From bureaucratic compliance to creating new knowledge: comparative patterns of curriculum change

Abstract

In this chapter the author compares trajectories of curriculum development across the system, illustrating the complex intersection of dynamics operating at the macro-, meso- and microlevels. The conclusion is that over the past ten years, recurriculation of initial professional education of teachers (IPET) programmes has primarily taken the form of bureaucratic compliance, although there is evidence of an ability to create new knowledge. Analysis points to a set of controversies and directions that can promote the ability for more universities to "create new knowledge" to inform future development of the teacher education system.