Courses or subjects from which learners can choose according to their interests and needs, also referred to as ‘electives’. Typically offered in secondary and tertiary education and complementing the core curriculum that all learners must follow. ‘Electives’ usually refer to subjects to be chosen within a range of options where opting for one or more subjects is compulsory. In some cases ‘elective’ and ‘optional’ mean the same thing, while in other cases ‘optional’ refers to a subject that is not compulsory.
