Social representations of curriculum planning: Contemporary theoretical and empirical debates

Abstract

Curriculum planning is a fundamental aspect of pedagogical practice, as it guides teaching and learning processes and ensures coherence between educational objectives, methodological strategies, and assessment. This scientific essay aims to address theoretical and empirical debates associated with the research intention, whose central purpose is to analyze the social representations that teachers at the Pedro Santos Educational Institution in the municipality of Pinchote, Santander (Colombia), have regarding their curriculum planning processes. The work reviews the main theoretical frameworks surrounding curriculum planning and social representations in the educational field, identifying research gaps related to the situated analysis of these processes from the teachers' perspective. It argues that, although the literature recognizes planning as a reflective and contextualized process, its practical implementation often devolves into an instrumental exercise, conditioned by administrative requirements and time constraints. The proposed methodology adopts a qualitative-descriptive approach, with a non-experimental, cross-sectional design, supported by interviews and structural analysis of social representations using the core method. The essay concludes that understanding teachers' social representations of curriculum planning constitutes a significant contribution to redefining this practice as a transformative pedagogical tool, with a direct impact on educational quality and the holistic development of students.