Projects
SLO is involved in several projects, partnerships and networks in Europe and worldwide. This keeps us informed of what is happening in other countries in terms of curriculum development and lets us contribute to the international exchange of knowledge about curricula. Some of the international projects in which we collaborate are listed below.
Consortium of Institutions for Development and Research in Education in Europe (CIDREE)
SLO is a founding member of CIDREE: a self-managing network of educational bodies that play a recognised national role in the field of curriculum development and/or educational research. The work of CIDREE contributes to the quality of the member institutions through mutual linking and by sharing high-level knowledge and experience regarding the curriculum.
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The Future of Education and Skills (Education 2030)
The OECD project Education 2030 aims to help education systems determine the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values students need to thrive in and shape their future. In this project, a learning framework has been created and a teaching framework is currently being developed. Furthermore, a series of thematic reports on curriculum (re)design is being published. The frameworks and reports are co-created by policy makers, researchers, school leaders, teachers and students from around the world.
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Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
SLO participates in a CEFR expert group within the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe. This expert group carries out activities to promote the CEFR key concepts of social agency, action-orientation, plurilingualism, interculturality, and mediation as a follow-up to the publication of the CEFR Companion Volume.
The activities carried out so far include, among other things, web workshops and the development of a series of capsule videos with language teacher testimonials. Currently, the group is preparing the design of professional training programmes for specific target groups, a needs analysis online survey among the member states, and the production of policy documents on language-sensitive education across the curriculum and the development of the full repertoire of plurilingual learners.
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Mathematics Curriculum Document Analysis (MCDA)
The MCDA project is an international comparative study on mathematics curricula. Nineteen countries/jurisdictions, including the Netherlands, participate in this study under guidance of the OECD and Michigan State University. SLO is responsible for the data collection for the Netherlands, and, together with the OECD and the NAE (Sweden), for hosting online workshops for collecting good-practice examples of engaging mathematics education.
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Platform for Innovative Learning Assessment (PILA)
Together with Utrecht University, SLO participates in the OECD’s PILA project. In this pilot, aiming at Grade 9, we are working with mathematics and computing teachers on computational thinking. The goal of this pilot is to find out whether the resources that have been developed foster students’ computational thinking and to get an idea of how working in the online environment with students facilitates formative assessment. The results of this pilot and of the pilots being conducted in Singapore and Ireland will inform the OECD on how to continue making progress in supporting innovative ways of learning assessment.
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Learning Outcomes in University for Impact in Society (LOUIS)
SLO contributes as an associate partner to the LOUIS initiative of the Aurora European University Alliance, a consortium of research-intensive universities that aim for academic relevance plus societal relevance. LOUIS, as part of the Aurora Competence Framework, describes 16 academical and personal value competences, including 81 sub competences that strengthen learning outcomes and equip students with skills and mindset to drive societal change and contribute to sustainable development goals.
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Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN)
SLO participates in the Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN = Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) - Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (coe.int). This netwerk functions under the auspices of the CoE Steering Committee for Education (CDEDU). It was established in 2018 aimed to support education authorities in the Council of Europe member states to promote democracy and human rights in education through the use of the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC = The Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC) - Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (coe.int), adapted to each context. EPAN members have contributed to the ongoing, development of the RFCDC including the preparation of descriptors for young learners under 10 years of age, a CDC portfolio and a reflection tool for teachers. They have also made proposals on how teacher education programmes could be improved with the use of the RFCDC. Relevant members provide an important link for country-specific capacity building projects supported by the Council of Europe and funded with external resources.