Curriculum Development in Estonia: 30 Years in the Crosswinds of Europeanization and Globalization

The chapter discusses the political and ideological changes in the curricula since regaining independence in 1991 from the point of view of Europeanization and globalization and within the theoretical frameworks of European Didaktik, Soviet education, and Anglo-American curriculum tradition. The research questions are: (1) How have the emphases in the curricula changed over the years? (2) How has the role and autonomy of teachers changed in the state curricula for basic schools and gymnasiums since 1996? (3) How are these changes connected to Didaktik or curriculum tradition? The chapter summarizes several qualitative empirical studies from 2011 to 2013 regarding curriculum change including teachers’ opinions as well as some newer insights about the historical trajectory of Estonian curriculum policy. The results indicate that Estonian curriculum policy has been strongly influenced by globalization and Europeanization: a shift toward the Anglo-American outcome-based curriculum model is evident while preserving some influences of the Didaktik tradition and Soviet subject-centeredness. Despite attempts to grant schools and teachers more autonomy and change their role into curriculum developers, many teachers and school leaders understand their role mainly as curriculum implementers. Furthermore, the curriculum implementation indicates tensions between curriculum standardization and autonomy as well as key competencies vs subject matter.