Innovations in the improved curriculum content of the competence approach: a case study in Latvia

Innovations in the improved curriculum content of the competence approach: a case study in Latvia Andersone, R. University of Latvia, Latvia Innovations in education are particularly important as education plays a crucial role in developing sustainable future. Innovation resembles mutation, the biological process that keeps species evolving so that they can compete better for survival. Innovations should therefore be considered as a necessary and positive tool of changes. Any human action (e.g., industrial, business or educational) requires constant innovation to be sustainable. Education is foundation of our economy. What (and how) we learn at school determines success throughout our lives. It affects how we solve problems, how we interact with others and how we look at the world around us. Education in the world of modern innovation economics becomes even more important to develop the future generation of innovators and creative thinkers. The purpose of the article is to theoretically analyse innovations related to significant changes in the competency – based teaching/learning content. The study, through document analysis, has selected the most substantial changes in the improved teaching/learning content of the basic education curriculum. The primary education content has been chosen because this stage of education lays foundations for the life and personal growth of every young person. Three domains of the education content have been selected for the analysis, namely Languages, Science and Civic domain. Innovations have been defined according to four criteria – promotion of cooperation in the acquisition of the curriculum content, the usage of information and communication technologies as a platform for developing reasoning and solving problem, experiential learning, which focuses on the process of discovery, and discussion-based learning, that positions knowledge in a political and cultural context. It has been stated that the curriculum content improved within the competence approach includes a number of innovations, among which the cooperation of teachers in planning the curriculum content and the selection of strategies, the use of information and communication technologies for developing judgment, the learning not only from the personal experience but also purposeful formation of learners’ experience should be specifically mentioned.