Curriculum.nu

Since 2015, the Dutch government is working on a new national curriculum. This new curriculum should account for problems as unclarity of common goals, experienced high pressure, and the schism between current curriculum and current society. Rather than using traditional top-down methods to establish this renewal, the government set in motion a more bottom-up governance approach which came to be known as Curriculum.nu. In this project a network was created in which about 300 stakeholders worked together to create a basis for a new curriculum. Governance networks can be analysed from various perspectives. This research analyses the network structure of this governance network and how this structure is related to network-level content and process outcomes using a case study of Curriculum.nu. The research question is ‘Which factors of governance network structure explain outcomes of a new curriculum design in the case of Curriculum.nu?’. To answer this question first theories on governance networks and network structures were investigated, followed by an account of the theory on outcomes and how these structures are related to outcomes. The network structure is thought to consist of mode of governance, integration mechanisms and tools, size and heterogeneity, network inner stability, rules, and trust. It is suggested that the structural aspects are interdependent and that the specific combination determines the relationship with process and content outcomes. In the next chapter, these theoretical findings were applied to the case. The case was analysed through desk research and interviews. In Curriculum.nu all network structures could be found. Regarding outcomes, it was found that the network structure of Curriculum.nu contained aspects that were positively related to outcomes but that this relation could be greater. Most importantly, a balance needs to be found; centralisation but also density, not too many participants but not too little either, stability but also changeability, and rules but also freedom. The level and the type of trust that needs to be present also depends on the network structure. In conclusion, all identified aspects of governance network structures impact outcomes of a new curriculum design. The type of outcomes is determined by the combination of how these structural aspects are shaped. This thesis is limited in its scope by solely addressing the network structure, other factors as processes, management, and more personal aspects also play a major role in the outcomes of the network. Furthermore, this research is based on a limited number of self-reported data which could make the findings less objective and generalisable. Despite these limitations, this thesis contributes scientifically by adding a piece of the puzzle to the understanding of governance networks and how this is applied. On a social level this research is relevant as the educational field has been experiencing many problems, and this project might contribute to solving these problems.