Welcome to the MWE Curricular Framework (Beta)

The Middle Way Education (MWE) Curricular Framework emerges from MWE’s mission to introduce Buddhist wisdom to young people in creative, age-appropriate ways. We believe this timeless wisdom can contribute to more harmonious communities by supporting students to think for themselves, gain perspective, and aspire to benefit others. The framework welcomes educators from diverse contexts to participate in this endeavor, providing tools and structure that support each educator’s individual approach while maintaining educational rigor and joyful engagement. This is a Work in Progress!

Learn more about our vision and foundation for developing this framework.

What is the MWE Curricular Framework?

The MWE Curricular Framework provides learning goals and educational structure—similar to the Common Core or the British National Curriculum—but does not serve as a complete curriculum with daily lessons or materials. This allows educators to adapt content to their unique contexts while maintaining educational coherence.

Terminology

A learning goal (LG) is the basic unit of the MWE curricular framework. The framework contains 175+ learning goals organized into five domains. You can explore all learning goals in this outline, sorted by domain, and read the complete domain descriptions here.

• Personal Practice: Meditation and contemplative practice.
• Embodied Dharma: Practical application of Buddhist ethics in society.
• Logic and Reason: Analytical skills through Buddhist philosophical inquiry.
• Cultural Preservation: Buddhism’s historical transmission and traditions.
• Art of Play: Creativity and contemplative awareness in artistic expression.

Each learning goal includes: Content Knowledge (key information), Understanding (essential principles), Guiding Questions (for inquiry), Experience (finding personal relevance), and Action (what students demonstrate). Additional elements include related goals, inspirational quotations, resources, and vocabulary.

How to Get Started

For educators looking to get started, jump in by reading our lesson planning instructions, which explain step-by-step how to transform a learning goal into a lesson plan for your students. You can then read the instructions in application with this lesson planning example, and see the result of a sample lesson plan on right speech.

Feedback and Support

We welcome feedback through our general and LG-specific surveys and encourage educators to document their experiences with our pilot teacher survey. Documenting how lessons are implemented helps the MWE team refine and improve the material. If you’re interested in supporting our mission through collaboration, implementation, or financial support, contact: [email protected].