Dynamics and Processes of Curricular Innovation

an interview with José Augusto Pacheco

Abstract

The aim of this interview is to present Professor José Augusto Pacheco’s analysis of the dynamics of curricular innovation. A Full Professor in the Department of Curriculum Studies and Educational Technology at the University of Minho, Portugal, he argues that the field of curriculum is living, restless, and necessary, as it is constantly under construction, in dialogue with the world, and continually raising new questions. From this perspective, it is essential to engage with issues such as large-scale assessment, curricular standardization, and the social, political, and epistemic roles of the school, as well as artificial intelligence. In his assessment, developing curricula that are not standardized, but that instead open up the world to individuals through diverse learning pathways and experiences, requires opposing the misguided notion of emptying the curriculum of knowledge and sustaining a critical and creative dialogue with classical authors and texts.