Inclusion and education

participation from development to implementation
Participative curriculum development can help address 
the needs of all learners. It should ensure adequate 
representation not only of responsible institutions, such 
as agencies, institutes and education ministries, but also 
of schools, teachers, parents and students. However, few 
countries involve multiple stakeholders, and most do not 
invite schools and teachers to contribute to the process. 
Only the Republic of Moldova reported involving students, 
while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia and the Republic 
of Moldova reported involving parents. International and 
national civil society organizations, when they are part 
of the process, may be the only participants to voice the 
concerns of disadvantaged groups (
Figure 5.1
).
In the Republic of Moldova, curriculum development is 
highly participative and evidence-based. During the latest 
revision (2018), teachers, parents and students were 
involved through round tables and surveys. Evaluation 
of the national curriculum in general education also 
confirmed that target groups, such as primary, lower 
secondary and upper secondary school students, teachers 
and school leaders, parents and experts, had been 
identified, and their samples were representative.
The Ministry of Education and Science in Kyrgyzstan 
sets up working groups for each of the seven areas of 
the curriculum. Participants include ministry employees, 
head teachers, subject teachers, representatives of non-
government organizations (NGOs) and donors, as well as 
independent experts. Draft standards are also submitted 
for consultation to the wider education community. 
More than 20,000 teachers participate through an online 
platform, and amendments and recommendations made 
by educators are included in the document.
The fact that non-government stakeholders are reported 
as participants is in itself not sufficient, as the degree 
of engagement ranges from simple consultation to