While researchers have paid a lot of attention to dimensions of quality transcending the content of education, in the course of the last decade a lot of attention has been invested by policy makers in the description of the kind of learning that is expected from schools (not in the least in the early years). That is why the topic of curriculum deserves renewed attention. This contribution focuses on three fundamental questions when making a critical analysis of these policies: (1) What kind of content has been described as core curriculum? (2) What kind of processes can be identified when analysing the implementation of these curricula with what kind of impact on quality? (3) What conclusions can be drawn from that analysis at the level of the implicated paradigms?