TEACHER PARTICIPATION IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: …

1 Jounal d Cunculum und Sprvtoirer 1968, Vol 3. No 2,109-121 109 TEACHER PARTICIPATIONIN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT: what status DOES IT HAVE?JEAN H. YOUNG, The University of AlbertaCurriculum development is usually performed by committees of educa-tors working together at school, district, and state or provincial levels. For thecommittees to function effectiv'ely, many kinds of expertise are needed. Someparticipants, for example, may be knowledgeable about recent changes insubject matter. Others may be well versed in learning theories that can beused to teach that subject , on their part, have practical knowledge based on their dailywork with students.' This knowledge is useful to CURRICULUM committeesbecause teachers can assess whether the ideas being developed vill work inthe classroom. Therefore, when the CURRICULUM materials produced by com-mittees are disseminated throughout a school district, other teachers may beencouraged to use the new materials.

2 Doyle and Ponder have pointed out,for example, that teachers' use of new materials depends on their perceivedpracticality,2and Fullan and Pomfret have reported that teachers are morelikely to use clear, easily understood materials.' In addition, teachers arealready accustomed to turning to other teachers for useful, reliable also grow professionally from participating in CURRICULUM com-mittees. Research on employee PARTICIPATION in decision making shows thatparticipation results in greater job satisfaction, work achievement, and per-'A. S Carson, Control of the CURRICULUM . A Case for Teachers,'Journal of CuriacuwnStudies 16 (January-March 1984) 19-28; Freema Elbaz, "The TEACHER 's 'Practical Knowledge'-Report of a Case Study," Cumnculum Inquio, 11 (Spring 1981). 43-71 Walter Doyle and Gerald A Ponder, "The Practcality Ethic in TEACHER Decision Making,"Interxbange 8 (No 3, 1977-78)- 1-12.

3 'Micheal Fullan and Alan Pomfret, "Research on CURRICULUM and Instruction Implementa-tion," Remnew ofEducational Researcb 47 (Spnng 1977): 335-397'John E Davis, 'More Effective CURRICULUM development and Implementation" (Paper pre-sented at the annual meeting of the Canadtan Association for Cumculum Studies, London, Ontario,May 1978), Kenneth A Lelthwood, John A. Ross, and Deborah J. Montgomery, "An Investigationof Teachers' CURRICULUM Decision Making," in Studies in Curriculurn Decison Making edKenneth A Leithwood (Toronto. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Press, 1982), pp 14-26110 TEACHER PARTICIPATION in CURRICULUM Developmentsonal integration into the organization' Teachers involved in curriculumdevelopment have reported increased self-confidence and morale6as well asnew ideas and the rethinking of their own personal gainstranslate into such desirable organizational outcomes as commitment to thedecisions that are impetus for TEACHER PARTICIPATION in CURRICULUM developmentcomes from recent reports on the state of American schools.

4 A Nation at Risk9calls for increased standards of excellence in American schools, and theCarnegie report, A Nation Preparec, explores in greater depth the crucial roleteachers must play in the achievement of that goal. "It will mean genuineteacher involvement in and responsibility for educational decisions."'"But various factors now work against teachers' PARTICIPATION in curriculumcommittees Lortie, for example, has written at length about teachers' closeaffiliation with their own classrooms. Teachers, he writes, gain primary satisfaction from their teaching duties, stressing instructional outcomes and relationships with students He cites research showing that "teachers prefer class-room tasks over organizational tasks and classroom claims over organizationalinitiations.""Teachers' isolation from other teachers strengthens this tendency to focussolely on the classroom Boyan, for example, has discussed the professionalnorm in favor of TEACHER autonomy.

5 ' Schmuck and Miles have commentedon "the isolated, individuated character of the TEACHER 's role, which encour-ages an 'acollaborative' stance."'3As a result, says Hargreaves, teachers havelittle continuing access to educational theory or comparative knowledge of'Joseph A Alutto and James A. Belasco, 'Patterns of TEACHER Panrticipaton in School SystemDecision Making, EducationalAdministration Quarterl39 (Wmter 1972) 27-41'RonaldJ B. Carswell, ' TEACHER development as an Outcome of Canadian Studies CurriculumDevelopment," Canadian Journal of Education 2 (No 1, 1977)' 35-42, Jean Helen Young,"Panicipation in CURRICULUM development . An Inquiry Into the Responses of Teachers,' Curnc-ulum Inquiry 15 (Winter 1985): 387-414'ean Helen Young, "Participatlon in CURRICULUM development An lnquir) into the Responsesof Teachers," CURRICULUM Inquiry 15 (Winter 1985) 387-414.

6 'Walter I Garms, James W Guthrie, and Lawrence C Pierce, School Finance (EnglewoodCliffs, NJ. Prentice-Hall, 1978)A Nation arRsk. ThelmperatiteforEducationalReforui, Report of the National Commissionon Excellence in Education (Washington, D C National Commission on Excellence in Education,1983)" A Nation Prepared Teachersfor the 21srt Century: Report of the Task Force on Teaching asa Profession (New York Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy, 1986), p 112"Dan C. Lortie, Schoolteacher A Sociological Study (Chicago University of Chicago Press,1975), p. 164"Norman J Boyan, "The Emergent Role of the TEACHER in the Authority Structure of theSchool," in Organizations and Human Behatior Focus on Schools, ed Fred D Carver andThomasJ Sergiovanni (New York McGraw-Hill, 1969), pp. 200-211"Richard A. Schmuck and Matthew B Miles, eds., Organization development in Schools(Palo Alto, Calif, National Press Books, 1971), p 17 Jean H.

7 Young111other schools and practices." Morrison, Osborne, and McDonald have pointedout that teachers have little opportunity to forge regular contacts with a rangeof different educators: "This is not a situation which lends itself to obtainingand reflecting upon new ideas."'5 The basic conservatism of teachers may also work against their partici-pation in CURRICULUM committees. Lortie, for example, has identified severalfactors related to teachers' conservatism, such as the uncertainty underlyinga TEACHER 's work.'6 Waller points out that a TEACHER 's routine becomes a shelter;it is safe.'' Clearly, if teachers have a vested interest in maintaining the statusquo, they will have little incentive to participate in CURRICULUM commnittees,for CURRICULUM development is synonymous with situation, then, is problematical. There are convincing arguments infavor of TEACHER PARTICIPATION in CURRICULUM committees, but various factorswork together to keep teachers' attenuon focused on their own important question is whether CURRICULUM committees nov have sufficientstatus to draw teachers' attenuon away from their own classrooms, at OF THE STUDYThe data presented in this article were drawn from a recent study ofteacher PARTICIPATION in CURRICULUM development .

8 The major purpose of thestudy was to identify teachers' mouvations for participating in curriculumdevelopment committees as well as the satisfactions and dissatisfactions theyderived from the full-time classroom teachers participated in the study. An in-depth interview was conducted with each TEACHER . There were four categoriesof questions: (1) a description of the committee and how it functioned, (2)the background the TEACHER brought to the committee, (3) the TEACHER 'sreasons for joining the committee, and (4) the TEACHER 's reactions to workingon the interview was tape-recorded and transcribed. Data analysis pro-ceeded in three steps. First, the teachers' responses were collated for eachinterview question. Second, because the responses ranged from a sentenceto many paragraphs, the meaning of each response was summarized to make"Andy Hargreaves.

9 ContrastveRhetonc andExtremistTalk, inClasroomsandStafiooms,ed Andy Hargreaves and Peter Woods (Milton Keynes, England. Open University Press, 1984),pp 215-231"T R Mornson, KW Osborne, and N. G McDonald, 'Whose Canada?' The Assumptions ofCanadian Studies," CanadianJournalofEducatton 2 (No. 1, 1977) C Lonie, Scboolteacber A Sociological Study (Chicago. University of Chicago Press,1975), Chapter 6''W Waller, ' what Teaching Does to Teachers. Determinants of the Occupational Type," mClassrooms and Staffrooms, ed, Andy Hargreaves and Peter Woods (Milton Keynes., EnglandOpen University Press, 1984), pp. 160-173 Jean If. Young 111112 TEACHER Panrticipation in CURRICULUM Developmentcompiling the data easier. Third, responses with similar meanings were groupedinto the same category. The data were then set aside for several months. Whenthe process was repeated, the differences in the categories of responses wereminor, attesting to the reliablllty of the analysis (reliability, in this case, meaning "consistency of interpretation").

10 All 31 teachers were employed in the province of Alberta, Canada, wherecurriculum development begins at the provincial level and proceeds to thelocal level. The brief descnriptions of the two levels that appear below are fairlytypical throughout Canada, where, in spite of occasional forays into grassroots CURRICULUM development , a hierarchical model of CURRICULUM development still LevelUnder the auspices of a branch of government called Alberta Education,15 of the 31 teachers were participating in CURRICULUM committees at theprovincial level. Eight of the committees were coordinating committees witha mandate to establish a sense of direction for the subject areas taught in theprovince's schools. The participating teachers were chosen by Alberta Edu-cation personnel from a list provided by The Alberta Teachers' committees were ongoing, although specific committee members changedover other seven committees at the provincial level were ad hoc commit-tees formed by the coordinating committees to perform specific tasks, suchas sequencing objectives across grade levels, developing units of study, andcreating inservice packages for teachers.