How the Curriculum Directs the Development of Studies?

The official curriculum has got many roles in developing education:

1. The curriculum is a tool for controlling education nationwide

The curriculum ensures equal education all over the country. It also continues the educational tradition. 

The curricula build up a continuous educational system - they show what is taught at what level, and how students can move from one level to another.

On the other hand, the curriculum reflects the values of a society. It tells, what subjects should be taught (such as Finnish, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship). It also contains values that may be harder to recognize. The curriculum orders how many hours each subject and topic is taught; in other words, it values each subject and topic differently.

2. The curriculum is a tool for schools and teachers to plan their teaching

The curriculum explains the content of a degree / diploma. It also shows the aims and pedagogical principals of a particular course. The curriculum directs the evaluation (what are the expected learning outcomes and how they should be evaluated).

The curriculum includes:

- the aims

- the content

- the activities / actions

- the evaluation

... of a course

Further reading: Curriculum theory and practice

My experience

I have taught only couple of courses, but I found the curriculum  helpful when planning the courses. It was important to know the contents as well as the assessment criteria. Reading the curriculum was not easy in the first place. It took a while to understand what were the aims of the course. Luckily I got great help from my colleagues. 

I think curriculum is a great tool for planning teaching that meets the national requirements. But a teacher should also be creative and brave to step outside the curriculum if the students show interest in something else that is not written in the curriculum.