COLLEGE OF

EDUCATION

MANAGING
CURRICULUM
IMPLEMENTATION AS
A CHANGE PROCESS

PrEd 132n – The Teacher and the School Curriculum

T349 MTh 8:30- 10:00 am

Group 3

Barcos, Ivann P.

Dacera, Alyssa Lira M.

Hipulan, Ivan R.

Maldo, Daisy Jane C.

Rodriguez, Alexandra B.
PrEd 132n – The Teacher and the School Curriculum

Intended Learning Outcomes

 Explain curriculum implementation as a process of educational change.

 Relate Kurt Lewin’s Change Model and Force Field Theory to the process of
curriculum change.
 Identify the types of curriculum changes and the factors supporting a successful
curriculum change.

Introduction

Curriculum implementation means putting into practice the written curriculum that
has been designed in syllabi, course of study, curricular guides, and subjects. It is a
process wherein the learners acquire the planned or intended knowledge, skills, and
attitudes that are aimed at enabling the same learners to function effectively in the society
(SADC MoE Africa, 2000). Ornstein and Hunkins in 1998 defined curriculum
implementation as the interaction between the curriculum that has been written and the
persons (teachers) who are in charge of delivering it. To them, curriculum implies a shift
from what is the current to a new or enhanced curriculum, change in knowledge, actions,
attitudes of the persons involved, change in behavior using new strategies and resources,
and change which requires efforts hence goals should be achievable.

In the classroom context, curriculum implementation means “teaching” what has been
written in the lesson plan. Implementing means using the plan as a guide to engage with
the learners in the teaching-learning process with the end in view that learning has
occurred and learning outcomes has learning outcomes has been achieved. It involves the
different strategies of teaching with the support of instructional materials to go with the
support of instructional materials to go with the strategy.

Change in curriculum is an inevitable process that is due to several reasons such as

societal and technological changes, emergence of educational research and best practices,
evolving educational standards, cultural and inclusivity considerations, global
competitiveness, pedagogical innovations, legal and regulatory requirements, feedbacks
for continuous improvements, emerging fields and discipline, and others. This, in turn,
calls for the need of the continuous change in the curriculum implementation. This now
involves the process of introducing modifications, revisions, or adjustments to the way an
educational curriculum is put into practice in the classroom. And this change can
encompass various aspects of curriculum delivery, including teaching methods, materials,
assessment techniques, and overall instructional strategies.

In addition, Mezieobi (1993), conceptualized the term implementation simply as a

process of putting an agreed plan, decision, proposal, idea or policy into effect. This
implies that putting the curriculum into operation requires an implementing agent – which
are the teachers. Hence, curriculum implementation involves providing staff members
(teachers) systematic support to guarantee that the most effective instructional strategies
and the recently created curriculum are truly delivered in the classroom. This entails the
important role of the teacher in managing curriculum implementation as a change
process. As aspiring educators – with the betterment of the students and quality education
in mind, it is therefore, indispensable to understand the process of educational change; be

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able to relate relevant theories to the process of curriculum change; and identify the types
of curriculum change that may occur as well as the factors that can support its success.

Content Proper (Body)

A. Phases of Educational Change

The Process of Educational Change

A number of writers have coined phrases to describe the process of

educational change. Fullan (2001) on many occasions in his writings has produced
interesting phrases to ‘capture’ the spirit of the change process. He lists the five
components as:

1. The goal is not to innovate the most.

2. It is not enough to have the best idea.

3. Appreciate the implementation dip.

4. Redefine resistance.

5. Reculturing is the name of the game.

6. Never a checklist, always complexity (p. 34).

A more traditional approach to educational change processes is to separate out

the phases involved:

1. Orientation/needs phase

 Dissatisfaction, concern, or need is felt and expressed by one or more

individuals who seek answers to such dominant questions as:
 What is the problem that is concerning me (us)?
 How and why has it arisen?
 Is it important enough to rectify?
 Do I (we) want to take the necessary steps to overcome the problem?

2. Initiation/adoption phase

 is often termed ‘the front end’ of an innovation. This is the period when basic
decisions are made by external agencies and publishers for whom numbers of
adopters (and therefore sales) are of crucial importance.
 A person (or a group of persons) initiates and promotes a certain programme
or activity. Dominant questions of this phase are:
 What should I (we) do?
 What will it look like?
 What will it mean for me (us)?

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3. Implementation/initial use phase

 has been defined as ‘what an innovation consists of in practice’ (Fullan and

Pomfret, 1977).
 Attempts are made by teachers to use the programme or activity and this can
have varied results from a success to a disastrous failure. Dominant questions
for the teacher at this phase include:
 How do I do it? .
 Will I ever get it to work smoothly?
 To whom can I turn to get assistance?
 Am I doing what the practice requires? .
 What is the effect on the learner?

4. Institutionalization/continuation phase

 occurs when an innovation is supported in schools after an initial period of use

(usually 2–5 years).
 The emphasis here is to ensure that structures and patterns of behavior are
established so that the use of the innovation will be maintained over time. The
dominant questions for the school are:
 How do I (we) make sure that the innovation will continue?
 Who will take responsibilities to ensure the adequate operation of it?

B. Kurt Lewin’s Change Model and Force Field Theory

Kurt Lewin’s Change Model was created in the 1940s by physicist and social
psychologist Kurt Lewin whose background in physics inspired his illustration of social
change using a metaphor for an ice block.

The name of the model comes from the idea that an ice block can't be forced into a
new shape without breaking. Instead, to achieve a transformation from one shape to
another, it must first be melted (unfreeze), poured into a new mold (change) and then
frozen again in the new shape (refreeze).

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Kurt Lewin developed a change model involving three steps: unfreezing, changing,
and refreezing. The model is still widely used and serves as the basis for many modern
change models. While it was originally developed in the context of psychology and
organizational change, it can also be applied to the process of curriculum change in
education.

Here are the three stages in Lewin’s change model:

Stage 1 – Unfreeze
The first stage in Lewin’s model deals with perception management and aims to prepare
the affected stakeholders for the upcoming organizational change. The goal during the
unfreezing stage is to create an awareness of how the status quo, or current level of
acceptability, is hindering the organization in some way.
Stage 2 - Change
Once the status quo is disrupted, this stage deals with the implementation of change. In
this stage, you must consider an agile and iterative approach that incorporates employee
feedback to smoothen the transition.
Once you’ve “unfrozen” the status quo, you may begin to implement your change.
Organizational change in particular is notoriously complex, so executing a well-planned
change process does not guarantee predictable results. Therefore, you must prepare a

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variety of change options, from the planned change process to trial-and-error. With each
attempt at change, examine what worked, what didn’t, what parts were resistant, etc.

Stage 3 - Refreeze
The purpose of the final step—refreezing—is to sustain the change you’ve enacted. The
goal is for the people involved to consider this new state as the new status-quo, so they no
longer resist forces that are trying to implement the change. The group norms, activities,
strategies, and processes are transformed per the new state.
Without appropriate steps that sustain and reinforce the change, the previously dominant
behavior tends to reassert itself. You’ll need to consider both formal and informal
mechanisms to implement and freeze these new changes. Consider one or more steps or
actions that can be strong enough to counter the cumulative effect of all resistive forces to
the change—these stronger steps help ensure the new change will prevail and become
“the new normal”.

Force Field Theory - Kurt Lewin’s model

Kurt Lewin (1951), the father of social psychology, explains the process of
change. The model is useful in explaining curriculum change and implementation. In the
education landscape, there are always two forces that oppose each other. These are the
driving force and the restraining force. There will be a state of equilibrium or balance if
the two forces are equal. There will be a status quo; hence there will be no change.
However, when the driving force overpowers the restraining force, then change will
occur. If the opposite happens and when the restraining force is stronger than the driving
force, change is prevented.

The driving forces are (usually) positive, reasonable, logical, conscious and
economic. While, the restraining forces are (usually) negative, emotional, illogical,
unconscious and social/psychological. Both sets of forces are real and need to be taken
into account when dealing with change, or managing change, or reacting to change.

Table 1: Curriculum Change (based on Lewin's Force Field Model)

Increasing the driving forces is not enough for change, as the restraining forces remain in
place, and as long as they remain in place it becomes harder to use the driving forces. An
analogy is when you push against a spring; the more you push, the harder it becomes and as
soon as you stop pushing the spring reverts to its previous position (after having sprung past
that point). Therefore, unless both the driving and restraining forces are balanced a kind of
yo-yo effect results; a change and then a reversion back, and then a change, and then a
reversion back, and then a change, et cetera, et cetera. It’s important to note that the

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restraining forces may not be conscious – they should not be regarded as being deliberate
attempts to subvert change (although they may be).

Lewin suggested that change would be easier and longer lasting if the forces against
change were reduced, rather than the forces for change being increased.

C. Types of Curriculum Change

According to Chin and Benne (1969), cited by Nickols and Forbes (2001), three typical
approaches have been used in order to understand factors which promote or inhibit
curriculum change.

1. Rational-empirical: In this strategy the agents introduce the innovation with the
belief that it will benefit the teachers and since teachers are assumed to be rational people
they are expected to adopt the proposed change (Nickols and Forbes, 2001). The rational-
empirical strategy typically uses a top-down approach.

2. Normative-re-educative: In this strategy it is believed that people can be re-

educated to change from the norm to the new ways. This strategy acknowledges that
peoples’ behavior is influenced by their socio-cultural norms and that through direct
interventions by change agents’ people can change their attitudes, values and skills.

3. Power coercive: In such cases change is accomplished through application of

power, with those holding greater power enforcing compliance by those with less power.
According to Whitehead (1980) it involves a passive diffusion of a centrally prepared
innovation deemed necessary to the recipients. Typically, the needs of the recipients are
not taken into consideration when the innovation is developed.

Types of Curriculum Change according to John McNeil:

Substitution. Introducing a new curriculum to replace or supplement an existing one.

This is sometimes referred to as a complete overhaul. Example, changing an old book
to an entirely new one, not merely a revision.

Alteration. A minor change is introduced to the existing curriculum. For example,

instead of using a graphing paper for Mathematics teaching, this can be altered using
a graphing calculator.

Restructuring. This means a major change or modification in the school system,

degree program, or education system. The use of an integrated curriculum for the
whole school in K to 12 requires the primary and secondary levels to work as a team.
Another example of a restructured curriculum is when there is significant involvement
of parents in the child instead of leaving everything to the teacher. Using the "In-
school Off-school" or a blended curriculum is an example of restructuring.

Perturbations. These are disruptive changes, but teachers have to adjust to them
within a fairly short time. For example, the school head changes the initially planned
schedule to catch up with the national testing time. Another example is when the dean
has to shorten the schedule to accommodate unplanned extracurricular activities.

Value Orientation. This classification will respond to a shift in the emphasis that the
teacher provides, which are not within the mission or vision of the school or vice

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versa. For example, when newly recruited teachers in religious schools emphasize
academics and forget the formation of values or faith, they need a curriculum value
orientation. Likewise, all teachers in public schools undergo a teacher induction
program, a specialized curriculum for newly hired teachers.

D. Factors Affecting Curriculum Implementation

The Teacher

According to Whitaker (1979), instructors believe they have complete autonomy over
how they apply the curriculum. They choose and decide what to teach from the required
curriculum or instruction. Given that implementation is carried out via learner's
interaction with the intended learning chances, the teacher's position and impact on the
process is without question. You may be saying to yourself, "I know that teachers are
crucial to the process of implementing the curriculum, but what is their part in creating
the curriculum?" If the instructor is to be able to turn the intentions of the curriculum into
reality, it is essential that the instructor comprehend the curriculum. In order to execute a
document or curriculum, it must be done well effectively. If students and teachers follow
the curriculum jointly produced, as according to Wolfson (1997) in curriculum the role of
the teacher in implementations must be more important. A part in creating the curriculum,
teachers must participate in planning and creation of curricula so that they execute the
curriculum and make necessary modifications for their learners.

The Learners

Students are also a crucial component of the curriculum implementation. Although

educators are the judges of the key to what is being learned in class, the rest is with the
students. The approved curriculum can vary greatly from the actual curriculum that is
used. The learner factor affects teachers' choice of learning opportunities, hence it's
important to take into account the diverse qualities of students in the application of
curriculum. For home background and learning capacity, for instance, can decide exactly
what is accomplished in the classroom. Resources and infrastructure, you know from your
experience that no substantial Without sufficient resources, instruction and learning can
still occur. materials. This also holds true for the execution of the curriculum.

Interest Groups

Can you identify interest groups in your country that could influence the
implementation of curricula? A number of these groups exist in almost all societies.
These include parents, parents’ and teachers’ associations, religious organizations, local
authorities, companies and private school proprietors. These Groups can influence
implementation in the following ways: Provide schools with financial resources to
purchase required materials. Demand the inclusion of certain subjects in the curriculum.
Influence learners to reject courses they consider detrimental to the interests of the group.
It is therefore important to involve these groups at the curriculum planning stage. The
School Environment One other factor that influences curriculum implementation
concerns the particular circumstances of each school. Schools located in rich socio-
economic environments and those that have adequate human and material resources can

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implement the curriculum to an extent that would be difficult or impossible for schools in
poor economic environments.

Culture and Ideology

Cultural and ideological differences within a society or country can also influence
curriculum implementation. Some communities may resist a domineering culture or
government ideology and hence affect the implementation of the centrally planned
curriculum.

Instructional Supervision

Curriculum implementation cannot be achieved unless it has been made possible

through the supervisory function of the school head. The head does this through:

 deploying staff,
 allocating time to subjects taught at the school,
 providing teaching and learning materials,
 and creating an atmosphere conducive to effective teaching and learning.

As stated in Curriculum Implementation, the head “monitors and guides curriculum

implementation through ensuring that schemes of work, lesson plans and records of
marks are prepared regularly”. The head teacher maintains a school tone and culture that
create the climate of social responsibility. Effective curriculum implementation does not
take place in a school where the head is incapable of executing supervisory functions.

Assessment

Assessment in the form of examinations influences curriculum implementation

tremendously. Due to the great value given to public examination certificates by
communities and schools, teachers have tended to concentrate on subjects that promote
academic excellence and little else. This action by the teacher obviously can affect the
achievement of the broad goals and objectives of the curriculum.

Conclusion

Managing curriculum implementation as a change process is a dynamic and

multifaceted endeavor that is essential for educational institutions to adapt to the evolving
needs of students and society. It is vital to understand curriculum implementation as a process
of educational change, recognizing that it involves the deliberate alteration of existing
educational practices, materials, and strategies. This transformation can be seen as a journey,
marked by the careful alignment of lesson objectives with the overarching goals of the
curriculum. By doing so, educators can better facilitate the acquisition of knowledge and
skills, ensuring that students are adequately prepared for the challenges of the future.
Kurt Lewin's Change Model and the Force Field Theory offer valuable insights into
the process of curriculum change, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive analysis of both
driving and restraining forces that impact this transformation. Identifying these forces is
crucial for educators and administrators to strategically navigate the complexities of

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curriculum implementation. Additionally, understanding the various types of curriculum

changes, whether they are structural, procedural, or substantive, and the factors that support
successful curriculum change, such as clear communication, stakeholder engagement, and
professional development, can significantly enhance the likelihood of a seamless and
effective transition. By embracing curriculum implementation as a change process and
utilizing the insights from change theories and best practices, educational institutions can
ensure that the curricula remain relevant, responsive, and conducive to the holistic
development of their students.
Moreover, implementing the curriculum means putting the officially prescribed
subjects, syllabuses, and courses of study into practice. Assisting the learner in gaining
experience or knowledge is part of the process. It is crucial to take into consideration that
learners are necessary for the implementation of the curriculum. As a result, the learners play
a key role in the execution of the curriculum. Curriculum implementation is therefore
influenced by a number of elements, including students, teachers, school environment,
culture and ideology, instructional supervision, and assessment.

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Raza, M. (n.d.). Lewin’s 3 stage model of change explained. BMC Blogs. https://www.bmc.com/blogs/lewin-
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