Towards a democratic curriculum: the narrative paradigm to achieve a state of viscosity

Abstract

AbstractThe article proposes that the goal of education should be to promote democracy in education, which can be achieved through a viscous curriculum based on narrative learning to enhance communication and inclusivity. The discussion considers different teaching and learning paradigms, including instruction, learning, and communication, to explore the conceptual relationship between curriculum, teaching, and learning. The viscosity of the curriculum ensures resistance to fluidity while allowing for some movement, also considering the dialogical relationship between its critical internal elements — knowledge, pedagogy, and assessment. It is not a prescriptive or liquid framework, but a collaborative and cooperative construction that emphasises the paradigm of communication (Trindade & Cosme, 2010) and the narrative learning approach (Goodson, 2013). These elements enable contextual adaptation and resistance to support a more democratic education. To design a curriculum that goes beyond a prescription, it is essential to recognize that learning involves cultural heritage, guided by school curricula, which must be shared, used, and recreated. Schools and educators must focus on knowledge acquisition and knowledge sharing as part of the common heritage of humanity, which is, therefore, based on the collective creation of new knowledge and new worlds (UNESCO, 2021). Such knowledge is communicated through the affirmation of the personal and social worlds of students. The challenge is to rethink the social mission of the school by collectively committing to culturally significant and humanly empowering learning. This can lead to the co-creation of a more just, humanitarian, and democratic society, especially in times of great uncertainty intensified by war.