The first National Conference titled “Prospects for Innovation and Development in Curriculum and Its Evaluation to Achieve Quality Education” was launched on Sunday morning at the University of Jordan. The conference was organized by the School of Educational Sciences in strategic partnership with the National Center for Curriculum Development, with the participation of distinguished academics, educational experts, and policymakers.
The conference serves as a scientific dialogue platform that envisions the future of education in Jordan and explores ways to develop curricula in line with contemporary demands and the rapid expansion of knowledge. It aims to enhance innovation in curriculum design and evaluation to ensure high-quality educational outcomes and sustainable improvement.
The one-day conference seeks to highlight best practices and successful experiences in curriculum development and evaluation, align curricula with national priorities and Sustainable Development Goals, strengthen teachers’ capacities, and enhance their role in effectively implementing curricula. It also addresses the challenges facing curriculum development and assessment.
During the opening ceremony, University President Dr. Nathir Obeidat stated that change in education and curricula is no longer optional but an inevitable necessity. “There can be no development or progress without change,” he affirmed, emphasizing that resistance to change should not hinder the future of education. He underscored that education is the true foundation for nation-building and must remain a profession grounded in practical application.
Dr. Obeidat added that meaningful change in education should foster positive emotions among students and teachers by creating a school environment rooted in joy, trust, and calmness, and by strengthening a sense of belonging to the school. He called for recognizing the efforts of Jordan’s educational system, noting that such recognition should build trust, flexibility, and pride, ultimately leading to sustainable improvements in educational outcomes.
He further emphasized that curriculum is not merely content; it encompasses content, pedagogy, and assessment. It represents a human, ethical, and social contract that reflects a shared societal vision and balances local, national, and global needs. He highlighted the need for a school and university education system that prepares students for a future shaped by creativity and adaptability. He expressed hope in fulfilling the aspirations of His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al-Hussein bin Abdullah II to establish a distinctive education system that connects learning with creativity and innovation while ensuring a dignified life for students.
Dr. Mohyiddin Touq, Chairman of the Higher Council of the National Center for Curriculum Development, stated that school curricula constitute the cornerstone of genuine educational reform, as they embody the national vision for education and shape learners’ personalities, values, skills, and creative thinking. He noted that the Center was established to lead the development of Jordanian curricula based on scientific foundations and international standards while preserving cultural identity and national constants and responding to twenty-first-century requirements.
He added that curriculum development must be accompanied by continuous evaluative research. In this context, a Studies and Research Unit was established within the Center to monitor the impact of newly developed curricula on student performance, learning quality, and implementation efficiency. He emphasized that successful curriculum reform requires a genuine national partnership involving the Ministry of Education, higher education institutions, the private sector, and civil society organizations.
For his part, Dean of the School of Educational Sciences and Conference Chair Dr. Mohammad Sayel Al-Zayoud affirmed that curriculum development is no longer an educational luxury but an existential necessity to ensure quality education and enhance Jordan’s competitiveness in an era marked by rapid knowledge growth and shifting skill demands. He described curricula as a comprehensive national project aimed at shaping individuals, developing their thinking, refining their skills, and instilling their values. He stressed that the conference embodies a national message: educational reform is a shared responsibility of the entire nation, not a single institution.
Dr. Al-Zayoud emphasized that curriculum evaluation should be viewed as a continuous scientific process to ensure quality and sustainable improvement, rather than a formal or temporary procedure. He highlighted the importance of linking development to fair and objective assessment mechanisms that identify strengths and areas for improvement.
In the first keynote scientific session, former Minister of Education Dr. Tayseer Al-Nuaimi presented a paper titled “Contemporary Trends in School Curricula: Drivers for Renewal, Design Principles, Core Features, Governance, and Misconceptions.” His paper included a comparative study of regional and international experiences, focusing on curriculum reform pathways in Arab countries and OECD member states.
Dr. Al-Nuaimi explained that contemporary trends conceptualize curriculum as a “systematic design” that clearly defines expected learning outcomes and organizes learning progressions to ensure coherence between the planned, implemented, and achieved curriculum. He emphasized participatory design that serves the public good and respects national culture and identity. Modern curricula, he noted, are competency-based, built on clear learning progressions, and adopt a holistic design concerned with cognitive, value-based, and social development.
He identified five key global drivers behind curriculum reform: the shift toward a knowledge economy, digital advancement and artificial intelligence, widening inequities, the growing focus on sustainability and global citizenship, and the need for more flexible learning systems. He highlighted structural challenges in curriculum design and coherence revealed by international evidence, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic and declining international assessment results.
He stressed that successful curriculum reform requires more than sound design; it demands investment in teachers, capacity-building, systemic coherence, and governance grounded in data-driven decision-making and transparency to strengthen public trust.
The conference gains special significance as it takes place amid rapid global technological and knowledge transformations that compel education systems to reconsider their philosophies, curricula, and assessment methods to prepare generations equipped with critical thinking, creativity, and adaptability.
Its objectives reflect a progressive national orientation linking curriculum development to national development goals and the knowledge economy, while strengthening identity, belonging, and national values, and addressing contemporary intellectual and cultural challenges within a comprehensive vision that views curriculum as a human development project before being merely academic content.
The conference program includes keynote and parallel scientific sessions addressing diverse themes, including curriculum development in light of twenty-first-century requirements, assessment methods and quality assurance, curricula’s role in achieving national and sustainable development goals, regional and international experiences in curriculum reform, teacher preparation before and during service, teachers’ central role in transforming curriculum from written text into living classroom practice, national values and identity, international comparative assessments (TIMSS, PISA, PIRLS), and the responsible integration of technology and artificial intelligence in curriculum design and implementation.