The The Sequenced Model in Integrated Curriculum: A Systematic Review Toward an Analytic Framework

Abstract

Curriculum integration is widely promoted, but its forms differ greatly, and the sequenced model, in which topics or units from separate subjects are deliberately ordered so that they reinforce one another, is rarely examined as a design choice in its own right. This review maps how recent publications position pedagogical strategies within integrated curriculum implementation and how curriculum alignment is conceptualised, using the sequenced model as a lens. Four databases were searched (last search: 21 October 2026) and records were screened following PRISMA 2020; the review was not registered. The 23 included publications (2022–2026) were coded into seven thematic clusters using bibliographic metadata and titles, supplemented by the abstracts of two anchor reviews; the findings of individual studies were not extracted. Three patterns emerge. First, curriculum alignment is the most consistent theme but is operationalised in at least four ways (external fit, internal constructive alignment, implementation fidelity, and stakeholder perception). Second, pedagogical strategies are developed mainly within field-specific contexts, such as English as a foreign language, pharmacy, and nursing education, and are rarely connected to the ordering of units. Third, the closest evidence syntheses do not isolate sequencing and report limited, low-quality comparative evidence. As a conceptual interpretation, not an empirical finding, the review proposes an analytic framework with three dimensions (ordering logic, pedagogical bridging, and aligned assessment) and four propositions for future testing. The framework has not been tested empirically, and no conclusion is drawn about the effectiveness of the sequenced model.