Document-based Curriculum Analysis

Document-based curriculum analysis is a qualitative research method that systematically examines written curriculum artifacts — textbooks, syllabi, national standards, policy documents, scope-and-sequence guides, and lesson frameworks — to reveal intended learning goals, ideological assumptions, gaps, and alignment between policy and practice. It treats curriculum documents as primary data rather than supplementary material, applying structured content and interpretive analysis techniques to answer questions about what knowledge is valued, how it is sequenced, and whose perspectives are represented.