The curricular content of primary education in developing countries

Abstract

This paper examines the curriculum policies for primary schools in a wide range of developing countries in the 1980s and, to a lesser extent, the 1960s. The research covers what subjects are taught, what percentage of instructional time is allocated to each subject, and how much instructional time is available overall in primary education. The results indicate that there is little international debate about primary school curricula. The curricula of mass education systems are increasingly alike all over the world, with surprisingly little regional and national variation. Almost all national educational systems emphasize certain core subjects: language (35%), math (18%), science (8%), and social science (9%).