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Teacher concerns during school-based curriculum innovations
Author
Han, James Choon Boon
Supervisor
Lim, Betsy
Abstract
Teacher concerns can be defined as the feelings, uncertainties and problems developed by teachers in with regards to their work in school. The awareness and understanding of these concerns are important for the success of curriculum innovations, as they form the basis of teacher resistance in school change efforts. The aim of this case study is to identify and explore the types of teacher concerns arising from a school-based curriculum innovation. Teacher concerns have been researched since 1969, of which Fuller’s three stage model and Hall, George and Rutherford’s seven stage hierarchy formed the basis of current literature. This study uses Marsh & Willis?(2005) curriculum continuum to define the diffusion of curriculum innovations in schools and adapts Hall & Hord’s (2006) methods of identifying teacher concerns to explore the concerns of a group of Singaporean primary teachers involved in a school-based curriculum innovation (SCI). A sequential mixed methods research design is used for this study, incorporating an initial exploratory quantitative phase and a further explanatory qualitative phase. Finally, a content analysis of relevant documents is used to triangulate the data. The findings of the study show that the majority of teacher concerns are management concerns, and they shift in emphasis as time progresses along the diffusion of the innovation. Teacher concerns differ among individuals and the differences are related to teacher experience and years of service.
Date Issued
2010
Call Number
LB2806.15 Han
Date Submitted
2010