What were the most important developments within our network during this year?
This was a year of growth for the Curriculum Network (NW3). Attendance at our sessions exceeded that of previous years, reflecting growing interest in curriculum scholarship. We also saw stronger participation from curriculum scholars in Australia and New Zealand, which brought rich insights through the variety of presentations. We intend to sustain and develop these international connections. To strengthen the visibility of curriculum research between conferences, the network will run three online seminars in 2026/27, led by co-convenor Sinem Hizli Alkan.
We are also renewing the convenor team: a call for expressions of interest from new co-convenors will go out later this year. The selection criteria are a spread of countries, the inclusion of an early career researcher, and curriculum interest and scholarship.
What were the highlights of this year's conference?
The network presented 51 papers, 1 workshop and 8 posters, all of a very high standard. Sessions were well aligned under coherent themes, with only minor adjustments needed. A particular highlight was the presentation by Professor Mark Priestley and Professor Gert Biesta on the second edition of Teacher Agency, which drew strong engagement from the network. The workshop was also a major success, and members unanimously supported including workshops at future conferences. Reviewing ran smoothly, with constructive feedback that brought out the most pertinent curriculum features of each paper, and feedback on chairing was unanimously positive.
Majella Dempsey and Nienke Nieveen took part in a joint NW3 and NW22 symposium, Higher Education Curriculum in the Crossroads: Contemporary Trends, Tensions, and Dynamics, organised by Mariana Gaio Alves (NW22). The network will explore taking part in further joint symposia with other networks.
Looking ahead, we had no symposia this year and want to change that for ECER 2027 in Debrecen.
Possible topics discussed at the network meeting were curriculum making, STEAM curriculum, curriculum innovation and development across countries, and curriculum leadership.