On the border of the common curriculum

Since the M-decree (2014), schools have been making great efforts for more inclusive education so that as many pupils as possible can attend classes in regular education. At the same time, the M-decree is still arousing a great deal of resistance. Behind this resistance is a great concern for quality education and an urgent demand for clarity. Schools find it difficult to decide for certain pupils whether they will obtain the certificate of primary education. Especially for pupils with special educational needs who are on the borderline between a common and individually adapted curriculum.

It is the class council that decides on the primary education certificate. The importance of the professionalism and professional seriousness of a class council is regularly discussed in the broad education news.

With this research project we want to map in detail and from different perspectives how the decision-making process about the certificate of primary education is currently taking shape. We focus on legal frameworks and guidelines, sources, procedures and on the roles and tasks of everyone involved in this decision-making process. We initially do this from a broad view of the school. In order to obtain a concrete, lived-in and manageable picture, we will start in a second phase from six case studies of pupils with specific educational needs for which it is still unclear whether they can obtain the certificate of primary education. This research results, among other things, in a viewing guide intended as a guideline for the class council.

Valorisation

Schools find it difficult to decide for certain pupils whether they can move on to a different year or level of education. Especially when it comes to pupils with special educational needs who are on the border of the common curriculum .

The PWO 'On the border of the common curriculum' reports recommendations for the upholstering of class councils in primary education. The recommendations are useful in both assessment and guidance processes, as both are intertwined. The target audience that we have in mind with the guideline for the class council are teaching teams, pedagogical supervisors, CLBs and support networks following up on the guarantee scheme (M-decreet, 2014).

A free download version (PDF) of the guideline can be found below under research achievements and publications.

The final report is also freely available.