Competence for adaptability: a critique of post-2015 supra-curricula focused on Science Education

Abstract Competency-based curricular reforms have reshaped science education globally, driven in part by supranational organisations such as the OECD and UNESCO through international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS. This article examines how international curriculum standards influence national science education policies, particularly under conditions of educational globalisation that frame education as a driver of economic growth. We analyse supra-curriculum documents from IBE/UNESCO (2017a, 2017b), the OECD (2021), and OECD/PISA (2022) using the Activity Theory framework to identify the motives, methodologies, and competencies proposed for 21st-century science education. Our analysis indicates that these documents foreground economic competitiveness and innovation while advocating soft skills, including creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and socio-emotional competencies. The contemporary context is characterised as a transition from natural resource-based economies to knowledge economies, with education positioned as a key lever for addressing global challenges through the sustainable development goals. We argue that, despite rhetoric around holistic development, peace, justice, and sustainability, the dominant orientation remains instrumental and pragmatic, thereby reproducing a positivist tradition in science education. This standardisation raises critical questions about student agency, cultural diversity, and the purposes of science education in confronting the socio-environmental crises facing contemporary societies.