Mandated curriculum changes: Perspectives of teachers

Change is ongoing and relentless and it affects all sectors of society. In education, change is reflected in the international borrowing of ideas, which result in an ever-shifting landscape of reforms adopted at government level, and mandated for implementation in schools. The black and white productivity model of meeting performance targets is applied, and it is expected that teachers will negotiate curriculum changes efficiently and effectively to raise the standards of student performance. While success for all is the goal, and quality teaching is emphasised as the key to education, the reality is that the performance of Australian students in international and national testing does not meet the expectations of the government. The way teachers negotiate mandated curriculum changes do not appear to be delivering teaching and learning that results in the required standards of student achievement. The purpose of this research is to explore the way teachers negotiate mandated curriculum changes. Situated within the context of a co-educational, Preparatory to Year Seven primary school in the state of Queensland, Australia, the study is undertaken in a school that is part of a system that operates within the Catholic tradition. Moreover, the study concentrates on the years between 1999 and 2009, and the curriculum changes that occurred at the research site during that time...