Curriculum fundamentally addresses the selection of knowledge for human cultivation, positioning pedagogical formation as its essential function. School curriculum development constitutes a process whereby educational ideals are progressively refined and transformed into pedagogical content. From an institutional perspective, advancing curriculum-based cultivation requires dual emphasis on optimizing top-level curriculum design and enhancing resource provision. Top-level design optimization involves revising implementation frameworks to resolve content selection challenges, while improved resource supply creatively materializes educational blueprints to address pedagogical refinement. Within China’s current phase of high-quality educational development, school curriculum construction must maintain cultivation-oriented principles to optimize institutional design and articulate precise educational blueprints, and innovate resource delivery mechanisms to provide students with diverse, high-quality intellectual nourishment. This integrated approach ensures curriculum serves its fundamental mission of holistic development during educational modernization.