Stuart Bennett and Tina Overton are the joint editors for a 2010 special issue with the overarching theme of Evidentially-based curriculum development. 

The issue will span both secondary and higher education and attempt to focus on systems of curriculum development that have a rational and evidential basis rather than on 'the gut feeling of: this is what chemistry is'. There is a growing body of evidence of what is needed from a chemistry curriculum from employers of chemistry graduates (both in chemistry and outside), from academics, funding agencies, accrediting bodies and government. Work is in progress to find out what skills graduates in employment wished they had developed and also what students' perceptions are. What is an appropriate mix of chemistry 'knowledge', chemistry-based skills and transferable skills? There is the issue of curriculum delivery, teaching and learning styles, the role of problem-based learning, the value of an heuristic approach, contextual learning and so on. Much evidence impinging on this area exists in the literature and a collection of relevant research papers are referenced in the Practice Guide published by the Higher Education Academy Physical Sciences Subject Centre, Factors Influencing Curriculum Development in Chemistry by Ngozi Mbajiorgu and Norman Reid, ISBN 1-903815-16-9, 2006. Unfortunately, this evidence is rarely used in curriculum design. The aim of this special issue is to illustrate how curriculum design can, and should be, underpinned by research.