Curriculum Change in Pakistan: An Alternative Model of Change

Mathematics teachers’ beliefs and curriculum reform

“…Other factors affecting curriculum alignment and change in mathematics education have been extensively discussed by Anderson and Piazza (1996), Clarke (1997), Memon (1997), and Mumme and Weissglass (1991). In the context of a school based curriculum development project, Clarke (1997) identified 12 factors that appeared to influence the change process: (a) the reform movement in general; (b) the principal and school community: (c) internal support personnel; (d) the spirit of collegiality, collaboration, and experimentation; (e) the grade level team of teachers; (0 innovative curriculum materials; (g) the in service program; (h) external support personnel; (i) the researcher acting as a participant observant and critical friend; (j) outcomes valued by the teacher; (k) day to day conditions under which teachers work; and (1) teacher knowledge.…”

“…In the context of a school based curriculum development project, Clarke (1997) identified 12 factors that appeared to influence the change process: (a) the reform movement in general; (b) the principal and school community: (c) internal support personnel; (d) the spirit of collegiality, collaboration, and experimentation; (e) the grade level team of teachers; (0 innovative curriculum materials; (g) the in service program; (h) external support personnel; (i) the researcher acting as a participant observant and critical friend; (j) outcomes valued by the teacher; (k) day to day conditions under which teachers work; and (1) teacher knowledge. Memon (1997) suggested a more comprehensive list of factors affecting curriculum change that are grouped as curricular, instructional, and organisational factors and reproduced in Table 1. It is clear that curriculum change is a complex process and while there are many resource and support factors that appear to influence change, it is apparent that any successful reform will need to take into account mathematics teachers' beliefs about the intended, the implemented, and the attained curriculum.…”

Teaching mathematics thematically: Teachers’ perspectives

“…Many of these obstacles were identified in the questionnaire component of the current research project and have been reported elsewhere (Handal, 2000;Handal et al, 2001). These obstacles can be grouped following Memon's (1997) classification of factors affecting curriculum change in mathematics education, namely: instructional, organisational, and curricular factors.…”

“…In the interview phase reported here, the aim was to investigate, through detailed interviews, these and other factors identified by respondents to the questionnaire, thus providing further insight into the barriers and challenges teachers face teaching mathematics, and in particular, teaching mathematics thematically (see Appendix for sample questions from the questionnaire and the interview guide). The instructional, curricular and organisational classification of factors (Memon, 1997) outlined above, provided a useful framework for analysing the issues identified.…”

“…The interview schedule itself was an instrument designed to organise responses into the initial categories of analysis: instructional, curricular, and organisational issues affecting the teaching of mathematics thematically (Memon, 1997). These issues emerged from the questionnaire component of the study and from a review of the literature.…”