Making a global impact with the Oxford International Curriculum

The Oxford International Curriculum is a new integrated curriculum, which places an emphasis on the enjoyment of teaching and learning, fostering wellbeing in education, and developing key global skills for learners’ future, personal, career and academic success.

Recently, an impact study was undertaken to provide an in-depth understanding into the extent to which, and how, the Oxford International Curriculum supports the development of students’ metacognitive skills and self-regulation, helping them to become independent learners. Teachers and school leaders at eight international schools took part in the impact study using the curriculum pilot resources for Global Skills Projects, Wellbeing and core subjects for a period of nine months with Year 1 primary and Year 7 lower secondary pupils.

All participating schools reported that using the Oxford International Curriculum had a very strong positive impact on developing learners’ self-regulation to become independent learners. Some teachers reported that learners needed support with self-reflection, but that learners were becoming more resilient with problem solving, more self-regulated, more aware of their emotions, and better at communicating with others through teamwork. The majority of teachers also said that using the Oxford International Curriculum has had a very strong positive impact on developing learners’ metacognitive skills to become independent learners. Furthermore, some teachers highlighted improved teamwork and leadership skills, as well as an increased ability to work independently, think more deeply, and display stronger discussion skills.

This impact study was planned and implemented using the Oxford Impact Framework. The Framework is a systematic approach to evaluating the impact of Oxford University Press products and services, developed through a unique collaboration with the National Foundation for Educational Research and supported by the Department of Education, University of Oxford.

Speaking about the study, Silvia Yafai, Senior Curriculum Academic Lead, said: ‘The findings from the impact study show that the Oxford International Curriculum is widely perceived to help learners develop their metacognitive skills and self-regulation, supporting them to become independent learners.’

On a separate note, the Oxford International Curriculum is already making an impact globally and being recognized for its effectiveness. Last week, OUP entered into an official partnership with Van Lang Education Group (VLG), one of the leading private universities in Vietnam, to help elevate the quality of education from elementary school to graduate school. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese ministerial delegation, and representatives of both the UK government during a working visit to the UK for the COP26 Climate Change Conference. The partnership marks a continuation of the Oxford International Curriculum and exploring further opportunities to implement OxfordAQA International GCSEs and A-levels at the VLG’s K-12 school chain (US Vietnam Talent International School and the commitment to working together on further training, conducting assessment for both K-12 and English qualifications.