In the Netherlands, a new curriculum initiative named curriculum.nu aims to define educational objectives for primary and secondary students, focusing on nine subject areas including sports, arts, and digital literacy. The initiative seeks to enhance coherence, reduce curriculum overload, and clarify learning expectations while fostering cross-curricular skills like creativity. The government plays a facilitative role, initiating dialogue and supporting teachers and schools in this reform process.

1. Towards a new
curriculum in The
Netherlands
Rosa van der Tas
Ministry of Education, Culture
and Science

2. 2
Towards a new curriculum in The Netherlands
• In 2018, teams of teachers, school leaders and schools will join
forces under the name Curriculum.nu to determine what primary
and secondary school pupils should know and what they should
be capable of.
• In 2014, a national dialogue on a new curriculum started.

3. 3
The current objectives for cultural education in
primary education
• The students learn to use images, language, music, game and
movement to express feelings and experiences and communicate
with them.
• The students learn to reflect on their own work and those of
others.
• The students acquire some knowledge and appreciate aspects of
cultural heritage.

4. 4
Some of the current objectives for math in
primary education
• The students learn to use mathematical language.
• The students learn to solve simple geometric problems.
• The students learn to solve practical and formal mathematical
problems and to reflect on the reasoning.
• The students learn to explain approaches for solving
mathematical problems and to assess solutions.

5. 5
Towards a new curriculum in The Netherlands
• The teams of teachers, school leaders and schools will discuss
nine subject areas:
• Sports and Exercise
• Arts and Culture
• Humans and Nature
(including Technology)
• Social Sciences
• Citizenship
• Digital Literacy
• English
• Dutch
• Numeracy and
Mathematics

6. 6

7. 7
Aims for a new curriculum
• Improve the coherence in the teaching content
• Strengthen the continuity in the curriculum
• Reduce the overburdening of the curriculum
• Provide schools with clarity regarding what pupils need to learn
and how much scope there is for schools to use their own
discretion
• Improve the balance in the key objectives of education: transfer
of knowledge, personal development and preparation for
participation in society

8. 8
Assignments of the development teams
• The development teams of teachers and school leaders will
create the building blocks. This includes what students should
know in a specific year.
• The assignments of the development teams will include cross-
curricular skills, such as creativity.
• So in every learning area creativity must be addressed.
• During the process it will be tested at schools and discussed with
teacher training colleges and researchers.

9. 9
Role of the government
• Starting the national dialogue on a new curriculum
• Stimulate the development of knowledge
• Bringing the teachers, school leaders and schools in position
• Bringing a proposal to parliament for more up-to-date core
objectives and attainment levels