Amman, Jordan, 28 June – 2 July 2026 — At the request of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) of the State of Palestine, UNESCO’s International Bureau of Education (IBE) led a five-day consultative workshop in Amman to advance the development of a National Curriculum Framework (NCF) — a foundational reference for curriculum renewal across the Palestinian education system. The workshop was organized in collaboration with UNESCO’s Section for Global Citizenship and Peace Education and the UNESCO Office in Ramallah.
A systemic approach to reform
The workshop opens a new phase of UNESCO-MEHE cooperation for 2026-2028, structured to strengthen national capacities for curriculum renewal in line with the 2023 Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development. Consolidating the NCF is the first step in a sequenced program of technical support that will subsequently extend to teacher education policy, learning assessment and curriculum evaluation.
To prepare the ground, IBE conducted a dual-lens review of existing curriculum documents ahead of the workshop: a technical analysis of coherence across curriculum components, paired with a normative assessment of alignment with the 2023 Recommendation. This evidence base anchored five days of structured dialogue with MEHE senior officials spanning curriculum, teacher development, assessment, supervision, school leadership and higher education — ensuring the emerging framework reflects both technical rigor and national ownership.
Working through the framework’s core dimensions
Participants examined the NCF’s principal dimensions: educational vision, curriculum architecture, learner competencies, cross-cutting priorities, progression across learning cycles, pedagogy, assessment, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. International experience was introduced selectively, offering points of comparison that informed rather than dictated the country’s own design choices.
Discussions gave particular weight to the realities facing Palestinian education today: learning loss linked to prolonged disruption, curriculum overload, and the need for tighter coherence between curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. Participants were equally attentive to embedding learner well-being, inclusion and resilience within the framework, while affirming that the NCF must remain firmly rooted in Palestinian identity and culture as it prepares learners for a changing world.
Outcomes and next steps
The workshop produced a co-constructed outline of the NCF, setting out its principal building blocks, guiding principles and priority orientations. Participants also agreed on a roadmap for broader consultation with national and international stakeholders during the drafting phase, setting the course toward validation of the framework in September 2026.
The Amman workshop reflects the strength of the Ministry’s commitment to evidence-informed, nationally owned reform — and marks a significant step in a partnership through which IBE will continue to provide technical support for curriculum drafting, teacher education, and learning assessment over the next two years.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/advancing-curriculum-renewal-palestine?hub=701
