and in certain periods of time it functioned with success and both visions were achieved. But, not without setbacks, even during the successful years. A Mathematic for All curriculum, at the lower secondary level, with a strong focus on basic mathematics and everyday applications seems to have a selective, rather than inclusive, function in relation to advanced mathematics courses at the upper secondary level.

ABSTRACT Introduction With the global increase in the number of learners suffering from stress and anxiety, especially due to the pressure to achieve, a shift is needed in the educational praxis dominated by a ‘measurement culture’—a shift that recognizes teacher artistry: the pedagogy of inviting learners to engage in movement, work with affect and emotions, and learn to give shape to their environments. Teacher artistry is typically characterized by invention and creation, constantly in conversation with learners-as-subjects instead of firing (in)effective interventions at learners-as-objects. With worldwide a strong focus on standard cognitive qualification in education, however, there is little attention for engaging with the world as learners, and meaningful relationships between learners and teachers. Methods We take an enactive view on the mind and its relation to body and world as a solid theoretical grounding for a holistic approach to the current experienced learners’ poor wellbeing. Then, learners’ wellbeing becomes a pedagogical issue. In two vignettes, based on vignette research through participatory observations at two different schools, is explored how teachers can stimulate their learners’ flourishing through embodied subjectifying education. Conclusion This is not something ‘extra’: relating, engagement, emotional expression, reflection and reflexivity is relatively easily to integrate in all types of lessons.

ABSTRACT Introduction Globally, Indigenous students are more marginalized with lower levels of attendance, engagement and retention than other students. This is the case for First Nations Australian students living in remote communities. Methods Using Indigenist methodologies, and collecting data using ‘Yarning’, we explore the perspectives of those most impacted by these outcomes. The data in this study consisted of 139 yarns undertaken with Elders and community members, school staff, principals or school leaders, and students living and working in remote communities. Thematic analysis of the qualitative data was undertaken. Findings The key themes emerging from the data were Country-informed pedagogy; Culturally safe pedagogy; Remote teaching strategies; and Family as teachers. We discuss issues identified by participants within these themes. Conclusion Suggested targeted educational support structures, practices and strategies to improve student attendance, engagement and retention in remote and very remote schools of Northern Territory and Western Australia are outlined. Some suggestions are outside the control of schools; however, several possibilities for change have been identified.

ABSTRACT This study reconceptualizes curriculum integration through new materialist philosophy, addressing fundamental limitations in conventional integration discourse. While traditional approaches to curriculum integration have emphasized holistic education and meaningful learning, they paradoxically remain confined within subject-centred frameworks and technical-methodological strategies. Drawing on Karen Barad’s agential realism and key new materialist concepts—intra-action, agential cut, and diffraction—this paper philosophically re-examines three foundational questions of curriculum integration: why, what, and how to integrate. The analysis reveals that curriculum integration should be understood not as technical connections between pre-existing subjects but as ethico-onto-epistemological practice emerging through relational entanglements. Specifically, the study reframes integration as: first, ethical response to an already entangled world rather than artificial linking of fragmented disciplines; second, intra-acting phenomena constituted through material-discursive practices rather than combinations of fixed subjects; and third, diffractive practice generating new meanings through difference rather than reflective methods reproducing sameness. The paper concludes by proposing three practical implications: creating spaces and gaps for emergent possibilities, developing tentacular thinking to sense relationships with various human and non-human actors, and embracing the capacity to begin from the halfway. This new materialist approach transforms curriculum integration from instrumental strategy into ethical practice of becoming-with in educational settings.

ABSTRACT Collaboration is a core professional activity in teaching and a crucial prerequisite for student learning and teacher professionalization. This study examines how collaboration is represented in the syllabi of German-speaking teacher education universities in Switzerland. Drawing on Activity Theory and a social network perspective, the study conceptualizes collaboration as a socially embedded activity within the school’s network of actors. A quantitative document analysis was conducted on 4901 syllabi (1.77 million words) using dictionary-based auto-coding, followed by semantic network mapping. The findings demonstrate that, although collaboration is widely addressed, it is primarily framed through generic, everyday terms, such as working together, communication and cooperation, particularly focusing on relationships with parents and other teachers. More complex and knowledge-generating forms of collaboration—such as co-construction—and multiprofessional network relations are largely absent. The findings reveal a curricular gap: collaboration is framed mainly as intra-school communication rather than as participation in networks involving (non)professional actors. The study proposes the concept of Network Literacy as a transversal competence in teacher education, encompassing structural knowledge, relational action and reflexive regulation. Embedding this perspective in curricula could empower teachers to act as networked professionals who foster collaboration within increasingly complex school systems.

ABSTRACT This scoping review, covering literature published from 2003 to 2023, maps existing research on student involvement in curriculum development and reform and calls for deeper inquiry into their agency in decision-making. Curriculum development and reform are an important focus of education systems around the world. Yet curriculum making is a complex process, occurring across diverse contexts and involving multiple actors. Within schools, teachers and students play key roles in enacting curriculum. However, students frequently remain peripheral to development and reform processes. Efforts to involve students can be tokenistic or lack substantive impact, while research continues to neglect the role of student voice, leaving gaps in understanding how learners contribute to curriculum development, enactment and evaluation. Our review of 35 publications revealed that students are most frequently positioned as evaluators of curriculum reform, less often as informants and least as active participants, with only a few studies describing student engagement across two or all three roles. This review highlights the need for future research to embed student perspectives as a systemic, representative and democratic force in curriculum reform, rather than reducing them to a silent majority.

ABSTRACT Background School-based curriculum development (SBCD) has gained prominence as a strategy for decentralizing curriculum decision-making in Asian societies including Hong Kong in recent decades. This shift has prompted a growing body of SBCD research within Asian settings. However, much of the existing research falls short in providing in-depth theoretical analyses and in shedding light on the contextual dynamics influencing SBCD implementation. Additionally, previous studies tend to heavily rely on case studies, limiting a comprehensive understanding of how and why SBCD works or does not work in different settings. Aim and Method This paper addresses these gaps by critically examining SBCD implementation in Hong Kong through an amended analytical lens of change implementation comprising policy, people and place dimensions. Findings By exploring the factors that influence SBCD reform in Hong Kong, this study not only identifies what hinders the effectiveness of SBCD implementation but also delves into how and why the underlying interconnected factors contribute to the challenges in implementation, with relevance for similar contexts. Conclusion This proposed framework thus provides valuable theoretical and practical insights that enhance our understanding of the complexity of multifarious factors affecting SBCD implementation and offers a critical lens for researchers and policymakers to navigate the complexities and dynamics of educational change.

ABSTRACT This conceptual paper interrogates the epistemic foundations of teacher education by positioning Teacher-related Science Content Knowledge (TerSCK) as a form of powerful knowledge in teacher education. Drawing on Young and Muller’s social realist powerful knowledge framework, the study provides a curricular argument for a differentiated conception of content knowledge (CK) specifically for pre-service teacher preparation. TerSCK represents specialized knowledge distinct from traditional disciplinary coursework, bridging academic disciplines and school subjects through logical, epistemological, and sociocultural dimensions. Systematic analysis demonstrates how TerSCK exhibits the core criteria of powerful knowledge, notably specialization through discipline-to-school subject relationships and systematization via Schwab’s curriculum faces. The study further identifies a generative capacity within TerSCK for developing critical professional dispositions. A functional group chemistry exemplar illustrates how TerSCK-based curriculum design creates coherent knowledge structures that support Topic-Specific Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TSPCK) development, thereby enhancing epistemic quality. This framework challenges curriculum models that conflate teacher CK with disciplinary CK, arguing that knowledge for teaching is inherently pedagogical in its epistemological structure and curricular organization. The study contributes to curriculum theory by calling for a renewed impetus on Subject-Specific Educational Content Knowledge (SSECK) to restore disciplinary integrity within the professional curriculum.

ABSTRACT Introduction and Analytic Framework In an era of complex global challenges, fostering critical, adaptive, and inquiry-driven learners necessitates robust geography education and inquiry-based learning (IBL). While globally endorsed, IBL’s textual codification across national contexts remains under-explored. The study combines discourse analysis with curriculum mapping, providing a multilayered lens to examine how IBL is conceptually framed, linguistically constructed, and operationally supported in geography curriculum documents. Methods A mixed-methods comparative analysis examined high school geography curriculum standards in Mainland China, the United States, Singapore, and British Columbia. The methodology combined computational linguistics (semantic and syntactic analysis) with a multi-dimensional scoring framework evaluating core IBL features. Findings Analysis revealed substantial cross-jurisdictional variation. Distinct linguistic patterns in voice and syntactic complexity signal divergent framings of student versus systemic agency. Multi-dimensional scoring demonstrated that the United States and British Columbia exhibit comprehensive IBL integration, Singapore presents a structured hybrid model, and Mainland China demonstrates a more limited, teacher-guided articulation. Discussion These variations are not merely stylistic but are deeply shaped by intersecting assessment regimes, pedagogical traditions, and governance structures. Highlighting the tension between inquiry ideals and high-stakes testing, this study provides critical insights for aligning policy with pedagogical practice to foster robust IBL globally.