Governing Curriculum Innovation: An Integrated Curriculum Governance Framework for Entrepreneurship Education

Abstract

Higher education institutions are under increasing pressure to redesign study programmes in response to digital transformation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and rapidly changing labour market requirements. While curriculum innovation has received considerable attention in higher education research, existing studies have primarily examined curriculum design, academic leadership, stakeholder engagement and governance as separate research areas. Comparatively less attention has been devoted to explaining how these elements interact throughout the curriculum innovation process. This conceptual paper addresses this gap by proposing an Integrated Curriculum Governance Framework that conceptualises curriculum innovation as a continuous governance cycle rather than a linear curriculum development process. The framework is developed through a conceptual analysis of literature on curriculum innovation, higher education governance, academic leadership, stakeholder engagement and organisational learning. It combines six operational phases-environmental scanning, stakeholder co-design, curriculum governance, curriculum implementation, competency assessment and continuous improvement—with five cross-cutting governance principles: participation, accountability, transparency, evidence-based decision-making and organisational learning. The proposed framework extends existing curriculum development models by integrating governance mechanisms that support institutional coordination, collaborative decision-making and continuous curriculum improvement. Although developed in the context of entrepreneurship education, the framework is applicable across different higher education disciplines. The paper contributes to theory by linking previously disconnected research streams and provides practical guidance for university leaders, programme guarantors and quality assurance units seeking to strengthen governance arrangements supporting curriculum innovation.