A QUALITATIVE STUDY TO EXPLORE AND UNDERSTAND TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED THEMATIC CURRICULUM FOR INFANTS AND STANDARD ONE AT LEESVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL IN THE VICTORIA EDUCATION DISTRICT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. EDRS 6900: Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Education (Concentration in Youth Guidance) of University of the West Indies Joan Noel 2014 Dr. Jennifer Yamin-Ali Department of Education Faculty of Humanities and Education Campus of the University of the West Indies TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………1 Acknowledgement …………………………………………………………………………2 Chapter 1 – Introduction Introduction …………………………………………………………………………3 Background to the Study ……………………………………………………………4 School context ………………………………………………………………………8 Justification for the Study …………………………………………………………...8 Statement of the Problem ……………………………………………………………8 Purpose of Study …………………………………………………………………….9 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………..9 Operational Definition of Key Terms ………………………………………………10 Significance of Study ……………………………………………………………….10 Organization of the Study …………………………………………………………...11 Chapter 2 – Literature Review Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….12 Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) ………………………………………….12 Resistance to change ………………………………………………………………….18 Educational Change …………………………………………………………………..19 Fullan’s Educational Change Model ………………………………………………….22 Factors Affecting Implementation …………………………………………………….23 Findings from other studies ……………………………………………………………25 Chapter 3 – Methodology Introduction …………………………………………………………………………….27 Type, Design and Justification for the Qualitative Research……………………………27 Sampling Procedure …………………………………………………………………….31 Participants’ Profile ……………………………………………………………………..32 Method of Data Collection ……………………………………………………………...33 Instrumentation…………………………………………………………………………..34 Trustworthiness and Credibility Issues…………………………………………………..35 Ethical Consideration…………………………………………………………………….36 Methods of Data Analysis………………………………………………………………..36 Limitations……………………………………………………………………………….38 Delimitation ……………………………………………………………………………..39 Summary of Methodology……………………………………………………………….39 Chapter 4 - Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..40 Presentation of Findings ………………………………………………………………..42 Summary of Findings …………………………………………………………………...49 Chapter 5 – Discussion and Recommendations Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..51 Discussion ……………………………………………………………………………….52 Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………….57 Recommendations for Further Study…………………………………………………….61 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………62 References ………………………………………………………………………. 64 Appendix A ............................................................................................................67 Letter to principal requesting permission to conduct study at Leesville Primary School Appendix B ………………………………………………………………………68 Permission to conduct research Appendix C ………………………………………………………………………69 Letter to participant Appendix D ………………………………………………………………………70 Interview schedule for teachers Appendix E ………………………………………………………………………72 Colour code for theme Appendix F ………………………………………………………………………73 Analysis of data from interview TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 1 Abstract This research study sought to explore and understand the many concerns expressed by teachers about a new innovation, a thematic approach to teaching and learning at Infants and Standard One at Leesville Primary School. The researcher was a curriculum writer involved in the curriculum rewrite as well as a trainer of teachers for the implementation. Teachers expressed many concerns which became crucial issues for a study. Consequently, a qualitative study was conducted using semi structured interviews with open ended questions adapted from the Stages of Concern dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) to understand the phenomenon. It was discovered that teachers had many self and task concerns, whereas for impact concerns the issue was about a lack of collaboration since the new curriculum requires team work. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 2 Acknowledgement I would like to thank Almighty God for His wisdom, understanding and revelation into the findings for this study. Also, my supportive and encouraging family, my supervisor Dr. Yamin-Ali for her encouragement, and the participants of my research study for their overwhelming support. Thank You TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 3 Chapter1 Introduction Introduction In a previous curriculum Infants and Stand One students in our primary school system in Trinidad and Tobago were taught subject by subject covering a variety of topics in isolation. As a result of a curriculum reform initiative an Integrated Thematic Curriculum was introduced. This thematic approach infuses nine core subject areas around a theme. This approach to teaching and learning is a new initiative to be implemented at Infants and Standard One levels. The other levels will be implemented on a phase by phase basis in the Primary School System of Trinidad and Tobago. Interestingly, with any new innovation in education the change implementers will demonstrate a personal side to that change. This phenomenon was explained by Hall and Hord (2006) who stated that, “there is a personal side to change; the people who are involved in a change effort have personal reactions and feelings about the innovation and about their involvement in the change process” (p. 109). Therefore, the researcher of this study examined three international studies and one regional issue which examined teachers’ concerns about curriculum innovation at the primary level. These studies have helped to justify the need for this research study, to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about a curriculum reform in education, with the intention to address those concerns for successful implementation. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 4 Background to the Study International Context Rismiati (2012) conducted a study to explore primary grade teachers’ stages of concern and their implementation of an educational reform initiative called Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) in Kanisius Catholic Schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The study revealed that the Indonesian Minister of Education mandated primary grade teachers to implement ITI in 2006. Overall, the study revealed teachers’ highest concerns were unrelated and informational concerns. They needed more information about the innovation and about the necessary resources. Additionally, a study to investigate Teachers Concerns about a Curriculum Reform, Project Learning was conducted in Hong Kong. The study involved three schools and fifteen teachers in Hong Kong. Leung Wai Lun (2008) findings of the study implied that many school teachers were at the later Stages of Concern and were concerned about the impacts of the innovation on their students. They also expressed self and task concerns. Self and task concerns refer to the heavy work load in teaching Project Learning, special time and resources allocation. In addition, a study was conducted in a Hong Kong primary school to explore the concerns the teachers have towards the implementation of curriculum integration as an innovation. Wan (2002) study revealed through the Stages of Concerns Questionnaire that teachers concerns were mainly self-related and task-related. Whereas, through semi-structured interviews using open ended questions teachers’ concerns were to gain more knowledge and receive training sessions. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 5 Regional Context In our region, Jamaica’s revised primary curriculum succeeded the previous curriculum which had been in existence since 1978. In 2001 the revised curriculum revealed a different format and design from grades one to three being fully integrated using overarching themes. According to Gilbert (2003) many teachers had concerns. They listed several concerns being encountered in the implementation of the revised curriculum for primary schools. They complained that the curriculum had proven more difficult to enforce than originally thought and had left some teachers unable to cope with the heavy work load. Also, as a result of the integrated learning method teachers were expected to meet regularly at school to discuss the curriculum, a term referred to as common planning time. The teachers stated that they had inadequate time to engage in common planning. Local Context: History of Primary School Curriculum in Trinidad and Tobago Primary education in Trinidad and Tobago has undergone a number of curriculum changes since achieving political independence. Some of these changes were reflected in the content and learning experiences for subject areas which have been more responsive to the social and cultural experiences of students in Trinidad and Tobago. The curriculum comprised the following subjects which were taught in isolation at all level in the Primary School System: Language Arts (Reading, English Language, English Literature), Mathematics, Social Studies (History, Geography), General Science, Agricultural Science, Physical Education, Creative Arts: Dance, Drama, Music, Art and Craft, Information Technology (some schools), Spanish (some TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 6 pilot schools), Health and Family Life Education, Morals and Values Education (infused), Religious Education. The Ministry of Education Corporate Communication Division (2013) stated: The curriculum guides for several of these subjects were last revised between 1998 and 2001. Therefore, most of the documents are the products of the technology of an earlier time. They are all due for revision to ensure that they reflect current trends in education and remain relevant to societal and individual education needs. (p. 2) Present status of Primary School Curriculum in T&T Consequently, the Ministry of Education in April 2011 began consultation on the Primary School Curriculum. In addition, seven district consultations were conducted also including Tobago. Stakeholders were given the opportunity to submit papers and proposals. Various stakeholder organizations, tertiary level teacher-training institutions, National Parent Teacher Association, Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association, Boards of Education, Principals’ Associations, Education Interest Groups, parents, teachers and students attended the consultations. The Primary Curriculum writing team which was formulated consisted of fifty-one highly qualified teachers in specific subject areas from across Trinidad and Tobago working alongside personnel of the Curriculum Division. The Ministry of Education Corporate Communication Division (2013) stated: TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 7 Draft documents were sent to experts and key stakeholders including the tertiary level training providers for comment and validation. In addition, more than 200 practicing teachers across Trinidad and Tobago field tested the curriculum using an electronic ‘module’ for ease of access and easy compilation of data. Teachers of Infants and Standard One had been oriented to the new curriculum and support for implementation was on-going to utilise feedback to further refine and finalise the new curriculum. (p. 2) The new primary curriculum included nine subject areas: Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Visual and Performing Arts, Physical Education, Agricultural Science, Spanish and Values, Character and Citizenship Education. These are being implemented within an integrated thematic model. The diagram below illustrates the model: Integrated Thematic Approach TEACHER TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 8 School context The study will be carried out in one primary school, Leesville Primary School, located in Victoria Education District. There are one hundred and ninety children at the school, twelve teachers make up the teaching staff, one clerical worker, five ancillary workers, and four ‘On the Job Training’ workers. The research would look at the Infants One, Infants Two and Standard One classes which would involve three teachers. Justification for the Study The problem I chose to study about teachers’ concerns regarding curriculum reform at the Infants and Standard One Levels is a current and timely issue in primary education. This educational change is intended to improve students’ learning. However, teachers approach educational change with a set of personal concerns. It is the intent of this research to give the administration at the school an understanding of teachers’ concerns as they implement the innovation, and which need to be addressed if change is to take place successfully. Statement of the Problem An Integrated Thematic Curriculum which integrated nine core subject areas around themes was designed for Infants and Standard One with the intention of improving students’ learning. Teachers at those levels in the primary school system expressed legitimate concerns about the implementation process during training workshops in June 2013 which needed to be addressed. Hall and Hord (2006) in their study found that persons differ noticeably from each TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 9 other, in their understanding, accepting, and implementing change. Therefore, it is significant that a research be conducted to understand the phenomenon for successful implementation. Purpose of Study The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore and understand the concerns that teachers at Leesville Primary School have about implementing a new curriculum innovation for infants and standard one. As Hall and Hord (2006) postulated, “no matter how promising and wonderful the innovation, no matter how strong the support, implementers will have moments of self-doubt whether they can succeed with this new way, and whether they even want to” (p. 133). Since teachers are the critical agents for bringing changes into their classroom, it is essential to gain greater insights into their concerns to determine the potential impact on the success of the implementation process. Research Questions Overarching Question What are some concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for Infants and Standard One at Leesville Primary School from the teachers’ perspective? Sub-questions 1. How do teachers at the Infants and Standard One level perceive the structure of a thematic approach for teaching and learning? TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 10 2. To what extent have teachers at the Infant and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school? Operational definition of Key Terms Concerns: The composite representation of feelings, preoccupation, thought and consideration given to a particular issue or task is called concern. Depending on our personal make-up, knowledge and experiences, each person perceives and mentally contends with a given issue differently; thus there are different kinds of concerns (Hall & Hord, 2006, p. 138). Innovation: The idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption (Rogers, 2003). Integrated Thematic Curriculum: It is a way of teaching and learning whereby many areas of the curriculum are connected together and integrated within a theme. http://www.show-me- wow.com/a-thematic-approach/ Significance of Study It is hoped that this research about how teachers’ feelings and perceptions evolve as the change process unfolds would result significantly:  in more effective one-on-one coaching sessions, more relevant workshops and strategic plans that take into account the personal side of the change process  in highlighting the concerns of teachers involved in the change process TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 11  in improving the effectiveness of the implementation process by providing the curriculum planners with valuable feedback. Organization of the Study This chapter introduced the study through a background which entailed a description of international studies which helped to justify the need for this study, the regional and local context related issues in reference to the phenomenon of the study, the school context, justification for the study, statement of the problem, research questions, purpose of the study, operational definition of key terms and the significance of the study. Chapter 2 presented the literature review which discussed the theoretical framework which is the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), Resistance to Change, Educational Change and Fullan’s Educational Change Model. Further, chapter 3 presented the Methodology with a description of the research method and procedures followed during the course of the study. In addition, there were trustworthiness and credibility issues, ethical considerations, limitations and delimitation. Chapter 4 included the analysis of data in relation to the research question and a discussion of the findings of the study. Chapter 5 concluded the study and provided recommendations based on the findings of the study. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 12 Chapter 2 Literature Review Introduction The purpose of this study was to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for implementation at the Infants and Standard One levels. The Ministry of Education Curriculum Division introduced this new innovation in education in 2013 for primary schools, Infants and Standard One levels, with the expectation that change will lead to better student outcomes. However, implementation of new programs is difficult, because the change implementers will have personal concerns as they engage in the implementation process. In pursuing this phenomenon the study was informed by the following literature: The Concerns Based Adoption Model (Hall & Hord, 2006), Educational Change, Fullan’s Educational Change Model (Fullan, 2007) and Resistance to Change (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2004). The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a research based programme for aiding innovation. It attempts to describe the process an individual essentially experiences during the adoption of an innovation. Significantly, according to Holloway (2003) CBAM provides a means for educators to comprehend and address educators’ familiar concerns about change. Additionally, Anderson (2002) asserted: The model is concerned with measuring, describing and explaining the process of change experienced by teachers involved in attempts to implement new curriculum materials and TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 13 instructional practices, and with how that process is affected by interventions from persons acting in change-facilitating roles. (p.322) Drawing on Fuller’s (1969) early work, Hall and Loucks (1978) developed CBAM for describing the concerns which professionals may have about an innovation (Chai-Chen, 2002). Further, Fuller (1969) expressed that teachers concerns move through four levels which are: unrelated, self, task and impact (Hall & Hord, 2006). These levels were later developed into Stages of Concerns (SoC). There are three dimensions of CBAM: Stages of concern, Levels of Use and Configuration. However, this study will focus on the dimension of the Stages of Concern. There are a set of seven specific categories related to this dimension which are illustrated in the figure below: Figure 1. Stages of Concern: Typical Expressions of Concerns about the Innovation Stages of Concern Expressions of Concern IMPACT 6 Refocusing I have some ideas about what will work even better. 5 Collaboration I am concerned about relating what I am doing to what my co-workers are doing. 4 Consequence How is my use affecting clients (students)? TASK 3 Management I seem to be spending all of my time getting materials ready. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 14 SELF 2 Personal How will it affect me? 1 Informational I would like to know more about it. UNRELATED 0 Awareness I am not concerned about it. (Adapted from Hall & Hord, 2006, p. 139) Some will go through all the stages, leaving one and moving up to the next. Most will skip around and have several concerns simultaneously (Holloway, 2003). The seven stages of concerns expressed by Holloway (2003): Awareness: Aware that an innovation is being introduced but not really interested or concerned with it. Informational: Interested in some information about the change. Personal: Wants to know the personal impact of the change. Management: Concerned about how the change would be managed in practice. Consequence: Interested in the impact on students or the school. Collaboration: Interested in working with colleagues to make the change effective. Refocusing: Begin refining the innovation to improve student learning results. (p. 1-2) “Being aware of the concerns allows those in charge of the innovation to tailor aid given to individuals” (Holloway, 2003, p. 2). Equally important, based on Hall and Hord (2006) long term collaborative research they made some conclusions about what would happen when people and organizations engaged in change. They observed repeated patterns which they termed principles. They also claimed that TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 15 personal change experiences could be predicted if the principles were ignored or violated. Therefore, in order for future change efforts to be successful the principles should be acknowledged. Listed are the 12 principles of change that are embodied in the Concerns-Based Adoption Model by Hall and Hord (2006):  Change is a process not an event. The procedure involves moving individuals gradually through the implementation process as they experience the change to develop an understanding to experience the confidence and proficiency in the using the new approach. It also requires a plan for change which is strategic in nature allowing three to five years for implementation, budgeting resources for training and other on-site coaching.  There are significant differences in what is entailed in development and implementation of an innovation. Development entails all the activities related to creating an innovation, where as implementation addresses establishing the use of the innovation in the organization.  An organization does not change until the individuals within it change. In order for change to be successful individuals need to change, since some would grasp the new way quickly. On the other hand, others would need additional time, where as some would avoid making the change for a very long time. One implication of this principle is that leaders of organizational change processes need to devise ways to anticipate and facilitate change at the individual level. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 16  Innovations come in different sizes. Some innovations are relatively small and simple, where as others are enormous in terms of their complexities and demands on the prospective users.  Interventions are the actions and events that are key to success of the change process. Interventions come in different sizes. Training workshops are the most apparent type of intervention. However, there are smaller interventions such as one-legged interviews which occur when a teacher and a principal meet on the corridor and have a discussion about the innovation. In addition, change process leaders must think of interventions in terms of an overall plan for and during the unfolding of the change process.  There will be no change in outcomes until new practices are implemented. If there are no changes in practice, there would be minimum reason to expect change in outcomes. This principle explains the implementation bridge which is necessary for successful change to take place. The bridge is the support systems which should be established for individuals to move from their current practices to new practices.  Administrator leadership is essential to long-term change success. Administrators have to do things on a daily basis that are supportive. They also have to secure the necessary infrastructure changes and long-term resource support if use of the innovation is to continue indefinitely.  Mandates can work. Mandates would work when there is ongoing communication, and adequate time is a consideration given for the implementation of the innovation. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 17  The school is the primary unit for change. The school is the major institution which has the capacity to enable successful change. The administration and staff are also responsible for the success or failure of any change initiative whether or not the change is instigated at the national of school level. Although, the school could function efficiently on its own, it requires the need to work together with and be sustained by other mechanisms of the system.  Facilitating change is a team effort. Collaboration is essential among those who are responsible for leading a change effort. Teachers play critical leadership roles to determine whether or not change is successful. In addition, administrators and the staff in the school district office are responsible for making important contributions to efforts to move implementers across the implementation bridge.  Appropriate interventions reduce resistance to change. When dealing with resistance the first step is to determine the reason for the apparent resistance. First what appears to be resistance is the individual working through a sense of loss for having to stop doing something that was comfortable. A second form of resistance is grounded in having serious questions about whether the change would be an improvement. A third form is that change is painful. Each apparent reason requires different interventions which require attending to individual differences.  The context of the school reduces the resistance to change. There are two fundamental dimensions which affect individuals’ and the organization’s change efforts: the physical features and the people factors. The physical features encompass the size and arrangement of the facility, the resources, policies, structures and schedules that shape the staff work. On the other hand, the people TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 18 factors refer to the attitudes, beliefs and values of individuals as well as the relationships and norms that guide behaviour. (p. 4) Significantly, Hall and Hord (2006) indicated that interventions to make change possible should be aligned with the concerns of the individuals who are experiencing the change to ensure change takes place. Clearly, this ideology endorsed the significance of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) which recognizes the multiple stages of concern people go through as they experience change. Although there are three analytical dimensions of CBAM model only the Stages of Concern dimension was used in this study. The seven Stages of Concern stated by Hall and Hord (2006) are: awareness, informational, personal, management, consequence, collaboration, and refocusing. These stages have important implications for professional development. Equally important, recognition of the principles of change is a powerful contributing factor to effectively influencing the implementation of the innovation. Resistance to change The education system needs to keep its programmes abreast with the changes or advancements in current times in order for our children to function effectively in society. Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) reiterated that ideology in stating that, “in times of great change, society looks to its schools to help its citizens adjust. Society often demands that schools modify their programs so that students will be able to function more efficiently in current times” (p. 273). Bringing about change is not an easy task. There are many barriers to the implementation of an innovation in education. People tend to resist change which is manifested when they TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 19 opposed or struggled with the transformations that alter the status quo in their teaching and learning practices in the classroom. In whatever ways the resistance to change is manifested, it would threaten the success of the innovation and the speed at which it would be adopted. Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) suggested several reasons why teachers resist change: some teachers do not see the need for a change and want to keep things the way they are, or see the change as being unwise, unfruitful and a hindrance to achieving their student outcomes; some teachers are not able or willing to keep up with scholarly developments. They have not stayed abreast of the knowledge explosion, which would allow them to feel committed to curriculum change and the implementation of new programs; another factor that causes teachers to resist change is the haste in which the change is expected to be implemented. Some teachers think that an innovation implemented one year could become obsolete in another year resulting in their efforts being useless; another key reason why teachers resist getting involved in curricular change is that they are not well informed about the latest research about the educational change. Therefore, they will be hesitant to proceed with the implementation. Managing resistance to change is challenging. However, Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) suggested that, if the facilitators of the change are aware the reasons for the implementers resisting the change, and simultaneously are responsive to their needs this attitude would greatly enhance the efficiency with which the change could be introduced and curriculum should be implemented. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 20 Educational Change “Changing economic, social and political situations in both developed and developing countries have combined to create needs for constant innovations and reforms in education” (Adamu, 1994, section 1). In addition, another meaning of educational change was explained by (Right, n.d. para 1.) “a broad term that refers to both shifting paradigms within education and efforts of reform within education.” Further, Adamu (1994) expressed his philosophy about educational change which often comes about when the current practices have been challenged and questions were being asked about the way things were being done. Furthermore, (Adamu, 1994, section 1) asserted, “the search for a more efficient way of achieving educational objectives may lead to proposals for either a new way of doing the same thing, or restructuring the current provisions to enable achievement of the same set of goals.” Moreover, while Adamu (1994) stated his ideology on educational change, Fullan’s (2007) in his Prospect for Reform gave the reasons why change failed to take place on some level, and is not sustained: The infrastructure is weak and unhelpful; he further expounded that a teacher cannot sustain change if he or she is working in a negative school culture; similarly, a school can initiate and implement successful change, but cannot sustain it if it is operating in a less than helpful district; a district cannot keep going if it works in a state that is not helping to sustain reform. (p. 18) On the other hand, Hall and Hord (2006) identified six functions of interventions for creating a context supportive of change. The first function involves developing, articulating and communicating a shared vision of the intended change. This is a critical first step of ensuring a TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 21 move towards a changed and improved future to accomplish a shared dream or vision of what would be a vision of the future that increases student outcomes. The second function requires planning and providing resources which represent an important means by which implementers are enabled to initiate implementation and sustain the change process. The next function which is supportive of change is investing in professional learning. Change means developing new understandings and doing things in new ways. Therefore, in order for teachers to embrace the new curricular programs or instructional practices, they must learn how to do that. Thus, learning is the foundation of and the successful outcome to change. Additionally, the function of checking on progress is crucial. Since change does not happen overnight, the progression should be constantly evaluated and observed. In addition, providing continuous assistance is another function supportive of change. When teachers express their needs or problems a response is required to support implementation. Finally, Hall and Hord (2006) function of creating a context supportive of change is fundamental to sustain the change. This require increased attention to be paid to the context, climate and or culture of the school, and how this factor influences the workplace of the professionals involved and subsequently their responses to change. Hall and Hord (2006) stated that having a supportive context decreases the isolation of staff while providing for the continuing increase of its capabilities. A supportive context nurtures positive relationships among all the staff, students, parents and community members, as well as urges the continuous quest for increased effectiveness so that students benefit. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 22 Fullan’s Educational Change Model There are several models of educational change that have been developed by educational researchers to explain the change process. However, based on the research topic for this study which sought to address teacher’s concerns about an innovation in education, Fullan’s Educational Change Model was most appropriate. It was appropriate because it focused on the human participants taking part in the change process and how their involvement affected the implementation process. Significantly, in most situations educational change occurs along several dimensions. Fullan (2007) identified three dimensions which are crucial when implementing a new program or policy:  The possible use of new or revised materials (instructional resources such as curriculum materials or technologies).  The possible use of new teaching approaches (new teaching strategies or activities).  The possible alteration of beliefs (pedagogical assumptions and theories underlying particular new policies or programs). (p.30) Notably, these dimensions represent change in practice which Fullan (2007) further endorsed by stating, “all three aspects of change are necessary because together they represent the means of achieving a particular educational goal or set of goals” (p. 30). In addition, educational change represents a developmental process of change which Fullan (2007) identified under three broad phases: TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 23 Phase 1--- variously labeled initiation, mobilization, or adoption consists of the process that leads up to and includes a decision to adopt or proceed with change. Phase11--- implementation or initial use involves the first experiences of attempting to put an idea or reform into practice. Phase 111--- called continuation, incorporation, routinization, or institutionalization refer to whether the change gets built in as an ongoing part of the system or disappears by way of a decision to discard of through attrition. (p.65) Factors Affecting Implementation Implementation is critical according to Fullan (2007) because it is the way of achieving preferred goals. Further, he indicated that greater change efforts would be achieved when the support systems to implement change is immensely established. He also explained that factors affecting implementation do not operation in isolation. Instead they form a system of variables that interact in a constantly varying manner to determine success or failure. Notably, he identified nine critical factors organized in three categories: characteristic of the innovation or change project, local roles and external factors. These categories are divided into several sub- factors. First, need, clarity, complexity, and quality or practicability are factors associated with the characteristics of an innovation. Significantly, Fullan (2007) extrapolated that several change initiatives are anticipated to be implemented regardless of whether they would address the projected student outcomes. He further explained that teachers would often be insensible to the need to support a change. Overall, he affirmed that, “it is a question not only of whether a given need is important, but also of how important it is relative to other needs” (p.88). Additionally, he TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 24 acknowledged that clarity is fundamental because teachers must be clear about what they need to do differently. Lack of clarity at the implementation stage will result in teachers realising that the change is simply not very clear as to what they need to do in practice. In addition, complexity creates problems for implementation. It emphasizes the difficulty and extent of the change required of the individuals responsible for implementation. Moreover, in terms of quality and practicability of the program he stressed that inadequate quality and even the simple unavailability of materials and other resources can result in implementation problems when it is time to adopt the innovation. Next, in terms of local factors Fullan (2007) listed the school district, community, principal and the role of teacher as sub-factors. He further determined that “ individual schools may be the unit of change, but frequently change is the result of systems initiatives that live or die based on the strategies and supports offered by the larger organization” (p. 93). Furthermore, he ascertained that districts need to establish track records over time in managing change because introducing innovations is a way of life in most school systems. He further emphasized that major studies demonstrated that the implementation process at the district level is important if substantial improvement is the goal. Equally important, he described that the role of communities and school boards as being quite erratic, ranging from demonstrating a lack of interest to active involvement. Fullan (2007) also established that research on innovation and the effectiveness of schools discovered that the principal critically influence the possibility of the educational transformation. Research also indicated that most principals do not take the initiative to demonstrate instructional or change leadership roles. Moreover, principals’ actions could determine the success or failure of an innovation. He should also be sensitive to the needs of teachers. Furthermore, Fullan (2007) recognized that a teacher’s personality and collective or TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 25 collegial factors play significant roles in determining implementation. He stressed that change involves social learning and that new meanings, behaviours, skills, and what teachers believe in depend to a great extent on whether they are collaborating or are working on their own, or are sharing ideas, supporting, and expressing optimistic thoughts about their work. Collegiality is essential to social learning. Finally, external factors attempt to place the implementation into the context of a broader picture, the Government and other agencies. Fullan (2007) claimed that at the national level, government agencies are more focused on adoption of the innovation than with the anticipated problems implementers would encounter during the implementation process Findings from other studies As indicated in the background of the study in chapter one, several international studies on curriculum reform were subjects for discussion since the phenomenon investigated correlated to the issue for investigation by this study. The studies investigated teachers’ concerns about new innovations in education, and the findings revealed their concerns based on the Stages of Concerns dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Rismiati (2012) conducted a study which explored primary grade teachers’ stages of concern and their implementation of an educational reform initiative called Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) in Kanisius Catholic Schools in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her findings revealed that teachers’ highest concerns were unrelated and informational concerns. Teachers were in need of information about the innovation. A recommendation for this study was to provide the necessary supports to meet the needs of teachers for them to know more about the innovation in order to implement it TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 26 successfully in their classrooms. Professional development which focused on specific skills was also recommended. Additionally, another study to investigate teachers’ concerns about a curriculum reform, Project Learning was conducted by Leung Wai Lun (2008) in Hong Kong. The findings of the study implied that many school teachers were at the later Stages of Concern and were concerned about the impacts of the innovation on their students. They also expressed self and task concerns which are: the heavy work load in teaching the innovation, special time and resources allocation. Recommendations were made based on the findings to provide ongoing learning opportunities through professional development, and administrative support to allow teacher time and space to learn. The findings of these two sample studies and the recommendations for practice are pertinent to this research study which also sought to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about a curriculum reform in education. For this study one research question to be operationalise is, “To what extent have teachers at the Infant and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?” The instrument used to collect data would be semi-structured interviews with open ended questions based on the Stages of Concern dimension of CBAM. In summary, the findings of the two sample research study justify the need for this study to address teachers’ concerns about an innovation in education. Moreover, in relation to the results of the study recommendations which are relevant for effective and successful implementation would be made to address teacher’s concerns. Further, the literature used for this study was influential in providing significant insights into the phenomenon under study. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 27 Chapter 3 Methodology Introduction Teachers’ concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for Infants and Standard One needed to be explored to acquire a complex, detailed understanding of the issue. Therefore, the intent of this chapter is to give details of the type of study chosen, its design, justification for the design, the sampling procedure, profile of the participants, the method of data collection, instrumentation, trustworthiness and credibility issues, ethical consideration, data collection procedure, methods of data analysis, and the limitations and delimitations, all for an effective and efficient research study. Type, Design and Justification for the Qualitative Research The research methodology used for this study is based on a qualitative research. Creswell (2009) stated, “Qualitative research is a means of exploring and understanding the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a social or human problem” (p. 4). The research issue for this study required the researcher to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum. Therefore, the research issue is most appropriate for a qualitative research. Further, in support of the choice of a qualitative research the researcher noted Merriam (2009) statement, “ basically, qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is, how people make sense of their TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 28 worlds and the experiences they have in the world” (p. 13). Furthermore, to study this problem, Creswell (2007) suggested that: Qualitative researchers use an emerging qualitative approach to inquiry, the collection of data in a natural setting sensitive to the people and places under study, and data analysis that is inductive and establishes patterns or themes. The written report or presentation includes the voices of participants, the reflectivity of the researcher, and a complex description and interpretation of the problem and it extends to the literature or signals a call for action. (p. 37) Further, Creswell (2007) ascertained several characteristics of qualitative research which were pertinent to this study. First, the researcher collected data in the natural setting, the site where the participants experienced the phenomenon. This was most significant since the researcher collected data through face to face interaction with the participants of this study. Second, the researcher as key instrument in the study was essential. The researcher collected data from participants through semi-structured interviews using open ended questions developed from the Stages of Concerns dimension of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Next, is the use of multiple sources of data. However, in terms of participants’ engagement with the innovation there was a challenge not to disrupt the participants’ classroom operations, and as such time was a constraint. Therefore, the only source of data collection was through semi- structured, face to face interviews with participants using open ended questions. In addition, another characteristic pertinent to qualitative research is the inductive data analysis. Creswell (2007) stated that, “qualitative researchers build their patterns, categories, and themes from the ‘bottom up,’ by organizing data into increasingly more abstract units of information” (p. 38). TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 29 Consequently, data collected from participants were categorized and placed in themes using self, task and impact concerns. Additionally, another characteristic of qualitative research is the participants’ meanings in the research process. The researcher focused on establishing the participants’ meaning about the phenomenon and not her meaning. Indeed, Merriam (2009) supported that characteristic of qualitative research when she that the key concern was about understanding the phenomenon of interest from the participant’s perspective, and not that of the researcher. Clearly, that aspect of qualitative research deems it most appropriate to explore the perceptions of the participants of the study. Further, for the characteristic of emergent design Creswell (2007) claimed that, “the initial plan for research cannot be tightly prescribe and that all phases of the process may change or shift after the researchers entered the field and began to collect data” (p. 39). In addition, another important characteristic was established by Merriam (2009), which stated that an abundantly expressive result would be the result of a qualitative research. This means that a rich description of the findings would require the researcher to use word and pictures instead of figures to express meaning about the phenomenon under investigation. Consequently, the final presentation of the findings for this study would be a rich, thick write-up of the issue. Significantly, certain assumptions were implicitly acknowledged when the researcher chose a qualitative study. These philosophical assumptions included the ontological, epistemological, and axiological stance of the research. In terms of ontological assumption, Creswell (2007) established that the researcher must embrace multiple realities. In this research, the existence of multiple realities was evident in the multiple quotes and actual words of the different participants. In terms of epistemological assumption, the researcher in conducting the study embraced the field where the participants worked to develop a close relationship with them TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 30 and hence an understanding of what they communicated. The axiological assumptions of the approach to this study required that the researcher make known her values and clearly state her biases. According to Creswell (2007) who stated, “in a qualitative study, the inquirers admit the value-laden nature of the study and actively report their values and biases as well as the value- laden nature of information gathered from the field” (p. 18). One such value involved an ethical stance to provide authentic representation of the multiple voices and perspectives of participants. Notably, in terms of the research design for this study, of the five approaches established by Creswell (2007) the design used for this study is a phenomenological approach. According to Creswell (2007), “the type of problem best suited for this form of research is one in which it is important to understand several individuals’ common or shared experiences of a phenomenon” (p. 60). This approach was developed by Creswell (2007) because of the systematic steps in data analysis procedure and guidelines for assembling the textual and structural descriptions. Significantly, data was collected from participants through in-depth interviews which consisted of open-ended questions which provided an understanding of the lived experiences of participants in the field. Furthermore, the data analysis steps in a phenomenological research require according to Creswell (2007), “highlight significant statements, sentences or quotes provide an understanding of how participants experienced the phenomenon. Moustakas (1994) calls this step horizonalization” (p. 61). The next step required the researcher to develop clusters of meaning from the statements into themes which were used to write a description of what participants experienced. Finally, this description provided the essence of the phenomenon. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 31 Overall, a qualitative approach was most appropriate for this research problem. The researcher interacted with participants in their setting to acquire stories about their concerns. Creswell (2007) supported such interaction when he stated, “we conduct qualitative research when we want to empower individuals to share their stories, hear their voices, and minimize the power relationships that often exist between a researcher and the participant of the study” (p.40). Additionally, a qualitative research was chosen by the researcher since “quantitative measures and the statistical analyses simply do not fit the problem” (Creswell, 2007, p. 40). Sampling Procedure The researcher chose purposeful sampling because as Merriam (2009) stated, “purposeful sampling is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned” (p.77). Consequently, the researcher chose three participants from the levels, Infants and Standard One, who were experiencing the implementation of the new innovation. As Creswell (2007) explained, “this means that the inquirer selects individuals and sites for study because they can purposefully inform an understanding of the research problem and central phenomenon in the study” (p. 125). Notably, each of the five approaches in qualitative research has specific issues about sample size. In phenomenology, Creswell (2007) stated that Dukes (1984) recommends three to ten subjects. For this study three participants were selected. They were selected because they taught at the Infants and Standard One classes which were experiencing the implementation of the innovation. One teacher was chosen from each level, Infants one, Infants two and Standard one. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 32 Indeed, according to Best and Khan (2006) who stated that purposeful sampling allowed the researcher to select those participants who would provide the richest information because they possessed the required criteria. Participants’ Profile At Leesville Primary School Ms. A teaches a Second Year class. She is a teacher at the institution for about five years and has been teaching at the Second Year level for four years. She graduated from the University of Trinidad and Tobago with a degree specializing in Physical Education. Ms. B has been teaching at the institution for ten years at a First Year Infant class. She graduated from Roytec in 2013. Ms. C has been teaching at the institution for fifteen years. She has been teaching a Standard One class for eleven years. Prior to that level she taught a Standard Two class. She also graduated from Roytec in 2013. Significantly, these teachers have the experience at the levels which the innovation is being implemented. They also have the expertise to effectively share their concerns about the innovation which would adequately inform this study. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 33 Method of Data Collection For this study one research question was operationalised, “To what extent have teachers at the Infant and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?” In order to answer the research question for this study, the researcher engaged the participants through semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Merriam (2009) stated that, Demarrais (2004) defined an interview as “a process in which a researcher and participant engage in conversation focused on questions related to a research study” (p. 87). Therefore, the interviews conducted were semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions based on the Stages of Concern (SOC) dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Additionally “the purpose of interviewing, then, is to allow us to enter into the other person’s perspective” (Patton 2002, as cited in Merriam, 2009, p.88). Semi-structured interviews were chosen by the researcher because they are flexible and fluid in structure when compared to structured interviews, which contain a prearranged progression of questions for respondents to answer in a similar manner. Although semi- structured interviews are more flexible in structure and the questions are more flexibly worded, specific information was required to answer the research question. Therefore, there was a structured section of the interview with a list of questions prepared ahead of time which gave the interviewer a sense of preparedness and confidence during the interview. Notably, there was flexibility in how and in what sequence the questions were asked. Equally important, the respondents had the freedom to express their views in their own terms. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 34 Furthermore, a procedure was used during the interview process with participants for asking questions and recording data. This procedure included the following structures which were adapted from Merriam (2009): o A heading (date, place, interviewer, interviewee) o Instructions for interviewer to follow for a standard procedure o Open ended questions based on the Stages of Concerns. o Probe questions for further explanation or in depth information o Spaces between lines for written responses o A final expression of thanks. (p. 183) Instrumentation For the semi-structured interview the second sub-question, “To what extent have teachers at the Infant and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?” was explored using open-ended questions developed from the Stages of Concerns (SoC) dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (see Appendix D). Significantly, being the primary instrument of data collection, the researcher according to Merriam (2009), made adjustments during the interview process through probes having sensed that the respondent was on to something significant and that there was more to be learned. According to Merriam (2009) “probes can come in the form of asking for more details, for clarification, for examples” (p. 101). Therefore, questions asked of participant were TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 35 supplemented by probes to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the issue under investigation. Trustworthiness and Credibility Issues Establishing trustworthiness and credibility is fundamental to this study in determining its authenticity. According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), “the aim of trustworthiness in qualitative inquiry is to support the argument that the inquiry’s findings are ‘worth paying attention to’” (p. 290). Creswell (2007) suggested eight different ways to establish trustworthiness of which this study employed four. First, the researcher clarified any biases she brought to the study. The researcher explained that she is a teacher at the school where the study is being conducted, was a curriculum writer involved in the curriculum rewrite and training of teachers at the Infants and Standard One levels for implementation of the curriculum. Consequently, the researcher had to safeguard against imposing her own meaning instead of the participants’ perceptions of the phenomenon under study. Second, being a teacher at the school and also assigned to an infant class allowed the researcher prolong time in the field to interact with participants in their setting. This experience added credibility to the narrative write-up. Next, in this study participants were given the opportunity to examine their verbatim transcriptions and make amendments where appropriate. This follow-up interview allowed for them to verify the written report or add information if desired. This strategy was explained by Creswell (2007) who stated that Lincoln and Guba (1985) considered member checking to be a critical technique for establishing credibility. Finally, in order to enhance the accuracy of the study the researcher engaged with TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 36 peer review, since according to Creswell (2009), “this process involves a person ( peer debriefing) who reviews and ask questions about the qualitative study so that the account will resonate with people other than the researcher” (p. 192). The peer reviewer for this study was a graduate student who is interested in the phenomenon under investigation. Ethical Considerations Ethics has become the basis for conducting effective and meaningful research. The researcher of this study has a responsibility to protect and respect the participants of the study. Creswell (2009) addressed that issue by stating, “as researchers anticipate data collection, they need to respect the participants and the sites for research” (p. 89). Therefore, the researcher considered several ethical procedures. First, agreement was established with the principal of the institution to provide access to the participants at the research site. Second, the consent of participants was achieved and they were informed about the purpose of the study, their role and that they were free to withdraw at any time (see Appendix C). Next, in order to maintain confidentiality when reporting findings they were assured privacy in terms of protecting their identity by using pseudonyms for their school and names. Methods of Data Analysis Data analysis is the process of understanding the data collected by combining and interpreting the responses of participants as well as what the researcher has seen and read. (Merriam, 2009). Merriam also emphasized that data analysis is the process used by researchers TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 37 to answer the research question. The process of data analysis involves making sense of the text (Creswell, 2009), preparing the data for analysis, conducting different analyses, interpreting and representing the data. The data analysis for this study followed a research tip given by Creswell (2009) in which he urged researchers to look at qualitative data analysis as following steps from the specific to the general and as involving multiple levels of analysis. For the first step the researcher organized and prepared the data for analysis. The principal source of data collection for this study was through interviews. The organization began by typing over participants responses in a Microsoft Word document with a column for note taking. The second step required the researcher to read through all data in order to get a general sense of the information. For the third step, the data analysis began by identifying segments in the data set that were responsive to the research question. The segment according to Merriam (2009), “is a unit of data which is a potential answer or part of an answer to the question(s) you asked in this study” (p.176). The researcher knew from beforehand the categories which were derived from the Stages of Concerns (SoC) dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), self, task and impact concerns. The task here was to compare units of information in order to discover features which occur regularly in the data collected. This process was highly endorsed by Merriam (2009), “it is my position that all qualitative data analysis is primarily inductive and comparative” (p. 175). Notations were made in the margin column next to bits of information which were relevant to answering the research question. This was the coding process. According to Merriam (2009), “assigning codes to pieces of data is the way you begin to construct categories” (p. 179). Further, the fourth step involved the researcher using the coding process to generate categories or themes. The chunks of data were sorted into categories which were then analyzed TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 38 for each of the three participants in the study. The categories were organized into: self, task and impact concerns which were colour coded for identification and presented in a tabular format. Member checks were employed for validity. This involved allowing the participants to review the data that was collected. This process allowed them to read, correct and make comments on the data collected. Additionally, the researcher discussed the interpretation of the data and the findings with a colleague who was the peer for debriefing. Furthermore, Creswell (2009) explained that the fifth step involved the manner in which the description and themes would be represented in the qualitative narrative. For this step a narrative passage was used to convey the findings of the analysis. The researcher engaged in a discussion which stated in a chronological order the events, themes or categories interconnected. Notably, in addition to the discussion a table was presented. Finally, the last step required the researcher to make an interpretation or meaning of the data. The researcher’s interpretations were made based on meaning derived from a comparison of the findings and information acquired from the Concerns based Adoption Model (CBAM), the theoretical framework for this study. Limitations In conducting a research project limitations are those circumstances over which the researcher has no control of and which may hinder the research in one way or another. The researcher is a teacher at the school where the study is being conducted, was a curriculum writer involved in the curriculum rewrite and training of teachers for implementation of the curriculum. Consequently, the researcher’s biases had to be considered in terms of understanding teachers’ TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 39 concerns about implementation. Additionally, in the educational setting time is a valuable and often limiting resource. Therefore, it was a challenge not to disrupt the participants’ classroom operation as well as to keep within the timeframe of the research deadline. Furthermore, synchronizing teachers’ schedule with the researcher’s schedule to conduct interviews was also a challenge. However, regardless of the limitations for the study significant and constructive information was collected on teachers’ concerns about the implementation of the new innovation. This information adequately informed the study. Delimitation The sample for the study was limited to the Infants and Standard One level in one school in the Victoria Educational District, Leesville Primary school. Additionally, although the findings might be valid for this school to draw a wider conclusion and state that all teachers have those concerns would be invalid. Therefore, the study only indicated concerns about three teachers at Leesville Primary School and cannot be generalised across the primary school system for those levels in Trinidad and Tobago. Summary of Methodology In summary, this study is a qualitative design which involved purposive sampling procedures. Semi-structured interviews, with three participants, were used for data collection. A specific procedure was used for the interview with open-ended questions developed from the Stages of Concerns (SoC) dimension of the Concerns based Adoption Model (CBAM). Data TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 40 analysis techniques designed for qualitative research was applied to this study. Additionally, were the strategies of member checking and peer debriefing. These helped to ascertain the credibility of the research and the results. Following is Chapter Four which highlights the data analysis and presentation of findings. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 41 Chapter 4 Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings Introduction The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the teachers of Leesville Primary School concerns about the implementation of an innovation at the Infants and Standard One level. The findings of the study were inductively derived from data collected through interviews. Merriam (2009) emphasized that, “all investigations are informed by some discipline-specific theoretical framework that enables us to focus our inquiry and interpret the data” (p. 16). Therefore, through the use of the Stages of Concerns (SoC) dimension of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) semi-structured interviews were conducted with three teachers at the institution. Data from the interviews were analyzed for exploring teachers’ concerns holistically in order to arrive at a general consensus for further recommendations. This chapter presents the findings of the study in relation to the following research question: “To what extent have teachers at the Infants and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?” Notably, seven open-ended questions based on the Stages of Concerns were generated from the research question for the interviews (see Appendix D). Significantly, the findings of this study were derived from an analysis of participants’ responses during the interviews. Participants, Ms. A, Ms. B, and Ms. C, expressed their concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum through interviews which were conducted on different occasions for approximately thirty minutes each. The process of data analysis involved coding and categorizing responses based on the open-ended questions. Further, three TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 42 categories based on CBAM were established: self-concerns, task concerns and impact concerns. The analysis of the data identified emerging themes which were directly related to those broad categories. These themes are the elements affecting the change process. The findings are therefore presented in the form of themes. Self Concerns  Informational: participants needed more information, requested further training, not confident in implementation.  Personal: personal impact of the change, demands of the change and their ability to meet those demands. Task concerns  Management: time demands, resources allocation, support from administration and managing the integration approach. Impact concerns  Consequences: effectiveness of teaching and learning.  Collaboration: cooperation amongst the teachers, principal and curriculum officers.  Refocusing: no concerns about any alternative method. Presentation of Findings The findings are presented in a narrative format with embedded quotes from the three participants. The questions have been based on self, task and impact concerns with the related emerging themes. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 43 Self-concerns An analysis of the data revealed that all three participants possessed critical levels of self concerns. In terms of informational, participants expressed their need for training sessions for implementation of the integration, more information and being confused about the implementation process. Ms. A, the Infant One teacher, claimed: “I am totally confused, the training sessions did very little to prepare me to implement this curriculum. In fact, all booklets and other information were not sent to schools in advance to help us with the implementation, they came after we were required to begin implementation. There were times I would call my colleague in another school to get information.” Ms. B, the Standard One teacher, remarked: “I am struggling with all this. I have been teaching for years and have never been more confused, I need more guidelines to better understand. I need further training because I am not sure how to deal with it.” Ms. C, the Infant Two teacher, asserted: “I am not sure that I am aware of what this curriculum is all about. I need some supervision to know if I am doing the right thing.” Further, another aspect of self-concerns was the teachers’ personal concerns which they related in a frustrating manner as they expressed the personal impact of the change on their lives. Teachers were concerned about how the change would affect them and whether they were TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 44 capable of effectively implementing the innovation. These concerns were reflected in each participant’s response. Ms. A shook her head and stated: “I am totally stressed, the workload is too much. I find myself in a state of anxiety to face each day because my frustration level is high by the time school is dismissed at 3.00 pm. I am afraid that I have some differences in my understanding and what others teachers understand about what to do.” Ms. B explained: “The pressure from top-down is great. They want all this documentation and recording before they make sure we understand what to do. What is the rush? To me the psychological pressures seem greater than the workload.” Ms. B also expressed her concern about the pressure from some parents who want to know if the curriculum will lower their children’s performance in test. Ms. C was adamant in stating: “I don’t have the capabilities to teach all what is required in this approach. Ms. A did PE in college so she could do that, what about VAPA, are they sending specialist teachers for some subjects?” Task concerns Task concerns involved the management of the innovation, how the change would be managed in practice. Teachers expressed concerns related to effectiveness, organization, TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 45 management, preparation and the demands on them to find the necessary time for effective implementation. Additionally, inherent in the voices of the teachers were lack of administrative support, technical support and accessibility of resources. Ms. A expressed her concerns: “I am unable to finish my schedule of work for the day. It is time consuming to prepare for a lesson. The integrated lesson plans require numerous resources which I have to prepare beforehand. I am working during my lunch time and after school. The workload is too much.” As the researcher continued with probes Ms. A claimed that she had to speak her mind about the lack of support from administration. “I cannot understand why Mr. Prime (pseudonym) as principal, hasn’t given us the support we need. Some schools have resources and teachers are given time to plan.” Ms. B also expressed her frustration: “This integrated curriculum requires a lot of planning, and organizing resources to teach. This cannot be done during class time with the children. No time is allotted for planning so this has to be done during my lunch time and after school which means taking work home to do. So I am not managing well. I cannot complete my timetable for the day.” As the researcher employed probes Ms. B continued to voice her frustration: “I saw the curriculum documents for the first time in the second week of September and was expected to begin implementation immediately without any prior knowledge of the content of the documents.” TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 46 Ms. C expressed vociferously her concerns: “I am spending most of my time preparing resources for lesson plans because I cannot teach without them. Take for example Media and Information Literacy, Mathematics and PE, I need resources and none have been allocated at this time. I can certainly say managing this change is difficult for me.” As the researcher continued with probes Ms. C further expressed her feeling of helplessness in her attempt to implement the curriculum. She expressed concern about her unpreparedness and inefficiency. “If I cannot do what is required of me then that has become a real issue for me. I have to perform tasks for which I am not adequately prepared for.” Additionally, she continued in a depressed tone, “Most of the lessons require the use of technology, so I need training to use the multimedia as a teaching tool. Seriously, I also need a laptop to do my work.” Impact concerns Impact concerns are subdivided into consequences, collaboration and refocusing. Consequences deal with the effectiveness and impact of the innovation on students. They showed their concerns about the impact on teaching and learning. The findings revealed that teachers had mixed reactions about the impact of the innovation. Ms. A commented: “In comparison to the traditional curriculum which was teacher-centred, this approach is student-centred. The students are actively engaged in group work and activities. My classroom is TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 47 a hub of activities. So I am not worried about my students. I am concerned about me and whether I can deliver good lessons for them with all the challenges I am facing.” Ms. B endorsed Ms. A comments: “I know that the success of my students is important, and with this approach learning is fun and they are learning through some real life experiences. They are no longer memorizing facts but experiencing skills through active learning. How effective is my delivery is truly questionable, because I am delivering through trial and error.” Ms. C on the other hand had different views: “With this new curriculum it seems as though the children are playing whole day. One lesson has many activities, either role play or some other game for them to play. I am concerned because parents want to see work done in their copy books.” On the other hand, collaboration focuses teaming up with their colleagues for discussion, sharing and planning for effective implementation. The teachers expressed collaboration concerns through a general consensus that they all needed support for implementing the curriculum. Ms. A stressed: “First of all let me tell you that collaboration is not a practice in this school. Teachers do their own thing and don’t share with each other. This curriculum requires team teaching because no one teacher has the expertise in teaching all those areas in the curriculum. Next, administration was approached to give teachers time to collaborate and plan their work. A positive response is still forth coming.” TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 48 Ms. B added expressively: “I would like to work with my colleague to plan our work, but right now we are working on our own. Then again, it might be a case of the blind leading the blind because we are not sure about doing the right thing. Again, no time was given for us to work together to plan our work.” Ms. C also stated her concerns: “Teachers working together are not the way we do things here. If you ask for advice nobody is sure about what to do. Everybody is experiencing the same state of confusion, how then can we support each other. But I realize that we need to work together and the principal need to give us that time.” Refocusing indicates whether a teacher has any ideas about a more effective alternative to the innovation. However, no teacher expressed that they had any idea of a more effective approach to this innovation. Ms. A “I can’t think of anything right now.” Ms. B “The other curriculum seems outdated, because we are in the twenty first century and thing are changing. So this approach seems interesting once we get to understand fully what to do. Is there anything else?” Ms. C “There may be something else but I don’t know.” TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 49 Overall, they all shared the same sentiment about not knowing about another alternative to this approach to teaching and learning in the classroom. Summary of Findings In response to the research question, “To what extent have teachers at the Infants and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?” answers were provided by examining participants’ responses through open- ended questions developed from the Stages of Concerns. Data was categorized under Self, Task and Impact concerns which revealed emerging themes. The findings revealed that there was a general consensus among teachers as to the major concerns which impacted the innovation at their school. Their major concerns were critical at self and task concerns. Notably, in terms of Self Concerns they revealed informational and personal concerns. Clearly, for informational concerns, participants expressed their need for training sessions for implementation of the integration, more information and being confused about the implementation process. Indeed, for their personal concerns they expressed concerns about how the change affected them and whether they were capable of effectively implementing the innovation. For task concerns, they articulated concerns about the tremendous workload and time constraints. Additionally, inherent in their voices were the lack of administrative and technical support. Further, the easy access to and provision of resources was the undisputed concerns of each teacher in the study. Equally important, the majority of teachers did not have any serious concerns about the impact of the innovation on their students. More important, their responses indicated support for the student-centred approach. Notably, for impact concerns they were concerned about TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 50 collaboration which was not a part of their school’s culture, but which was an important aspect of the innovation which required team teaching. In chapter five the findings are discussed and recommendations are made based on those findings. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 51 Chapter 5 Discussion and Recommendations Introduction Society places demands on the school system to equip their students, the citizens of the future, with the necessary skills to function efficiently and effectively in an ever progressing and developing society. Consequently, schools are required to adapt and modify their program of work or curriculum so that students would be able to function more proficiently in current times. This philosophy endorsed the purpose for educational change in the school system. The Ministry of Education Curriculum Division produced a new innovation in education, an Integrated Thematic approach to teaching and learning, at the Infants and Standard One level in the primary school system. However, implementing an educational change is not an easy task, since change implementers adopt a personal side to change which can affect the success of the implementation. This study focused on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), a research based programme for aiding innovation to address the affective dimension of a change. This was accomplished through engaging the Stages of Concerns (S0C) dimension of CBAM to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about the innovation. In this chapter, the findings of the research question, “To what extent has teachers at the Infants and Standard One level identified major concerns that impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school?”are discussed in relation to the literature review. In addition, recommendations are made based on those findings to improve practice and policy formation for implementation. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 52 Discussion Fundamental educational change represents changes in teaching and learning strategies, is primarily about change in educational ideas, and the culture of the organization. “Change is most definitely a part of life and work for all people. Regardless of the workplace setting or social situation, change is experienced personally and individually” (Hall & Hord, 2006, p. 109). Therefore, this study sought to explore and understand the personal and individual concerns of an educational change expressed by teachers at the Infants and Standard One level in the primary school system. Further, Hall and Hord (2006) asserted that teachers would generally have a conglomeration of concerns representing several of the stages, with some more strongly felt than others, and some absent all together. Consequently, in order to understand and appreciate that personal side of change, open-ended questions were used to identify teachers’ concerns based on the categories of self, task and impact concerns. Notably, the findings of this study revealed that teachers’ concerns were strongly felt at self and task concerns, for impact the concern was about a lack of collaboration. On the other hand, to a lesser extent consequences and absent altogether was refocusing or finding an alternative for the innovation. These findings are congruent in several ways to the literature review on the Principles of Change, Fullan’s Educational Change Model and Resistance to Change. Indeed, the findings presented in this study were supported by the literature review on Factors Affecting Implementation established by Fullan (2007). He identified nine critical factors which could determine the success or failure of the implementation process. First, for the characteristics of the innovation Fullan (2007) acknowledged that clarity was a fundamental issue because teachers need to be clear about what they must to do differently. A lack of clarity resulted in teachers finding that the change was not clear as to what they had to do in practice. In TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 53 addition, complexity affected the implementation process in terms of the difficulty and extent of the change required. The phenomena clarity and complexity were highlighted by teachers during the interviews through their responses. Interestingly, teachers expressed concerns about needing more information, more training sessions on implementation and being in a state of confusion about the implementation process. Ms. A claimed that she was totally confused. Ms. B remarked that she was struggling with all this and needed further training. Lack of clarity and complexity was also revealed when Ms. C asserted that she did not understand what to do and that she needed some supervision in order to know whether she was doing the right thing. In addition, she also stated that she did not have the capabilities to teach what was required for the new approach. Clearly, teachers were bombarded with issues of clarity and complexity. Moreover, in terms of quality and practicability Fullan (2007) claimed that the inadequate quality and even unavailability of materials and other resources could affect implementation. This impediment had been verified by all teachers who voiced their complaints about the lack of availability and accessibility of resources. Ms. C stated that she needed resources and none was allocated to her at that point in time. Furthermore, she expressed vocally that she was spending most of her time preparing resources for lesson plans because she could not teach without them. Additionally, another factor affecting implementation was the local factors. In this study the local factors are the principal, the District representing the Ministry of Education and the teacher. Fullan (2007) stressed the principal as strongly influencing the likelihood of change as well as the principal’s actions determining whether change should be taken seriously. He also stressed that principals should give support to teachers both psychologically and with resources. Undeniably, the teachers unanimously voiced their lack of support from the principal and district in terms of providing resources, technical support and specialist teachers for specific subject TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 54 areas. Ms. B explained that the pressure from top-down was great. She also expressed concern that she did not know why the principal was not supportive. Ms. C was adamant in asking if they (Ministry of Education) would send specialist teachers. Moreover, the District did not provide teachers with the relevant curriculum documents in a timely manner, which was before the implementation started. Therefore, teachers had not been afforded the time needed to familiarize themselves with the content of the document. In addition, another factor was the actions of the individual teachers whose relationship with their colleagues is a critical variable in the change process. Fullan (2007) recognized that a teacher’s personality and collegiality are factors that play significant roles in determining implementation. He stressed that change involved social learning and that, “new meanings, new behaviors, new skills, and new beliefs depend significantly on whether teachers are working as isolated individuals or are exchanging ideas, support, positive feelings about their work” (p. 97). Collegiality was not evident in this particular school. This concern was inherent in the teachers’ responses because collaboration was not a practice of their school’s culture. Ms. A stressed that collaboration was not a part of their school and that teachers did their own thing and did not share with each other. Ms. B and Ms. C further endorsed her statement by claiming that teachers working together were not the way they did things at their school. Further, support for collaboration in implementation has been endorsement by the literature review on a Principle of Change by Hall and Hord (2006) which stated that “Facilitating Change is a Team Effort.” It was evident from the findings that this principle was violated or had been ignored. Therefore, the findings confirmed lack of collaboration as being a factor which impeded implementation. Clearly, the context of the school influenced the change TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 55 process. This finding is harmonious with another principle of change established by Hall and Hord (2006), “The Context of the School reduces the Resistance to Change.” The findings of this study also revealed that the principle of “Change Is a Process and Not an Event” had not been acknowledged efficiently. The participants in the study have not been given the opportunity to move gradually into the implementation process. They needed time to familiarize themselves with the documents for effective interpretation and to develop efficiency in the new practices required of the innovation. Furthermore, they lacked implementation support, training, information and resources. Ms. B claimed that she saw the curriculum documents for the first time in the second week of September and was expected to begin implementation immediately without any prior knowledge of the content of the documents. The teachers at the institution lacked professional development workshops which were needed to improve as well as change their current practices. Ms. C expressed her concern about her unpreparedness and inefficiency. She also expressed the need to be trained to use the multimedia as a teaching tool. Furthermore, Ms. A stated that she had some differences in her understanding as compared to what other teachers understood about the innovation. On the other hand, Ms. B explained that she was not managing well. Significantly, professional development would bring about change at the individual level which is based on another principle of change by Hall and Hord (2006), “An Organization does not Change until the Individuals within It Change” (p. 7). Notably, Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) suggested several reasons why teachers resist change. One such reason is the rapidity of the change. This was realized when Ms. B expressed concern about the rush to implement the innovation by the Curriculum Division. She claimed that the Division requested documentation and recording of students’ performance before they were sure teachers understood what to do. Ms. B further voiced her frustration about the TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 56 untimely delivery of the curriculum documents which were delivered to their school during the second week of September, which was after the implementation date. The teachers were expected to implement immediately without any prior knowledge of the content of the document. Another reason why teachers resist change is their inability to keep up with scholarly developments. This phenomenon was revealed when Ms. C stated expressively that she had to perform tasks for which she was not adequately prepared for. Also a deterrent for her was her limited knowledge in the use of technology. Ms. C also had different views about the curriculum when compared to her colleagues. She claimed that it appeared as though the children were playing all day, whereas her colleagues stated that it was student-centred with activities for the children. In the final analysis, Fullan (2007) suggested that since implementation is a way of achieving desired outcomes it has become a crucial issue for reform. He further indicated that greater change efforts would be achieved when more efficient support systems are increase. Moreover, Hall and Hord (2006) suggested that, “in order for change to be successful an implementation bridge is necessary” (p.10). An implementation bridge would provide teachers with the support systems to allow each member in the institution to move from their current practices to new practices for positive change in outcomes. The teachers in this study were being asked to take a Giant Leap to accomplish improved students’ outcomes without any support to improve or change their current practices. Overall, support systems were lacking from the administration at the school, the District and Curriculum Implementers for the curriculum reform initiative. Indeed, the literature review was used to inform this study and to collaborate with the finding in order to make informed recommendations for successful implementation. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 57 Recommendations Teachers concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for Infants and Standard One were studied in the environment of the present culture and constitution of the school. Hall and Hord (2006) stated, “interventions to facilitate change need to be aligned with the concerns of those who are engaged with the change” (p. 138). Therefore, based on the findings of the study on teachers’ concerns about adequate training sessions, accessibility and availability of resources, administrative support and collaboration as well as other significant findings pertinent to successful implementation, the researcher was guided to make the following recommendations at the class and school level at Leesville Primary, and also at the national level which is subdivided to make recommendations for the school supervisor at the District Level, Curriculum Implementers and the Government. Class Level In relation to the findings, recommendations are made at the class level which is specific to the individual teacher in the classroom. As Fullan (2007) clearly stated, “educational change depends on what teachers do and think it’s as simple and complex as that” (p. 115). Therefore, it is recommended that teachers:  Develop open communication with their colleagues on the basis of social learning since interaction with others is a critical variable for implementation.  Observe each other teaching. This would provide first-hand practical experience in skill training exercises to develop the skills which they are not knowledgeable about. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 58  Engage in a process of personal and professional development which would foster changes in their teaching approaches for the twenty-first century, and the use of appropriate resources which are significant for educational change.  Participate in skill-training workshops to develop the competencies necessary for use of the technology. School Level In relation to the findings, recommendations are made at the school level which is specific to the principal. Indeed, Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) explained that the principal plays a major role in improvement and management strategies are fundamental for achieving a curriculum reform in the organization. Therefore, it is recommended that the principal:  Encourage a culture of collaborative relationship amongst members of staff at the school in order to create a context supportive of change. This can be achieved by making provision for teachers to meet in order to work in partnership and engage in peer coaching. Also establish teacher leaders for continuous support during the implementation process.  Engage in clinical supervision of teachers. This involves checking on progress, and providing continuous assistance where and when needed.  Supply the resources to sustain the innovation. This requires making request to the District Level for the necessary resources which must be made available to teachers. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 59  Develop strong partnership between school and home which would assist in parents providing their children with resources to support their learning. It is also recommended that parents be a part of the school management team.  Use the Parents’ Teachers Association (PTA) as a forum to educate parents about the curriculum reform. This would ensure sustained support for the innovation.  Invest in professional learning which involves continuous and ongoing staff training sessions so that the innovation can be institutionalized and sustained. Training should include information on the content of the innovation, integration skills to employ during their teaching routines. Therefore, encouraging the successful use of contact-time, time management, best practices in relation to implementation and technology.  Be the resource person to empower and support teachers efficiently and effectively for successful implementation. National Level The national level would include the school supervisors at the District Level of the Ministry of Education, the Curriculum Implementers at the Curriculum Division of the Ministry of Education, and the Government Minister responsible for education. In relation to the findings, recommendations are made at the District Level which is specific to the school supervisors. Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) asserted that if supervisors are effective, teachers within the system would feel committed to and comfortable with the new program being implemented. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 60 Therefore, it is recommended that the school supervisor attached to a specific school:  Schedule in-service training for staff members to deliver the new curriculum.  Provide direction and guidance to oversee the delivery of the curriculum.  Keep channels of communication open with the school. This requires investigating and addressing the concerns of teachers and taking the necessary actions to solve them.  Provide the resources need for implementation. Further, in relation to the findings, recommendations are made at the level of Curriculum Division of the Ministry of Education for the Curriculum Implementers to:  Consult with and sensitize teachers and principals through effective and efficient consultation about the proposed plan for a curriculum reform. Diverse views are fundamental.  Communicate to the school staff the latest research and theories about the innovation prior to implementation.  Establish an implementation team to visit schools to assist teachers, and principal through the implementation process by inspiring and providing the necessary support.  Conduct workshops for principals to prepare them adequately to initiate workshops at their schools. This would empower them with the necessary competencies to support their teachers.  Serve as resource and information personnel for the innovation, so that both teachers and principal can become comfortable and gain proficiency with the innovation.  Facilitate the implementation of an educational change with the use of the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Curriculum implementers would be in a better position TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 61 to tailor guidance and training to meet the needs of the individual teachers based on his or her specific concerns during the implementation process.  Implement an educational change based on the principle that change is a process and not an event. Therefore, the plan for change should be strategic in nature allowing three to five years for successful implementation. In addition, establish the necessary support systems for educators as they implement the educational change. In relation to the findings, recommendations are made at the Government level for the Minister of Education to:  Make request for substantial revenue to be allotted to education to cater for sufficient resources and professional development for educators throughout the implementation processes. This will ensure that the support structures are in place before any educational change is mandated for implementation.  Create a system of accountability at the curriculum and district level. This policy would ensure that the relevant personnel accept responsibility for the successful implementation of the curriculum reform initiative.  Provide specialist teachers for specific subject areas for the curriculum reform initiative. This provision would enhance teaching and learning for students in the classroom context. Recommendations for Further Study The findings of this study have provided insights into teachers’ stages of concerns as they implemented an educational change. Indeed, further study is needed to examine how other TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 62 teachers respond to change in different context and settings, because this research had been restricted to Leesville Primary School in the Education District of Victoria. In addition, further recommendation is made for a longitudinal study to be conducted to examine the change of teachers’ concerns in the process of implementation over time. This would involve Curriculum implementers to explore and understand other concerns established in the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) which deals with individuals Levels of Use (LoU) of an innovation and Configuration. Additionally, replication of this study should be considered using other samples of teachers since the adoption of the educational change would be implemented on a phase basis to other levels in the primary school system. Conclusion The Concerns Based Adoption Model was the framework which assist the researcher to develop an understanding of the personal side to change expressed by the teachers in this study. The literature review was used to collaborate with the findings on teachers’ concerns to demonstrate the effects of an educational change on teachers during the implementation process in the primary school system. Therefore, the perspectives of the literature review added to the overall understanding of the educational change. The Principles of Change established by Hall and Hord (2006) predicted the personal change experiences when the principles were not acknowledged by individuals experiencing the educational change, as well as the change facilitators of the innovation. The principles guided the researcher in making recommendations based on the findings since Hall and Hord (2006) explained that future change efforts could be more successful if the principles are acknowledged. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 63 Further, Ornstein and Hunkins (2004) established reasons why people resist change. This also informed the researcher to make recommendations for successful implementation. Additionally, Hall and Hord (2006) explained six functions of intervention which were considered significant for making change take place. These functions also comprised the job description of the change facilitators, which entail what they need to do to make the change a process and not an event. Therefore, the functions informed the recommendations which were made for the Curriculum Implementers at the Curriculum Division as well as the Government Minister of Education. Finally, Fullan (2007) identified three dimensions which are critical to implementing a new program or policy. These dimensions encompass new materials, teaching approaches and possible change in beliefs. Recommendations were made based on those dimensions at all levels, since they represent change in practice and the means of achieving the outcomes for the educational change. In conclusion, engagement in this study has given the researcher an awareness of the concerns of teachers when they are faced with an educational change. The researcher is now aware that there is a personal side to change which is a natural phenomenon when implementing an educational change. The researcher’s sensitivity was heightened by the literature review for the study which provided the relevant information for a deeper understanding of the issue at hand, which is exploring and understanding teachers’ concerns about a curriculum reform initiative at the primary level. Equally important, was the choice of engaging in a qualitative research. This form of research afforded the researcher the opportunity to produce a rich description of the phenomenon which was supported by the inherent voices of the teachers in the research project. TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 64 References Adamu, A. U. (1994). Educational reform in Nigeria. Retrieved January 10, 2014 from http://www.kanoonline.com/publications/educational_reform_in_nigeria.htm Anderson, S. E. (2002). Understanding teacher change: Resisting the concerns-based adoption model. Curriculum Inquiry, 27(3), 133-148. Best, J. W. & Khan,J. V. (2006). Research in Education. New York: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon. Chia-Chen, W. (2002). A study of teachers’ concerns when implementing an innovation in Taiwan. Retrieved January 12, 2014 from http;//www.elted.net/issues-6/V6Wu.pdf Creswell, W.J. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design. Choosing among five approaches. (2 nd ed.). America. Sage Publications, Inc. Creswell, W.J. (2009). Research Design. Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. (3 rd ed.) America: Sage Publications, Inc. Fullan, M. (2007). The meaning of educational change. (3 rd ed.) New York: Teachers College Press. Gilchrist, C. (2013). Primary teachers raised concern about new curriculum. Retrieved January TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 65 11, 2014 from http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/41050_Primary-teachers-raise- concerns-about-new- curriculum Hall, E.G. & Hord, M. S. (2006). Implementing change. Principles, patterns and potholes. United States. Pearson Education, Inc. Holloway, K. (2003). A measure of concern. Research-based program aids innovation by addressing teacher concerns. Retrieved January 11, 2014 from http://www.nycomprehensivecenter.org/docs/form assess/SurveyingTeacherConcerns.pdf Leung Wai Lun, A. (2008). Teachers concerns about curriculum reform: A case for Project Learning. Retrieved January 12, 2014 from http://www.dlsu.edu.ph/research/journals/taper/pdf/200808/6leung.pdf Lincoln, Y. S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills, California: Sage Publications Inc. Merriam, B, S. (2009). Qualitative research. A guide to design and implementation. America. Jossey-Bass. Ministry of Education Corporate Communication Division. (2013). Ministry of education continues consulting with stakeholders on primary and secondary school curricula. Retrieved January10, 2014 from http://www.moe.gov.tt/spotlightPDFs/MOEConsultsStakeholders.pdf TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 66 Ministry of Education . (2013). The primary school curriculum. Retrieved January 10, 2014 from http://www.moe.gov.tt/pri_curriculum.html Right, J. (n.d.). What is the meaning of educational change. Retrieved January 11, 2014 from http://www.ehow.com/about_6508345_meaning-educational-change.html Rismiati, C. (2012). Teachers’ concerns regarding the implementation of integrated thematic instruction: A study of primary grade teachers in Kanisius catholic schools in Yogyakarta Indonesia. Retrieved January 9, 2014 from http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1384&context=luc_diss Wan, Wai-Van (2002). Teachers' concerns about curriculum integration: a case study of a Hong Kong primary school. Retrieved January 11, 2014 from http://hub.hku.hk/handle/10722/30116 TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 67 Appendix A Letter to Principal requesting permission to conduct study at Leesville Primary School (Pseudonym for principal and school for this presentation for confidentiality) Mr. Alfred Prime Principal 1 Leesville Primary School Monkey Town 13.01.14 Dear Sir In accordance to the Masters in Education (concentration in Youth Guidance) I am pursuing at the University of the West Indies, I am required to conduct a research project. The topic chosen for this project is a current and timely issue in education, a resent educational change for the primary school system. The topic is “A qualitative study to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for Infants and Standard One.” A report on the findings of this research will be submitted to you. This will benefit the organization because you will be able to make informed decisions to address the concerns of your teachers. I hereby seek your permission to conduct this research project which requires the participation of a few members of your staff. Thank you for your support. Yours respectfully ___________________________ Joan Noel TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 68 Appendix B Permission to conduct Research Ms. Joan Noel Leesville Primary School Monkey Town 15.01.14 Subject: Permission to conduct Research Project at the school Dear Ms. Noel Permission is hereby granted for you to conduct your research in accordance with the fulfillment of your Masters in Education (concentration in Youth Guidance). Yours respectfully _____________________ Mr. A. Prime Principal 1 TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 69 Appendix C Letter to Participant Ms. A/B/C Leesville Primary School Monkey Town 20.01.14 Dear Colleague I am completing a Masters in Education programme at the University of the West Indies. As part fulfillment, I am required to conduct a research study for which I need your participation. The topic is a current and timely issue in education for which you are involved, “A qualitative study to explore and understand teachers’ concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum for Infants and Standard One.” The research will require a series of interviews to be conducted at the school for which you will be a part of. This forum will give you the opportunity to share your concerns about the implementation of the innovation. The findings will be used for the research paper and also will be shared with you. I assure you that confidentiality and anonymity will be maintained throughout the research. Also, you can feel free to withdraw from the study at any time. Thank you for your support Yours respectfully _______________________ Joan Noel TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 70 Appendix D Interview Schedule for Teachers 1. Opening (a) Establish rapport: (b) State purpose: I will like to ask you some questions about--------- (c) Motivation: (d) Time line for interview: This interview will take about thirty-five minutes. 2. Body List of questions for research question 3: 1-7 3. Conclusion (a) Summarize (b) Action to be taken (c) Appreciation List of interview questions Section 1 1. To what extent have you been informed about the revised curriculum? _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 71 2. What are some of your personal concerns regarding the Integrated Thematic Curriculum? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 3. How do you manage your time on a given work day to accomplish your tasks? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4. What support do you receive from administration for the coordination of the curriculum implementation? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5. What concerns do you have about how the new approach will affect your students? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 6. To what extent does collaboration exist amongst you and your colleagues regarding the implementation of the Integrated Thematic Approach? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 72 7. Do you have any ideas as to how this new approach will work even better? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Appendix E Colour code for themes CATEGORIES THEMES COLOUR CODE Self Concerns Informational Personal Task Concerns Management Impact Concerns Consequence Collaboration Refocusing TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 73 Appendix F Analysis of Data from Interview Research Question 3: To what extent have major concerns identified by teachers at the Infant and Standard level impacted the implementation of the innovation at their school? Sub-question 1: To what extent have you been informed about the revised curriculum? Categories and Themes Supporting details Self Concerns: Informational (more information, confused, training) Ms. A “I am totally confused, the training sessions did very little to prepare me to implement this curriculum.” Ms. B “I am struggling with all this. I have been teaching for years and have never been more TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 74 Personal (workload too much, capability for effective implementation) confused, I need more guidelines to better understand. I need further training because I am not sure how to deal with it.” Ms. C “I am not sure that I am aware of what this curriculum is all about. I need some supervision to know if I am doing the right thing.” Ms. A “I am totally stressed, the workload is too much.” “I am concerned about me and whether I can deliver good lessons for them with all the challenges I am facing.” Ms. B “The pressure from top-down is great. They want all this documentation and recording before they make sure we understand what to do. What is the rush? To me the psychological pressures seem greater than the workload.” “How effective is my delivery is truly questionable, because I am delivering through trial and error.” TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 75 Ms. C “I don’t have the capabilities to teach all what is required in this approach.” Task concerns Management: (Lack of administrative support, technical support and accessibility of resources) Ms. A “I am unable to finish my schedule of work for the day. It is time consuming to prepare for a lesson. The integrated lesson plans require numerous resources which I have to prepare beforehand. I am working during my lunch time and after school. The workload is too much.” “…..administration was approached to give teachers time to collaborate and plan their work. A positive response is still forth coming.” Ms. B “I cannot understand why Mr. Prime (pseudonym) as principal, hasn’t given us the support we need. Some schools have resources and teachers are given time to plan.” “…..no time was given for us to work together to plan our work.” TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 76 Ms. C “I am spending most of my time preparing resources for lesson plans because I cannot teach without them.” “I need resources and none have been allocated at this time.” “But I realize that we need to work together and the principal need to give us that time.” Impact concerns Consequences (Impact of the innovation on students) Ms. A “In comparison to the traditional curriculum which was teacher-centred, this approach is student-centred. The students are actively engaged in group work and activities. My classroom is a hub of activities. So I am not worried about my students.” Ms. B “I know that the success of my students is important, and with this approach learning is fun and they are learning through some real life experiences. They are no longer memorizing facts but experiencing skills through active TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 77 learning.” Ms. C “With this new curriculum it seems as though the children are playing whole day. One lesson has many activities either role play or some other game for them to play.” Collaboration Ms. A “First of all let me tell you that collaboration is not a practice in this school. Teachers do their own thing and don’t share with each other.” Ms. B “I would like to work with my colleague to plan our work, but right now we are working on our own.” Ms. C “Teachers working together are not the way we do things here.” Refocusing Ms A. “I can’t think of anything right now.” This sentiment was shared by the other two TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT A CURRICULUM REFORM 78 teachers.