Exploring Organization of Subject Curriculum for Improvement of Coherence between General Guidelines and Subject Curriculum

Objectives The purpose of this study is to propose the organization of subject curriculum to support a learner-centered curriculum design and practice for competency development, while ensuring coherence between general guidelines and subject curriculum. Methods Analyzing the teaching, learning, and assessment guidelines of the 2022 revised curriculum framework, we derived the key points that should be considered in the design of teachers' teaching and learning activities. In light of this, documents on the Canada Ontario curriculum (Language, Mathematics, SSHG, Science and Technology) were analyzed. Based on this, we analyzed and summarized the organization of subject curriculum to help design teaching and learning. Results The 2022 revised curriculum framework emphasized ‘connection within and between subjects, connection with life, learning about inquiry methods, active participation of students, and assessment as learning’. The subject curriculum of Ontario provides support for connection within and across subjects, application of learning content in real-world contexts, guidance on procedural knowledge and thinking processes, posing essential questions related to learning content, and supporting students' reflection on learning through curriculum expectations, strands, concepts and big ideas, processes, assessment and evaluation of student achievement, and optional teacher supports. Conclusions Based on these results, it was confirmed that it is possible to enhance coherence between general guidelines and subject curriculum and support teachers’ curriculum design and implementation through the establishment of a curriculum document framework. In the national curriculum development, it was suggested that there is a need for a curriculum design that systematizes content elements within the categories of process and skills, presents performance standards, and demonstrates the connection of knowledge within and across subjects according to the characteristics of the curriculum.