The rise of automation and artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the labor market, shifting demand from routine cognitive tasks to complex, non-replicable human capabilities. This transition compels education systems to move beyond traditional knowledge transmission toward fostering "Transformative Competencies"—specifically Creating New Value, Reconciling Tensions and Dilemmas, and Taking Responsibility—as defined by the OECD Learning Compass 2030. Yet, a critical gap often remains between the ambitious "intended curriculum" articulated in policy documents and the actual "implemented curriculum" within classrooms. While mother tongue education serves as the primary instrument for thought and identity construction, comparative literature examining how these global competencies translate into national vernacular curricula and teacher practices is notably limited.

Theoretically, this research is anchored in the OECD Learning Compass 2030 (OECD,2019) framework to analyze transformative competencies. Furthermore, to interpret the pivotal role of teachers in bridging this gap, the research draws upon the "Ecological Teacher Agency" perspective (Priestley et al., 2015), which frames agency not merely as individual capacity but as a phenomenon shaped by structural conditions such as curriculum flexibility and professional autonomy.

Addressing this gap, the study examines the representation of OECD Transformative Competencies in middle school mother tongue curricula and their reflection in teacher practices across diverse contexts. The research focuses on four PISA-participating countries—Estonia, Italy, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. These cases were specifically selected for their distinct PISA performance profiles and educational cultures, allowing for a comparative analysis of how a global educational vision is recontextualized locally.

Specifically, this research answers the following sub-questions:

1.     What is the status of the inclusion of OECD transformative competencies in the final year middle school mother tongue curricula in different PISA-participating countries?

2.     What are the views and practices of middle school mother tongue teachers regarding the process of acquiring OECD transformative competencies?

3.     How are the OECD transformative competencies included in the curricula reflected in teacher practices?

Methodologically, this research was designed as a qualitative multiple case study, allowing for an in-depth examination of each country's curriculum within its specific context. The study group was determined using criterion sampling, a purposive sampling technique. Consistent with the research focus, the primary data sources comprised the official middle school final-year mother tongue curricula of Estonia, Italy, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. These countries were selected to represent diverse PISA performance profiles and educational structures. Additionally, the study group included eight mother tongue teachers (two from each country) actively teaching at this grade level. To ensure data triangulation, two complementary instruments developed based on the OECD Learning Compass 2030 framework were employed: 1. Document Review Form: Utilized to identify the representation of transformative competencies in the official curricula. 2. Semi-Structured Interview Form: Conducted with teachers to explore their perceptions and classroom practices regarding these competencies. Data analysis was facilitated using MAXQDA qualitative analysis software through a systematic two-stage process. First, a "within-case analysis" was conducted for each country independently, utilizing descriptive and content analysis techniques to code data under OECD 2030 themes. Second, a "cross-case analysis" was performed using the matrix coding query feature of the software. This process revealed common patterns, divergences, and the relationships between the documents and teacher views across the four different national contexts.

The research findings revealed that the integration of OECD transformative competencies into mother tongue education is not a linear transfer process from policy to practice; rather, it is heavily reshaped by national educational structures and teacher agency. A significant implementation gap was identified regarding the Reconciling Tensions and Dilemmas competency. Although this competency was highly represented in the official curricula of Italy and Azerbaijan, it was found that teachers across all cases struggled to implement it in classrooms. Conversely, while Creating New Value was the least represented competency in official policy documents, teachers in systems characterized by high professional autonomy like Estonia and Italy, frequently enacted this competency, effectively acting as curriculum makers to transcend policy limitations. The cross-case analysis highlighted a stark contrast driven by structural factors. In contexts characterized by high-stakes testing pressure and rigid curriculum structures such as Turkey and Azerbaijan, teacher agency appeared restricted, limiting the integration of transformative competencies. In contrast, in systems prioritizing professional trust and flexibility such as Estonia, it was observed that teachers utilized their autonomy to enrich the curriculum beyond written standards. Consequently, the study concludes that merely updating curriculum documents with 21st-century skills lists is insufficient for genuine educational transformation. Instead, the study suggests that successful implementation necessitates an ecological approach that reduces standardized testing pressure and grants teachers the professional autonomy and flexible pedagogical spaces required to foster these complex human capabilities.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage. OECD. (2019). OECD Future of education and skills 2030: OECD Learning Compass 2030. OECD Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: An ecological approach. Bloomsbury. Van den Akker, J. (2003). Curriculum perspectives: An introduction. In J. van den Akker, W. Kuiper & U. Hameyer (Ed.), Curriculum landscapes and trends (pp. 1-10). Kluwer Academic. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1205-7_1