Curriculum Objectives and Their Characteristics in the Secondary School Curriculum Model Based on UNESCO’s Literacy Frameworks

Abstract

This study aimed to explain the objectives and characteristics of a secondary school curriculum model based on UNESCO’s literacy dimensions and to develop a coherent framework for integrating basic, digital, information, and media literacy into curriculum objectives. This applied qualitative study employed a reflective thematic analysis approach. The research population comprised academic experts in educational sciences, curriculum studies, and educational psychology, together with executive experts from the Department of Education in West Azerbaijan Province. Participants were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 14 experts, including 10 academic and 4 executive participants. Theoretical saturation was achieved at the twelfth interview, followed by two additional interviews for confirmation. Data were analyzed according to Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure, including familiarization with the data, initial coding, theme generation, review, definition, and organization. Trustworthiness was enhanced through member checking, external expert review, independent coding, triangulation, and the credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln. The analysis generated three overarching themes and nine subthemes. The first theme, cognitive curriculum objectives, emphasized strengthening basic literacy while simultaneously developing digital, information, and media literacy, indicating that curriculum objectives should extend beyond knowledge transmission to cultivate learners’ capacities for critical analysis, evaluation, production, and responsible use of information. The second theme, content-related characteristics of objectives, highlighted comprehensiveness and integration across literacy domains and the incorporation of cognitive, skill-based, and attitudinal dimensions. The third theme, educational and social characteristics, emphasized informed citizenship, educational equity, future orientation, and lifelong learning. Collectively, the findings revealed that literacy-oriented curriculum objectives possess a multidimensional, interconnected, and interdisciplinary structure. A secondary school curriculum aligned with UNESCO’s literacy framework requires a shift from fragmented and knowledge-centered objectives toward integrated, competency-based, equity-oriented, and future-focused objectives that prepare students for lifelong learning, responsible social participation, and critical engagement with contemporary digital and information environments.