Research group Curriculum Development in Primary and Secondary Education | HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

The research group investigates how the curriculum of primary and secondary education should develop in order to give children and teenagers an optimal start in the current dynamic, complex society and professional practice. What kind of knowledge and competences do they need, how can these competences be taught, and how can we equip teachers to design the desired curriculum?

The quality and appeal of STEM-education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are being pressured. This line of research focuses on the question of how the interest in physics and technology can be advanced by offering contemporary and appealing technology education. We develop the curriculum for primary and secondary education and the beta-teacher education programs. An important question from the perspective of citizenship is how societal issues can be discussed in this curriculum which strongly relies on disciplinary knowledge.

We investigate the possible contents and importance of collaboration between clusters of Humanities and Social Sciences education (Mens- en Maatschappijvakken) in primary and secondary education. This research also contributes to the debates on and knowledge of inclusivity and inequality in education. Together with schools, teachers, teacher education programs and curriculum developers, we aim to investigate the required capacities for teachers in this field.

Digital literacy is essential in order to function in contemporary society. Some digital skills can be learned generically, whilst other digital skills require content-specific education (e.g., historians require other digital skills than geologists). In this research line we investigate how this field of education can be shaped and whether it should be integrated within teaching subjects. Moreover, we explore how we can equip students in teacher education programs to configure this type of education.

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In collaboration with the teacher training courses of HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, the research group works on the professional development of teachers and further improvement of educational curricula.

Elwin Savelsbergh | Professor | Science and Technology Education

“The issues in our modern society do not adhere to borders between subjects. There is a lot of wealth in a broad perspective.”
Elwin Savelsbergh Professor of Curriculum Development in Primary and Secondary Education

Regionally, the research group works together with several schools and school boards around Utrecht and Amersfoort. There are also collaborations with Utrecht University and a variety of other universities. An important partner considering curriculum development is Stichting Leerplan Ontwikkeling (SLO, national institute for curriculum development).