Understanding the 3 Levels of Curriculum Specificity
1.7 The Three Levels of Curriculum Specificity
1.7.1 The First Level of the Curriculum: Curriculum Design Base (DCB)
The first level of the curriculum is the most general and is enshrined in legislative documents. It corresponds to the Curriculum Design Base (DCB), which has a normative function for all educational settings. The DCB represents a selection of culture considered essential for basic preparation. This level is the responsibility of educational administrations.
The DCB serves as a common framework to formulate, in general terms:
- The objectives of each educational stage, expressed as skills.
- The core competencies for basic education.
- The areas of each educational stage, including general objectives, contribution to basic skills development, content sequencing, evaluation criteria, and methodological principles.
- Orientations for evaluation at each stage.
1.7.2 The Second Level of the Curriculum: School Curricular Project (CCP)
The second level involves adapting the DCB to the reality of each school. This level corresponds to the School Curricular Project (CCP), a pedagogical tool created by the teaching team to meet the objectives of each educational stage.
The PCC plays a crucial role in:
- Ensuring progression and coherence in teaching throughout the cycles.
- Coordinating curricular projects across different stages within the school.
Factors Influencing the Development of the PCC:
- The specific context of each school and the needs of its students.
- The DCB (first level of the curriculum).
- The educational center’s identity and educational purposes.
The Content of the PCC:
The PCC involves several decisions, including:
- Adjusting the overall objectives of each stage to the socio-economic and cultural context.
- Distributing objectives and content across different areas and cycles.
- Adopting appropriate methodological and assessment approaches.
- Integrating cross-curricular content.
- Organizing mentoring and school counseling.
1.7.3 The Third Level of the Curriculum: Classroom Program
The third level corresponds to the Classroom Program, developed from the PCC. Each teacher creates a classroom program in collaboration with their cycle team, targeting a specific group of students. This is a function of the teacher and is vested in the subject areas (see Article 91 of the LOE).
The Classroom Program is the closest curricular act to educational intervention. To create an effective program, teachers must be familiar with the content and its pedagogy. It serves as a tool for teachers to make decisions about curriculum components within the classroom, planning teaching and learning for a course or cycle.
The Classroom Program consists of an ordered sequence of teaching units related to the objectives and content selected in the PCC.