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Alberta Education
Old science fiction movies present an interesting look at the future. Often, these movies show how people adapted, in various ways, for life in the 21st century.
What we can take away from these films is that the world that students live in today will look much different tomorrow. Students will work in industries and technologies that we haven’t discovered yet, using skills that may just be emerging today. Their quality of life will be impacted by the availability of any number of resources like water, food and shelter and their ability to find meaningful employment.
Our ever-changing future demands a modernized curriculum that prepares students for success at home and work. In June 2016, Education Minister David Eggen announced the development of future kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum, simultaneously in English and French, in six subject areas: arts, language arts (English, French, Français), mathematics, social studies, sciences and wellness. This is the first time in Alberta’s history that curriculum has been approached in this way. In the past, curriculum was developed one subject at a time.
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"I am pleased that the updated curriculum will better prepare students for the future. This work will contribute to student success with a positive impact on Alberta’s education system."
Dawn Miller, parent, Leduc
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Our future curriculum is being developed in three interconnected and continuous phases: shaping, developing and implementing. Our work takes into consideration up-to-date research on teaching and learning, innovative ideas and practices from other high-performing national and international education systems, and previous work with our education stakeholders. Our work to modernize curriculum also provides opportunities to look at the way in which curriculum is designed and developed. In the future, curriculum will be updated more frequently so that it remains current and relevant to students’ needs.
Taking a cross-subject approach allows us to make sure that curriculum works as a complete package and that subjects will complement each other. For example, students will be able to develop financial literacy within any number of subjects like math, wellness and social studies. This provides students with more opportunities to revisit concepts and content across grades and subjects to develop the skills, strategies and processes that they need to be successful. Future curriculum will also allow students to develop literacy, numeracy and competencies like critical thinking, problem solving and collaboration in each subject and grade.
