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2013a.00173 Cai, Jinfa Howson, Geoffrey Toward an international mathematics curriculum. Clements, M. A. (ed.) et al., Third international handbook of mathematics education. Berlin: Springer (ISBN 978-1-4614-4683-5/hbk; 978-1-4614-4684-2/ebook). Springer International Handbooks of Education 27, 949-974 (2013). 2013 Berlin: Springer EN B70 B10 D30 A40 curriculum international curriculum globalization internationalization learning goals examinations creativity thinking skills conceptual understanding procedural skills

doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-4684-2_29

Summary: This chapter revisits the notion of an international curriculum, analyzing the various forces that might push countries toward one and reasons why countries should develop their own distinct curricula. We first describe the term curriculum to set the stage for our later discussion. We then discuss, in turn, common influences for curriculum change, common learning goals, common driving forces of public examinations, common emphases and treatments, and common issues for future curriculum development. Although the tendency for countries to include a more-and-more internationally-accepted core selection of topics in their national curricula is to a great extent both to be welcomed and expected, this move has had a potential negative effect on curriculum development. Significant work also remains to be done to explore the way in which new technology (especially digital technology) could affect both the mathematics included in the curriculum and how it could more effectively contribute to the teaching and learning of mathematics in general.