Curriculum change and implementation

Curriculum change
Definitions!

Curriculum change means making the curriculum different in. some way, to give it a new position or direction. This often means alteration to its
philosophy by way of its aims and objectives, reviewing the content included, revising.

 Curriculum change refers to a whole set of concepts, including innovation, development, and adoption. It encompasses both planned and
unplanned changes and can occur at the level of the classroom, school, or whole education system. Teachers may find that changes
accompany their teaching from time to time.

 In fact, curriculum change particularly involves teachers, schools, and the community. It is expected that the associated changes are
instrumental in enhancing the professional growth of both the teachers and schools involved.

 Changes in the curriculum thereby are assumed to be a complicated process which can be influenced by a number of factors. Apart from
giving an account of the basic concepts of change and curriculum implementation, this chapter also identifies various models of change
and some strategies of curriculum implementation. It then proceeds with the critical reflections on the major obstacles and complexities
of curriculum implementation, and finally the multitudes of efforts made by the local government, the community, schools, and teachers
in curriculum implementation are appreciated.

 Change involves the continuation of the old curriculum and calls for response (Owen, 1971).

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Stages of curriculum change.

• Stage 1 – formulating curriculum committee.

• Stage 2 – study carefully the existing curriculum and identify its strength and weakness, including its purpose, values and beliefs.

• Stage 3 – make a detailed study of the existing curriculum content to see whether it is relevant and appropriate.

• Stage 4 – establish criteria for decisions about what need to go into the curriculum and need to come out, and how the materials and
methods might be changed.

• Stage 5 – involve the design and writing of new curriculum changes. It also includes revised objectives and adding any new teaching and
learning approaches.

• Stage 6 – the actual implementation of changes is put into action.

• Stage 7 – evaluate the effects of those changes and it is with evaluation that this final stage is concerned.

The need for curriculum change

• To restructure the curriculum according to the needs, interests or abilities of the learner.

• To eliminate unnecessary units, teaching methods and contents.

• To introduce latest and update methods of teaching and content, new knowledge and practices.

• To add or delete number of clinical hours of instruction.

• To correlate between the student’s theory courses and clinical learning practices.

• To select clinical learning experiences base on the objectives rather than on the service needs of the hospital.

• The students themselves receive little or no experience in assuming responsibilities or in making choices; everything is decided for them
by the teacher or the administrator.

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MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE

 Provide effective leadership to drive change

o Effective leadership is key to creating a culture of change management within an organisation.
o Good curriculum areas tend to have an effective middle manager – a specialist in their field, who leads from the front by setting
an example of hard work, flexibility, responsiveness and commitment.
 Provide a clear vision and communicate it in an inspirational way. Explain what the change means in positive terms for staff and, most
importantly, for the students.
 Have a clear rationale for change that is grounded in facts and research.
 Recognise and value the contributions made by individuals.
 Have a clear communication plan at the outset and keep to it.
 Seek opportunities to talk to individuals, teams and the whole organisation about the change.
 Create leaders of change at all levels and empower them.
 Be clear and firm about what is negotiable and what is fixed, so that energies are maximised, conflict is reduced and the direction is
clear.
 Create action research groups to inform policy and strategy.
 Use focus groups to get close to perceptions and feelings which can indicate how best to move forward.
 Create quality improvement groups to address specific issues.
 Give stakeholders the opportunity to shape the future.
 Develop the coaching skills of managers so that they spend less time telling and more time helping and empowering.

Successful strategies for change

 Recognise and use staff contributions

 Using the expertise of staff can have positive effects on instigating change and can improve staff morale.

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  Schools and colleges that are most successful at change management are those that consult with staff at all levels, part-time
inspectors and moderators.
 Consultation makes staff feel valued and shows that the SMT is committed to the initiative and open to suggestions.
 It also creates a sense of teamwork.

 Look for evidence of previous success that can be used to champion further change.
 Build effective teams that include individuals with recognised expertise/experience.
 Develop the listening and consultative skills of managers.
 Hold fewer meetings and replace them with sessions that encourage participation/teamwork and discourage blocking manoeuvres and
other politics.
 Make curriculum change a high priority
 Giving high priority to curriculum change is the first step to creating an environment where effective change can take place.
 The senior management team (SMT) needs to be committed to the new initiative and demonstrate its commitment to staff.
 If staff sees that the SMT is dedicated and enthusiastic about making changes to the curriculum, the teaching staff should also
give it high priority.
 Some teaching staff believes that maximising funding, rather than effective curriculum change, is the SMT’s key priority.
 This perception can and does inhibit the successful management of change. Managers need to demonstrate their priorities
clearly.
 Ensure that any changes to the curriculum are explicit in strategic, operational and development plans.
 Place curriculum change at the top of agendas for SMT meetings, and make it a standing item through the development, implementation
and evaluation phases.
 Provide a clear picture of how the change will affect staff and students, and the institution as a whole.
 Allocate senior responsibility for making change happen (rather than creating complex and time-consuming reporting procedures and
systems).
 ‘Walk the shop floor’. Be visible and find out at first hand what’s happening within the institution. Use this as an opportunity to
demonstrate commitment to the change.
 Create and distribute a regular curriculum newsletter to all staff, to share information and minimise surprises.
 Provide adequate resources, based on realistic and achievable targets, to make sure that the change actually happens.

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 Divide big changes into manageable, more familiar steps. Let staff familiarise themselves with the changes by taking small steps first.
 Develop the coaching skills of managers so that they spend less time telling and more time helping and empowering.
 Demonstrate your commitment to change by being visible and available for staff. Ask how you can help them and use ‘we’ and ‘us’
where possible to emphasise the fact that the change is a shared priority.
 Adopt a problem-solving approach.
 Channel resources to where they are most needed. Help people to feel compensated for the extra effort and time required for
implementing the change.
 Give praise and take time to listen to people.
 Be prepared to let people express feelings about the past and create excitement about the future. Plan and resource for effective
curriculum change As with anything, curriculum change is most effective when it is planned. This includes costing the process in terms
of resources and time. For example, teaching staff may need time, both individually and collectively as course teams, to interpret changes
to the national curriculum and consider how they affect the delivery of their programmes. Allocating a realistic amount of time and
resources to change management will help to ensure that change is a success and also reinforces the SMT’s commitment to the initiative.
 Be realistic about the timescales and resources needed for effective change, taking into consideration people’s readiness and capacity for
change.
 Look for pioneers and innovators who can motivate others.
 Allow for degrees of participation at the planning stage.
 Define what is non-negotiable and leave room for choices to be made.
 Encourage more efficient working. Set deadlines by which certain outcomes should be agreed.
 Eliminate casualties of curriculum development by carrying out effective planning, re-training and staff development.
 Include a communication strand in the plan that promotes openness rather than secrets. 6

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MANAGING CURRICULUM CHANGE

 Provide effective leadership to drive change. Effective leadership is key to creating a culture of change management within an
organisation. Good curriculum areas tend to have an effective middle manager – a specialist in their field, who leads from the front by
setting an example of hard work, flexibility, responsiveness and commitment.
 Provide a clear vision and communicate it in an inspirational way. Explain what the change means in positive terms for staff and, most
importantly, for the students.
 Have a clear rationale for change that is grounded in facts and research.
 Recognise and value the contributions made by individuals.
 Have a clear communication plan at the outset and keep to it.
 Seek opportunities to talk to individuals, teams and the whole organisation about the change.
 Create leaders of change at all levels and empower them.
 Be clear and firm about what is negotiable and what is fixed, so that energies are maximised, conflict is reduced and the direction is clear.
 Set up working groups that has a clear remit, reporting and accountability lines.
 Create action research groups to inform policy and strategy.
 Use focus groups to get close to perceptions and feelings which can indicate how best to move forward.
 Create quality improvement groups to address specific issues.
 Give stakeholders the opportunity to shape the future.
 Develop the coaching skills of managers so that they spend less time telling and more time helping and empowering.
 Build effective teams that include individuals with recognised expertise/experience.
 Develop the listening and consultative skills of managers.
 Provide staff rooms where colleagues can meet as course teams to discuss curriculum change and interpret them at a local level.
 Provide strong and effective leadership, open lines of communication and promote positive relations between teaching staff.
 Consult staff and make them feel that their opinions are valued.
 Appoint a staff development manager with a delegated budget linked to curriculum change.

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What are the stages in curriculum implementation?

The curriculum implementation process can be divided into four phases:

Planning

Content and Methods

Implementation

Evaluation and

Reporting

Curriculum implementation steps and challenges

Steps

• Produce Curriculum Product

Once the content and experiential methods have been agreed upon, the actual production of curriculum materials begins. This section includes:
1) suggestions for finding and evaluating existing materials; 2) evaluation criteria; and 3) suggestions for producing curriculum materials

• Test and Revise Curriculum

This step includes suggestions to select test sites and conduct a formative evaluation of curriculum materials during the production phase. A
sample evaluation form is provided.

• Recruit and Train Facilitators

It is a waste of resources to develop curriculum materials if adequate training is not provided for facilitators to implement it. Suggestions for
recruiting appropriate facilitators are provided with a sample three-day training program.

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• Implement Curriculum

Effective implementation of newly developed curriculum products is unlikely to occur without planning. Strategies to promote and use the
curriculum are discussed in this step.

Challenges

• Lack of teacher training

• Teachers reluctant to accept change

• Feeling of uncertainty in learners and parents

• Unavailability of teaching and learning resources

• Mismanagement of time

• Lack of qualified staff

• Teacher-learner ratio

• Less linkage with industry

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Curriculum Implementation
 Curriculum implementation refers to how teachers deliver instruction and assessment through the use of specified resources provided in a
curriculum.
 There are various factors that influence Curriculum Implementation like the learners, resource materials and facilities, the teacher, the
school environment, culture and ideology, instructional supervision and assessment.28 Oct 2015


Factors that influence curriculum implementation

There are various factors that influence Curriculum Implementation like:

 Learners
 Learners are also a critical element in curriculum implementation. While teachers are the arbiters of the classroom practice, the
learners hold the key to what is actually transmitted and adopted from the official curriculum. The official curriculum can be
quite different from the curriculum that is actually implemented. The learner factor influences teachers in their selection of
learning experiences, hence the need to consider the diverse characteristics of learners in curriculum implementation. For
example home background and learner ability can determine what is actually achieved in the classroom.

 Resource materials and facilities

 No meaningful teaching and learning take place without adequate resource materials. This applies to curriculum
implementation as well.
 For the officially designed curriculum to be fully implemented as per plan, the government or Ministry of Education should
supply schools with adequate resource materials such as textbooks, teaching aids and stationery in order to enable teachers and
learners to play their role satisfactorily in the curriculum implementation process.
 In Curriculum Implementation, it is suggested that the central government must also provide physical facilities such as
classrooms, laboratories, workshops, libraries and sports fields in order to create an environment in which implementation can
take place. The availability and quality of resource material and the availability of appropriate facilities have a great influence on
curriculum implementation.

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 The teacher

 Interested groups
 A number of these interest 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 curriculum 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

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

 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
•creating an atmosphere conducive to effective teaching and learning.

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  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.

 Barrier factors include:

o under-funding
o population explosion
o quantity and quality of the teaching staff
o the quality of new entrants (students) into the university system
o time usage.

Stages of curriculum implementation

(I) Planning

(II) Content and Methods

(III) Implementation

(IV) Evaluation and Reporting

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Importance of curriculum implementation

- Helps to give learners the appropriate/ relevant content with the application of the learner's environment in order to make learning real

- It helps to ensure that the set goals and objectives are achieved

- It enables effective/ proper assessment and evaluation of the curriculum.

The role of teachers in curriculum implementation

 The role of teachers in the curriculum process is to help students develop an engaged relationship with the content.
 Active learning will increase the focus and retention of the curriculum, resulting in an exciting learning environment.

How can programs support effective curriculum implementation?

Programs support effective curriculum implementation by providing:

 Training and professional development that includes both introductory and advanced trainings on the curriculum that are aligned with
staff needs

 Ongoing feedback to education staff about their use of the curriculum to support children and families (e.g., through practice-based
coaching)

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  Supervision of education staff to refine their skills in effectively implementing a developmentally appropriate, research-based curriculum
that is sufficiently content rich, meaning that it provides broad and varied experiences and activities that promote children's learning and
development aligned with the ELOF

Programs support effective curriculum implementation by:

 Implementing the curriculum with fidelity

 Individualizing the curriculum to meet the needs of all children and families, including children with disabilities (or those suspected of
having delays) and other special needs

 Implementing the curriculum with cultural and linguistic responsiveness for all children and families, including dual or tribal language
learners

 Using the curriculum to engage families in their children's learning by incorporating their unique cultural, ethnic, and linguistic
backgrounds

INSTITUTIONALISING CURRICULUM

Institutionalization

 Institutionalization can also be defined as, “’the routine use of the instructional innovation in the structure and culture of the
organization.’” This generally means that, once the innovation has been implemented, it now becomes part of the standing operating
procedure of the institution or organization. Now the innovation becomes routine and religious throughout the using entity. This is also

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 the phase in the diffusion process that accommodates the refining and specific modifications that can be done to the innovation in order
for it to be efficient and effective with the different sub-cultures of the organization.

 Institutionalization is a term used by Miles (1983) to refer to a process leading to the stage at which an innovation may be said to have
become a built-in or accepted part of a school's curriculum.

The purpose of institutionalization

 To incorporate any instructional innovation into the infrastructure, behavior, and culture of an institution or organization (Surry & Ely).
 Innovation institutionalization follows the adoption and implementation phases of the diffusion of innovation process.
 After an organization has implemented a new innovative idea, proper training, tech and administrative must ensue in order for the users
of the new innovation to welcome and incorporate it into their daily routine of operations. It is at this point that organization need to
assess if this new innovation is worthwhile and worth keeping. Surry & Ely contend that there are s

Six indicators of institutionalization

1. Acceptance by relevant participants

2. The innovation is stable and routinized
3. Widespread use of the innovation throughout the institution or organization
4. Firm expectation that use of the practice/product will continue within the institution or organization
5. Continuation does not depend upon the actions of specific individuals but upon the organizational structure, culture or procedures
6. Routine allocations of time and money.

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