This literature review explores how education and curriculum frameworks can support faculty in enhancing teaching practice, fostering pedagogical leadership and advancing curriculum design practice in higher education. In response to growing institutional, national and global priorities, such as the areas of equity, inclusion, sustainability and digital transformation, there is an urgent need for structured, yet adaptable, frameworks that empower faculty as active agents of educational change. The review synthesises current academic and policy literature, identifying key models such as the Connected Curriculum (Fung, 2017), Constructive Alignment (Biggs & Tang, 2022), Agile Backward Design (Dazeley et al., 2025), the ISEE Framework (Yang, 2015) and the SPELT evaluation model (Huber, 2017). These frameworks amongst others are evaluated not only for their pedagogical coherence, but for their ability to embed values-led leadership in Teaching and Learning (T&L), foster student-centred learning and support strategic approaches to curriculum enhancement. Critically, the review surfaces a shift away from compliance-driven or metrics-heavy frameworks toward developmental, relational and context-sensitive curricular approaches. The review is guided by a central inquiry: how do education and curriculum frameworks support faculty in enhancing T&L, exercising pedagogical leadership and designing inclusive, sustainability-oriented curricula aligned with institutional and societal priorities? Subsidiary research questions explore the purposes and characteristics of these frameworks, their role in embedding Equality Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), and their institutional impact on curriculum innovation and leadership practice. Key insights from the literature indicate: • The most effective frameworks centre faculty agency, ethical leadership and co-creation with students. • There are persistent gaps in how frameworks support emotional, cognitive and relational dimensions of faculty development. • Institutions that align teaching enhancement with strategic priorities through structured, yet flexible frameworks report greater curriculum coherence and innovation. • Frameworks must move beyond policy alignment and operationalise values such as justice, wellbeing and sustainability through practical, adaptable resources. This literature review offers critical foundations for the development of the Maynooth Education Framework and insights to inform initiative implementation aimed at fostering inclusive, evidence-based and values-led academic leadership in curriculum design.