ERIC Number: EJ1421582
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0272
EISSN: EISSN-1366-5839
Teachers as National Curriculum Makers: Does Involvement Equal Influence?
Journal of Curriculum Studies, v56 n2 p220-234 2024
Against the backdrop of curriculum reform in Norway, this article presents a study of teacher involvement and influence in national curriculum making through participation in official commentary processes. Education policy documents presented teacher involvement in the reform as essential to the legitimacy and ownership of the curriculum in schools, but a central question in this study is whether involvement in the process also means influence over the final curriculum. The study focuses on a central new element of the curriculum, the interdisciplinary topic democracy and citizenship, and analyses how teachers influenced the content of the new curriculum. Qualitative document analysis and reflexive thematic analysis were applied to curriculum drafts, responses to an official commentary process, and the final curriculum. The analysis shows that teachers' opinions were backgrounded throughout the development process, while the content suggested by educational experts was foregrounded. In the final curriculum, the teachers' suggestions for content were omitted. The findings may have consequences for future reforms as well as for curriculum interpretation and operationalization in schools.
Descriptors: National Curriculum, Foreign Countries, Educational Policy, Teacher Participation, Teacher Influence, Curriculum Design, Educational Change, College Faculty, Adults, English (Second Language), Language Teachers, Citizenship, Democracy
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A