Curricular reforms encompass broad measures aimed at adapting the educational system to better meet the needs and interests of society. Some reforms are concerned with bringing about more equal treatment of young people through their compulsory education. This chapter outlines recent curricular reforms in the participating countries, their aims and outcomes, their target groups, and their impact on social exclusion. In conjunction with the funding system and the schooling structure, and as a secondary socialisation system, curricular reforms may have a considerable impact on social cohesion and on the distances between social classes in society.

A typology of reforms

Due to the diversity in curricular reforms adopted in the participating countries, the following typology of measures is proposed:

• • Modification of the age at which pupils choose their educational track or finish their compulsory schooling.

• • Modification of final qualifications: the extent to which certification is unified or differentiated, along with the required contents, will influence the access of young people to further education and employment opportunities.

• • Unification, whereby the same curriculum applies to all pupils in any educational institute, in contrast to an earlier emphasis on twotier schooling (usually, vocational versus academic education).

• • Development of flexible curricula, whereby all types of pupils take the same core curriculum, but a pupil has a limited choice of subjects (or subject levels) on the basis of his/her interests and abilities. Three strategies for the creation of more flexible curricula can be distinguished: (i) choice of subjects: pupils choose different subjects which, together with their core subjects, enable them to achieve specified educational objectives. This requires a good guidance and tutoring system, along with the removal of prior restrictions on subject choice; (ii) choice of subject levels: pupils choose different levels or grades for each of their subjects (or curricular modules), both core and optional, within the framework of the final certificate or qualification; and (iii) curricular adaptation on an individual or group basis, but one which is selected by teachers. This approach involves modifying certain elements, such as objectives, contents, and classroom and school facilities, in order to better address individual differences among pupils. This reform is not ‘fundamental’ as long as pupils obtain the mainstream certificate.