TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 1 AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ CONCERNS ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AN INTEGRATED THEMATIC CURRICULUM (ITC) AT COROVILLE PRIMARY SCHOOL (CPS) IN THE ST. PATRICK EDUCATIONAL DISTRICT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. EDRS 6900: PROJECT REPORT Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Education (Curriculum) Of The University of the West Indies Cynthia Sakawat-Lemessy 2015 Nalini Ramsawak-Jodha Department of School of Education Faculty of Humanities and Education St. Augustine Campus TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 2 Dedication To my future child/children “The spirit, the will to win and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur,” Vince Lombardi TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 3 Acknowledgements Completion of this project would not have been possible without these people in my life. I would like to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to:  God, the Father Almighty for giving me the strength to go on when I couldn’t.  My husband Neil, for your love, support and dinners, I love you baby.  My parents and siblings who made this journey easier for me by always being there.  My supervisor Mrs. Nalini Ramsawak-Jodha for your advice and expertise.  Dr. Winford James for your guidance and valuable time.  My Principal and fellow colleagues at work.  And last but not least, the friends whom I have made at UWI. Thank you so much!!! TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 4 Abstract This research was aimed at investigating the concerns of teachers about the implementation of the ITC at a small primary school in the St. Patrick Educational District. A Qualitative Case Study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questions. It was found that the teachers at this school had concerns that were mainly Task and Impact related. Some ways of relieving these teachers’ concerns as suggested by the teachers were the provision of follow-up workshops, more support from the Ministry of Education in the form of feedback and the provision of more coaches for other subject areas besides Mathematics. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 5 Table of Contents Chapter 1 – Introduction……………………………………………………………………7 Background…………………………………………………………………………………...7 Statement of the Problem…………………………………………………………………….14 Purpose of the Study…………………………………………………………………………15 Research Questions ………………………………………………………………………….15 Significance of the Study…………………………………………………………………….15 Key Terms and Concepts……………………………………………………………………. 16 Organization of the Paper……………………………………………………………………..16 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………………………..17 Chapter 2- Literature Review................................................................................................18 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………..18 Educational Change…………………………………………………………………………..18 Teachers Concerns……………………………………………………………………………21 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………………………………….22 Stages of Concern (SoC)……………………………………………………………………...24 Fullan’s Educational Change Model………………………………………………………….26 Uses of the CBAM in Educational Innovations………………………………………………29 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………………………..32 Chapter 3-Methodology……………………………………………………………………...33 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………...33 Research Design…………………………………………………………………………….....33 Sampling Procedure……………………………………………………………………………36 Participants’ Profile…………………………………………………………………………….37 Method of Data Collection & Instrumentation………………………………………………....38 TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 6 Analyzing the Data……………………………………………………………………………..39 Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………………………….41 Limitations & Delimitations……………………………………………………………………43 Chapter Summary………………………………………………………………………………44 Chapter 4- Data Analysis & Presentation of Findings……………………………………..45 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………45 Presentation of Findings: RQ #1……………………………………………………………….45 Presentation of Findings: RQ #2……………………………………………………………….49 Presentation of Findings: RQ #3……………………………………………………………….55 Summary of Findings…………………………………………………………………………..55 Chapter 5 – Discussion & Recommendations ………………………………………………57 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………….57 Discussion of Findings: RQ #1…………………………………………………………………57 Discussion of Findings: RQ #2………………………………………………………………….59 Discussion of Findings: RQ #3………………………………………………………………….60 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………61 Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………….61 Recommendations for Further Study……………………………………………………………63 References………………………………………………………………………………………64 Appendices……………………………………………………………………………………...68 TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 7 Chapter 1 - Introduction Background “Educational change depends on what teachers do and think-it’s as simple and as complex as that,” (Fullan, 2007, p.129). The Primary Curriculum Rewrite (PCR) was introduced to the infant one, two and first standards of 478 primary schools across Trinidad and Tobago in 2014.The PCR is part of the Ministry Of Education, Strategic Plan (2011-2015) Seamless Education for All. This paper was developed on the foundation of the ‘Education for All by 2015’ initiative in Jomthien, Thailand.The PCR involved the use of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum (ITC). The purpose of the ITC according to the MOE is to “…prepare our children with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to optimize their own development, to constitute a caring, respectful and socially conscious citizenry and to competently lead our country onto the world stage,” (Ministry of Education, Curriculum Division, 2013). In 2013, teachers of the infant and first standard classes across Trinidad and Tobago were taken out of their classrooms and sent on two days workshops. Following the workshops the teachers were mandated to implement this new curriculum into their classes. By January of the following year the teachers started receiving resources in the form of a Teacher’s Guide, a Curriculum Guide and a Toolkit. The Toolkit is a book with themes and suggested lesson plans. Presently, teachers of the infant and first standard classes are struggling to implement this new curriculum and some have even expressed frustration in integrating the different subject areas under one theme. Due to this change in the curriculum the teachers have developed concerns. These concerns are crucial in determining the success or failure of this new curriculum. As such this TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 8 paper will seek to uncover the concerns of teachers who are implementing this latest educational change. A Brief History of Educational Reform in Trinidad and Tobago The curriculum of the education system of Trinidad and Tobago has been altered in many ways throughout the years. It is important that one should reflect on some of those changes before delving further into its most recent change, an integrated thematic curriculum. Religion was the main objective of education and it was done through rote learning during the 16th century. With the influence of Lord Harris in the 19th century, Ward schools were built and the education system of Trinidad and Tobago became more stable. At this time the curriculum focused on the three R’s, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The main objective of the primary curriculum was basic literacy and character building. Then, by the mid 1920’s, the changes made to the curriculum were considered a curriculum revolt (Campbell, 1996).There was a change in the philosophy of education, where the child was now seen as the centre of the curriculum. From that time to now the curriculum has been changed to better suit the social and cultural experiences of the learner. This means the child has remained at the centre of the curriculum. The Education Policy Paper (1993-2003) also known as the White Paper, was in line with the Declaration of the Education For All in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990.The Strategic Plan (2002-2006) followed the White Paper and was based on the Dakar: Framework For Action (2000-2015).With the change of government in the year 2010, there came about new policies and with no doubt there were changes to education as well. The Present Primary Education System of Trinidad and Tobago TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 9 The latest curriculum change is the Ministry of Education Strategic Plan 2011-2015, which involved the introduction of the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) of the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA). Together with this curriculum innovation was the introduction of the ITC. The ITC is a new curriculum approach that was proposed by the Curriculum Development Division of the Ministry of Education as part of the (PCR). This curriculum innovation was introduced into the infant one and two classes as well as the first standards of all primary schools in the academic year September 2013- July 2014. An Integrated Thematic Curriculum (ITC) The new primary curriculum is characterized by a focus on finding connections among 9 core subject areas, Agricultural Science, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Physical Education, Science, Social-Studies, Spanish, Values, Character and Citizenship Education and Visual and Performing Arts. Drake and Burns (2004) say that an integrated curriculum is about finding connections. For each core subject area, content and skills that students are expected to acquire as well as the dispositions they are expected to display have been identified and developmentally sequenced via a series of learning outcomes that are identified in the Curriculum Guide document that was sent out to all schools together with an Instructional Tool Kit and a Teacher’s Guide. Students will not experience the core subjects as discrete and separated but rather under the umbrella of 7 broad themes which are expanded into 26 related sub-themes. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 10 Diagram taken from the PCR, Teachers’ Guide,2013 Innovative Features of the ITC According to Rogers (1995) an innovation is an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption, even if it has been in existence for some time. The ITC incorporates a number of innovative features. This approach to instruction has been the first attempt by the Ministry of Education, Curriculum Division, to implement such a curriculum into the primary school classrooms of Trinidad and Tobago. Prior to this approach content was taught through individualized subjects, this method of instruction is new to many teachers. An innovation is multidimensional and it consists of at least three dimensions according to Fullan (2007), which are the use of new materials, a change in instruction and a change in teachers’ beliefs. The ITC involves the use of themes to teach the different skills that transcends across the core subject areas. This means that the teachers who are directly involved in the implementation of this curriculum must make a fundamental shift in their practice. This change in practice defines the new curriculum as an innovation. A change in practice suggests that the teachers have TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 11 developed a shift in their philosophy and beliefs in the use of an integrated approach to instruction, in order to deliver this new curriculum. A change in beliefs and philosophy is also an innovative feature of the ITC. The use of new materials also defines the new curriculum as an innovation, every class in the infant department and first standard was outfitted with a Curriculum Guide, a Teacher’s Guide and an Instructional tool kit which consisted of all the themes and the learning outcomes for each core subject. Teachers are also encouraged to use more resources and teaching aids through the implementation of this new curriculum. On implementing an innovation within an educational institution, the teachers are exposed to the changes and they develop feelings, thoughts and perceptions, which Fuller (as cited in Hall & Hord,2006) referred to as concerns. One method of measuring teachers’ concerns is the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), which will be further explained in the theoretical framework. The researcher will now explore research that has been done internationally, regionally and nationally regarding the concerns of teachers in the implementation of an educational innovation. International Context A study was done in Indonesia on the concerns of the teachers on the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Instruction in the primary schools in 2012. The findings from the research suggested that some teachers were not fully aware of the new approach and they lacked information about the Integrated Thematic Instruction. The research showed that after five years into this reform, there was an increase in the number of teachers who had concerns in how the Integrated Thematic Instruction impacted on their students and ways in which this innovation could be improved. Findings from the research suggested that administrative support was one of TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 12 the major factors in determining the successful implementation of the Integrated Thematic Instruction. Recommendations made by the study were that teachers be provided with adequate administrative support, a climate that is conducive to continued implementation of the new curriculum and professional development. A case study conducted in China in 2013 on the concerns of three teachers in the implementation of a new English Language curriculum found that the teachers had problems in managing the implementation of the curriculum, they were not fully aware of the changes required of the curriculum and they had concerns with the consequences of this new curriculum on the students. It was found from this study that the lack of teacher training and inadequate teaching time were two of the major challenges met by the teachers implementing the English Language curriculum in China. Hall and Hord (2006) states that, “Interventions to facilitate change need to be aligned with the concerns of those who are engaged with the change” (p.138). Another study was conducted on teachers concerns about the reformed Mathematics Curriculum in Turkey in 2012.The Concerns Based Adoption model CBAM was used to determine the teachers’ Stages of Concerns. The feelings and perceptions of the teachers can be classified as the concerns of the teachers implementing the change (Hall & Hord, 2006). The study found that the teachers had personal and collaborative concerns, which meant that they had concerns from more than one level of the CBAM model. Cetinkaya (2012), from his research noted that teachers’ thoughts and concerns about reformed curriculum in many cases prevented them from undergoing change successfully. He also noted that meeting teachers concerns can facilitate the successful implementation of the change and that teachers’ concerns is an indicator of the type of support they need in facilitating the change process. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 13 Regional Context Bowen (2007) conducted a study in Jamaica on the concerns of the teachers within the parishes of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine on the Revised Primary Curriculum. The findings of this research uncovered that the teachers were not implementing the new curriculum at the level they suggested they were implementing it, the research also found that the change facilitators were implementing the new curriculum similarly to the regular implementers and that most teachers had managerial concerns. They had challenges due to physical facilities, training and the resources that were available to implement the Revised Curriculum. According to Fullan (2007), educational change is a process which involves interacting variables that determine the success or failure of this change. Bowen (2007) concluded that training to change teachers’ way of thinking is not a one shot but a process. She suggests the CBAM as a framework through which concerns are monitored in order for effective implementation to occur. National Context Barrow (2011) conducted a research in Tobago on the concerns of the teachers who were exposed to a professional development innovation project. Data was collected using the Stages of Concerns questionnaires and the data was analyzed using the CBAM model .The study found that most of the teachers had personal concerns with the innovation and they did not use the strategies used in the professional development innovation workshops. Barrow, 2011 suggested that every effort should be extended to reduce the concerns of the teachers so as to ensure that the innovation be implemented in the manner it was intended. Holloway (as cited in Barrow, 2011) recommends that meeting the personal concerns of the teachers is crucial and knowledge of these concerns will enable those in charge of the innovation to render aid to those implementing the innovation. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 14 School Context At CPS the teachers of the infant department and first standard have openly expressed five major concerns in their implementation of the ITC. Firstly, they complained that they lacked the proper training in the implementation of the ITC; secondly, they were of the opinion that they needed sufficient and relevant resources to be able to teach a lesson using the ITC. Thirdly, they clearly exclaimed that lesson planning was more onerous than the precursor curriculum and they did not get any support from the Ministry, administration or from each other. Lastly, they have repeatedly exclaimed that they don’t believe that this new curriculum will make a difference on students’ learning and the level of the content to be taught is “way above the students’ heads.” Due to the increased workload of the new Primary Curriculum the teachers have become very demotivated, frustrated and have even considered changing their careers. International, regional and local research mentioned earlier have all noted the importance of how teachers’ concerns can affect their ability in the classroom. As such the researcher felt that the matter required further investigation. Statement of the Problem Teachers at CPS have expressed concerns about the implementation of the curriculum innovation, ITC. Research has shown that teachers’ concerns in the implementation of a curriculum innovation are crucial to the successful implementation of the innovation. Whilst there have been research done on teachers’ concerns internationally, regionally and locally, there is a need to confirm whether what the research has said is true at CPS. Purpose of the Study The study seeks to investigate the concerns of the teachers regarding the implementation of the new Primary Curriculum using the ITC in the Infant one and two and first standard classes at CPS. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 15 It is hoped that the findings of this research study will help to sensitize the school administration to the challenges met by the teachers at CPS. It is also hoped that the findings from this research will inform curriculum personnel so that they will be better able to provide the necessary support for the teachers who are implementing the ITC. Last but not least it is hoped that this research will broaden the awareness of the Ministry of Education to the problems faced by teachers, so that the necessary changes can be provided to reduce their concerns. Research Questions The research questions that guide this study and will be operationalized are: 1. What are the concerns of teachers at CPS about the implementation of the ITC? 2. What are the stages of concerns of teachers at CPS who are implementing the ITC? 3. What do the teachers think can be done to relieve these concerns? Significance of the Study This study is a platform on which teachers will be able to voice their concerns and they would be able to relate to the concerns of other teachers. Teachers may become motivated to develop a network amongst them to be able to overcome the challenges of implementing a new curriculum. It is hoped that the findings from this research will be used to aid in the teachers practice in the implementation of the ITC at their school. The findings from this research can be used to inform the change facilitators and the policy makers of the issues that the implementers i.e. the teachers may encounter during the implementation of an innovation. Hence, this information can be used to make the necessary changes that take into account the personal side of the change process so that implementation of the innovation can be a success within the local context. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 16 Key Terms and Concepts Concerns: The composite representation of the feelings, preoccupation, thought and consideration given to a particular issue or task, (Hall and 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) Implementation: Implementation consists of the process of putting into practice an idea, program, or set of activities and structures new to the people attempting or expected to change, (Fullan,2007). Integrated Thematic Curriculum (ITC): Curriculum integration can be defined as a curriculum approach that purposefully pulls together knowledge, skills, attitudes and values from within or across subject areas to develop a more comprehensive understanding of fundamental ideas, (MOE, Curriculum Division,2013). Organization of the Paper Chapter one gave an introduction to the research issue followed by the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, the research questions, the significance of the study and the key terms and concepts used throughout the entire paper. Chapter two will entail the literature review which will establish the theoretical framework and provide the foundation of knowledge on which this research paper will be based on. Chapter three will discuss the methods and procedures used to collect the data along with ethical considerations when collecting data as well as the limitations and delimitations in the collection of the data. Chapter four will entail the analysis of the data and TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 17 the findings based on the research questions. The final chapter will analyze the findings and recommendations and conclusions will be discussed. Chapter Summary Chapter one gave a detailed background to the research issue resulting in the statement of the problem followed by the purpose of the research, the research questions to be answered and the significance of the research. The chapter concluded with some key concepts and terms that will be used throughout this paper. Chapter 2 – Literature Review TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 18 Introduction Chapter two explores what the literature has to say about educational change and teachers’ concerns. This is followed by the theoretical framework which looks at the CBAM model and Stages of Concerns (SoC).The chapter then explores Fullan’s Educational Change model and is concluded with a look at some international, regional and local research that involved the use of the CBAM. Educational Change Change is brought about for many reasons; it could be through natural events, deliberate reform, voluntary participation or even through inconsistency and intolerability in a current situation (Fullan, 2007). With respect to education, change is the deliberate attempt to bring about change in the curriculum of a school system (Patterson and Czajkewski,1979).Educational change can be considered an innovation as an innovation is an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption even if it has been in existence for some time (Rogers,1995).This change must be a planned change to be considered an innovation rather than being brought to life spontaneously or by chance. It is planned with the understanding that it would be a more effective approach than what existed prior to the innovation (Miles,1964).A planned curriculum change means that there must be some changes in at least the goals, the organization, the role of the teacher, content, instructional strategies, classroom management, materials and/or evaluation (Snyder,Bolin,Zumwalt,1992).A renewal can be easily mistaken for an innovation, a renewal of the curriculum however, is a shallow superficial adjustment. An innovation on the other hand, is a deep rooted change in philosophy and the understandings of individuals in implementing the curriculum (Wiles and Bondi, 1998). TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 19 Teachers undergo different types of changes when implementing an innovation such as the ITC. They must be able to understand the theoretical foundations of the innovation and its applicability in real life. However, change does not always result in positive changes and there may be unforeseen outcomes (Wu,2002).Change is also uncontrollably complex as there are multiple dimensions to be considered in its implementation and each new variable that enters the equation produces a new reaction (Fullan,2001). The difference between renewal and innovation as defined suggests three possible dimensions of curriculum change identified by Fullan (1991),he suggests that an innovation is multidimensional in which there are at least three dimensions that are at stake when implementing an innovation: the possible use of new or revised materials i.e. direct instructional resources such as curriculum materials or technologies, new teaching approaches i.e. new strategies or activities and the possible alteration of beliefs. For the implementation of an innovation to be successful there must be changes along the three dimensions for example, teachers may change their strategies, use the different resources but they do not believe in the innovation. Teachers may even develop false clarity in which they think they have changed but they have only assimilated the superficial trapping of the new practice (Fullan,2007).Hence change is a process rather than an event, where people involved in the change and the institutions undergo certain transformations and stages in the change process. Real change as suggested by Fullan (2007) involves changes in conceptions and behavior which is why it is so difficult to achieve. There are different models of educational change that attempts to explain the change process and promote its successful implementation. Two such models met in the research are the Concerns Based Adoption Model and Fullan’s Educational Change Model. The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) is a conceptual model that describes, explains and predicts teachers’ concerns and behaviors throughout the change TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 20 process. It acts as a lens to understanding the change process and it provides tools and techniques for facilitating and assessing innovations in educational settings (Hall & Hord, 2001).The CBAM consists of three dimensions, Stages of Concern (SoC), Levels of Use (LoU) and Innovation Configurations (IC).For the purpose of this paper the SoC dimension which focuses on the personal side of change, will be further explored. This is because the primary school teachers were mandated to implement this new innovation within a short period of time and with little training. Teachers have expressed concerns in the implementation of this new curriculum and there has been no follow up on its implementation. Fullan’s (2007) Educational Change Model suggests that there are three steps in the change process, initiation, implementation and institutionalization. His Implementation Model suggests that there are three dimensions to change consisting of the characteristics of change, local characteristics and external factors. The three dimensions provide nine interactive factors which Fullan (2007) suggests form a system of variables that interact to determine the success or failure of the change. Although these models are concerned with change and the change process they focus individually on different aspects of change. The CBAM focuses on the concerns of teachers when experiencing change and Fullan’s Model looks at facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the educational change. Teachers Concerns The term concern is defined as the mental activity composed of questioning, analyzing and re- analyzing, considering alternative actions and reactions and anticipating consequences (Hall & TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 21 Hord, 2006). “It is the composite representation of the feelings, preoccupation, thought and consideration given to a particular issue or task” (p.138). Marsh (as cited in Leung, 2008) suggests that a curriculum only comes to a reality when the teacher implements it in the classroom to actual students; hence teachers’ involvement is crucial in the implementation of an innovation. Hall and Hord (2006) says that interventions to facilitate change need to be aligned with the concerns of those who are engaged with the change. The teachers’ concerns should be considered for successful change to occur. Hence the reason this study aims to find out what the teachers’ concerns at CPS are and why they have them with respect to the implementation of the ITC. Fuller’s (1969) concern theory suggests that concerns are developed in stages based on the individual’s increasing experience. Teachers develop concerns through four levels, unrelated, self, task and impact. Unrelated concerns refers to teachers having no thought or concern with the change, self concerns follow unrelated concerns as the teacher now has concerns about the innovation but they are all based on the teacher. They are concerned about how the innovation will affect them. Following self concerns is task concerns which focus on how the change will be implemented for example, the teaching strategies and the use of resources in implementing the innovation. The final stage which is the impact stage refers to concerns that are focused on the impact of the change on the students, it assesses whether or not the change was successful. At the impact level the teacher may also look into new methods in which the innovation can be improved. It is important that each stage is completed successfully to be able to move on to the next stage. The CBAM Model is about the natural and developmental processes that teachers go through whenever they are introduced to change (Leung, 2008).It’s developmental foundation lies on Fuller’s concern theory. The CBAM is a theoretical framework which seeks to understand the different concerns that teachers experience at different times during the implementation of the TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 22 innovation. It suggests that change cannot take place unless the teachers change hence the focus on implementation should be the human aspect, the teachers (Harry, 2007).The Stages of Concern (SoC) is the first dimension of the CBAM, it describes the affective dimension of change, how people feel about doing something new and their concerns about an innovation at various points in its implementation. SoC is important because how teachers feel about and perceive a change will in large part determine whether or not change actually occurs in the classroom. This emphasizes the importance of investigating the concerns of the teachers implementing the ITC at CPS. Theoretical Framework-Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) The Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) was developed by researchers at the Southwest Education Development Laboratory during the 1970’s, George, Hall & Stiegelbauer (as cited in Barrow, 2011).This model was developed to determine the stages of concerns teachers experience and the level of their implementation when they are faced with an innovation. CBAM was specifically designed to assist school or district leaders who are change facilitators to identify the needs of individuals in the change process and address those needs based on information collected through diagnostic dimensions. There are 12 principles of change that are embodied in the concerns based approach (Hall & Hord, 2006): 1. Change is a process, not an event. 2. There are significant differences in what is entailed in development and implementation of an innovation 3. An organization does not change until the people within it change 4. Innovations come in different sizes TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 23 5. Interventions are the actions and events that are key to the success of the change process. 6. Although both top-down and bottom-up change can work, a horizontal perspective is best. 7. Administrator leadership is essential to long-term change. 8. Mandates can work 9. The school is the primary unit for change. 10. Facilitating change is a team effort. 11. Appropriate interventions reduce the challenges of change. 12. The context of the school influences the process of change. The CBAM model consists of three dimensions to address the personal side of change, the Stages of Concern, which is the first dimension of the CBAM, focuses on how feelings and perceptions evolve as the change process unfolds (Hall & Hord, 2006).Researchers have found that teachers respond to any change with a personal set of concerns (Barrow, 2011).Teachers should be helped to work through these concerns to ensure that the intended changes occur. This is important because being aware of teachers’ concerns allows those who are in charge of the innovation to be able to make appropriate adjustment to suit individuals, Holloway (as cited in Barrow, 2011). Stages of Concern- SoC Concerns move through four developmental levels, unrelated, self, task and impact. These four levels encompass seven distinct but mutually exclusive Stages of Concern (SoC), Hall and Loucks (as cited in Hall & Hord, 2006). TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 24 Levels of Concern Stages of Concern (SoC) IMPACT 6. Refocusing: The teacher is concerned with the universal benefits of the innovation and has alternative methods that may be more effective. An expression of concern might be: I think this method might work better. 5. Collaboration: Teachers develop relationships with others that will help them in the implementation of the innovation. They work together with others regarding the use of the innovation. An expression of concern might be: How can I work along with others in implementing the innovation? 4. Consequences: The student becomes the teachers’ main concern. They become concerned about the impact of the innovation on the student, its relevance to the students, student outcomes are evaluated and what are the changes required for increased student outcomes. An expression of concern might be: How beneficial is this innovation to the student? TASK 3. Management: Teachers are concerned with the process and task of using the innovation. They focus on the strategies and the use of the resources in the implementation of the innovation. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 25 They have issues related to efficiency, organization, management, scheduling and time. An expression of concern might be: This innovation is too time consuming. SELF 2. Personal: The teachers’ main concern is himself/ herself.They are focused on how this innovation will affect them and what is their role in this innovation. They question their ability to effectively implement the innovation and they are uncertain of the demands of the innovation. An expression of concern might be: Will I be able to use the strategies and the resources intended for the innovation? 1. Informational: They demonstrate a general awareness of the innovation and show an interest in learning more about it. An expression of concern might be: Where can I learn more about it? UNRELATED 0. Awareness: Teachers have no knowledge of the innovation hence they are the least bit concerned about it. An expression of concern might be: I don’t have to be concerned about it. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 26 Research studies suggest that the SoC is quasi-developmental meaning that there are numerous ways through which the teacher may experience concerns thus not guaranteeing that concerns will be experienced sequentially or in one direction (Hall & Hord, 2006).If the correct support is provided for the innovation, if there is proper leadership and the change process is not treated as an event but rather a process, then the teachers’ concerns will be developmental in nature. If each stage is not properly addressed then the teacher may regress to a previous stage. As a teacher becomes more skilled in the use of an innovation then his concerns unfold sequentially (Hall and Hord, 2001).Teachers can have more than one SoC at the same time but with different degrees of intensity, for example, a teacher may have intense task concerns, but also concerns about students can still influence his or her instructional decision-making. Fullan’s Educational Change Model Fullan’s Typology or Model of the change process, 2001, suggests that there are 3 major stages in the change process, initiation, implementation and continuation. Initiation consists of the process that leads up to and includes a decision to adopt or proceed with a change, p.50. Implementation involves the experiences of attempting to put an idea or innovation into practice. Institutionalization occurs when the change gets built into as an ongoing part of the system or disappears by way of a decision to discard or through attrition. For the purpose of this study the implementation stage will be focused on as it speaks to the factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of the ITC. These factors may result in possible solutions to making the implementation of the ITC easier for the teachers at CPS. Nine factors are suggested by Fullan’s Educational Change Model that may affect implementation. Which is explained as “…the extent to which teacher and students change their practices, beliefs, TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 27 use of new materials and corresponding learning outcomes’’ (Fullan,2007,p.86).These nine factors are grouped into three major headings: Characteristics of change, Local characteristics and External factors. Characteristics of change refer to the need, clarity, complexity and quality of the innovation. Huberman and Miles (as cited in Fullan,2007) reiterate that the persons involved in the early implementation phase should believe that the need for a change is necessary and that it will result in achieving the intended outcomes. Readings suggest also that the need for a change is not as clear cut. There are implications in determining the most important need to be addressed, or whether or not it is easy to fully understand a need before implementation and the other 8 factors may affect the need of the innovation (Fullan, 2007). Clarity simply means whether or not the implementers are sure about what the innovation means in practice. This means that the innovation must have clear goals and outcomes that are easily understood by the implementer. Lack of clarity can lead to confusion, attrition or false clarity i.e. the change is more than what people perceived it to be. Complexity refers to “the difficulty and extentof change required of the individuals responsible for implementation” (Fullan,2007,p.90).It is important to note that although complexity can result in failure to implement there is a possibility for a greater change as it is a more demanding factor to overcome. Quality and practicality is the fourth characteristic of change that affects implementation. This refers to basically the availability of resources, the simplicity of the change to put into practice and the time given for the innovation to develop maturity. Politics in many cases is the cause of lack of quality of an innovation. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 28 Local characteristics according to Fullan (2007) refers to the school district, the board and community characteristics, the Principal and the role of the teachers. The past experiences of school district can affect the implementation of the change, “success can beget more success,” (Fullan, 2007, p.95).The school boards and community characteristics refer to the agreement by other stakeholders in the implementation of the change, for example, some denominational schools were critical of the new curriculum because it included Drama which was not practiced in their religion. If the Principal is able to display good leadership qualities and provide support for the teachers who are experiencing the change, then implementation will be a lot easier, the school is the center for change (Fullan, 2007).The teacher and teacher characteristics also play a major role in the implementation phase as it requires teachers to interact with other teachers and to be able to psychologically accept the change. External factors such as political motivations, interest groups, bureaucracies and public concerns may also affect the implementation of an innovation as suggested by Fullan (2007). The Concerns Based Adoption Model and Fullan’s Educational Change Model all look at different aspects of educational change such as the facilitators and barriers of implementation, how the innovation is communicated and the concerns of the teachers implementing the innovation. Thus, the researcher saw it fit to use these models to help explain her findings at CPS in investigating the concerns of teachers at the school who are implementing the ITC and ways in which these concerns can be relieved. Uses of the CBAM in Educational Innovations  International Context (Wang, Leung, Cetinkaya) TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 29 Numerous researches have been done internationally with the use of the CBAM model to address teachers’ concerns. In Hong Kong a research was conducted to determine teachers’ concerns about curriculum reform with respect to Project Learning. It was found that the teachers who were at the forefront of implementing the new curriculum in Hong Kong were concerned about the impact of Project Learning to the students’ learning, the collaboration of teachers and alternative methods of the teaching approach for project Learning through a cross- curricular approach (Leung,2008).The study found that teachers were at the later stages of concerns i.e. the impact stage, however, self- concerns and task-concerns were also present as they had issues with the workload as well as insufficient time. The study concluded that “…implementation of Project Learning as a key element of the ‘Learning to Learn’ curriculum reform depends much on how the policy makers provide on-going and quality support for catering the teachers’ concerns” (Leung, 2008, p.91). Another study done in China on teachers’ stages of concerns and levels of use of a Curriculum Innovation based its research on the CBAM model. From the interviews of three teachers it was found that the teachers were within three of the four stages of the concerns model. The teachers expressed personal concerns, management issues and the consequences of the innovation on the students. Hence they fell in three stages of the concerns model, the self, task and impact levels. The research prove that the use of the CBAM model within the Chinese context provided a useful framework in which teachers’ experiences in implementing an innovation can be investigated and further explored (Wang,2014).The findings from the research supported Fullan’s (2001) argument that an innovation is a process rather than an event. It provided useful information about the implementers, the teachers and thus provided aid in which implementation could be improved for the teachers. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 30 Research was also done on teachers’ concerns about a reformed sixth grade Mathematics Curriculum in Turkey which prove that the teachers were all aware of the reform but they had little knowledge about the Mathematics curriculum. This was explained by the newness of the curriculum. Teachers expressed interest in the innovation but they were still unclear about the use of the resources and the strategies. Hence, they scored high at the informational stage as well at the collaboration stage. This indicated that the teachers were willing to work with other teachers. A higher score at the informational stage rather than the task stage also prove that the SoC are developmental and only after the teachers have mastered one stage can they move on to another SoC. At the same time, according to CBAM, it is only possible to bring innovations into life and implement them at some sustained level when most of the teachers resolve their concerns at initial stages, Hall & Hord (as cited in Cetinkaya, 2012). Regional Context A study was conducted in Jamaica in which teachers concerns and levels of use of the Revised Primary Curriculum (RPC) was investigated. Teachers were concerned with the use of the resources, the training and the physical facilities; this meant that they had concerns primarily at the informational and management stages. The study also proves the usefulness of the CBAM model in assessing and determining intervention strategies that will assist the teachers in the implementation of an innovation (Bowen, 2007). Local Context A study done on teachers’ concerns with change was conducted in Tobago by Barrow in 2011. His findings revealed that teachers had personal and management concerns. The teachers were exposed to different types of instructional models however; they opted for the direct instructional method. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 31 The use of this model was justified by Tobago having an education system that was driven by high stakes examinations. Dr. Barrow (2011) concluded that the CBAM model was used and the teachers’ SoC were determined so that every effort should be made to eliminate or minimize teachers’ concerns in Tobago with respect to professional education development. Teachers’ concerns about the CAPE Communication Studies Innovation were investigated by. Harry, 2007 in Trinidad. The CBAM model was used in this research to determine the SoC of two teachers in the implementation of this innovation. Her findings revealed that the innovation had not reached institutionalization because it was only 2 years old. The teachers expressed concerns mainly at the self level however, one of the teachers expressed minimal concerns at the impact level. Thus emphasizing that persons going through change may experience more than one concern at the same time, however concerns at one level may be more predominant than other levels. This research also found that individuals experience concerns differently and there may be other factors that may affect ones concerns at a point in time. For example, poor administrative support, lack of proper training and low professional collaboration at ones school may affect one’s concerns and the ability to move from one level to another developmentally. The use of the SoC in the CBAM model will be useful to this study as it will be used by the researcher to identify the concerns of the teachers at CPS. The concerns identified using the CBAM can then be used as a guide to develop possible solutions to the challenges met by the teachers in the implementation of the ITC. Chapter Summary Chapter two explores the literature and what it says about teachers concerns and educational change. The chapter goes on to look at two educational change models, the CBAM and Fullan’s TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 32 Educational change model and concludes with a look into studies done internationally, regionally and locally that used the CBAM to assess teachers’ concerns when implementing an educational innovation. Chapter 3 - Methodology Introduction This chapter discusses the methodological ways in which the researcher intends to investigate this matter. The chapter begins with the research design and its justification. It is followed by the sampling procedure and the participants’ profile. The chapter then goes on to discuss how the researcher intends to collect and analyze the data. The chapter concludes with the ethical TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 33 considerations that would be used during the collection of the data and the limitations and delimitations met throughout the collection and analysis of the data. Research Design This study aims at investigating what are the concerns of teachers at CPS about the implementation of the ITC and possible solutions to their concerns. Data will be collected using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questions. The findings will be presented through thick, rich narratives. Thus, this study is qualitative in nature as Denzin and Lincoln (as cited in Creswell, 2013) defines Qualitative Research as involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. Qualitative Research allows the researcher to investigate an issue by observing it in its natural setting. This leads to capturing the true sense of the issue, through the meanings people bring to the research and the interpretation of the researcher. Qualitative Research is the most appropriate research for the investigation into this issue as it seeks to highlight the concerns of the teachers at CPS on the implementation of the ITC.“These new curricula, administrative arrangements, reform movements and the like are ripe for qualitative inquiry ”(Best & Khan,2006,p.254).This is done by captivating the teachers’ concerns through rich, thick data rather than using numerical data to represent the researcher’s findings and seeking a relationship between two or more variables as in quantitative research. The major philosophical principles underpinning this qualitative research are epistemology, ontology and axiology. Merriam (2009) defines epistemology as the nature of knowledge. It is how the knowledge is known i.e. through the experiences of the people. Conducting a qualitative study under this philosophy means that the researcher must be as close as possible to the participants being studied (Creswell, 2013).This Qualitative Research seeks to capture the TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 34 teachers’ concerns on the implementation of the ITC through a close relationship between the researcher and the teachers of the infant one and two and first standard classes. The researcher being a teacher at the same school as the participants will conduct the research in the ‘field’ i.e. where the teachers work. The researcher will interview the teachers in their natural setting and so will be better able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the perspectives of the teachers. The nature of a qualitative research is open for different interpretations by the researcher, the participants and the reader. As an interpretive researcher, one must take into account that there are multiple realities (Creswell, 2013), this relates to the philosophical assumption-ontology. The researcher will get the perspectives of three teachers at CPS through semi-structured interviews. The researcher is aware that the teachers will have their own realities, which the researcher must try to capture and highlight through this research. Qualitative research is heuristic in nature as the researcher has to be able to be receptive to meanings in human interaction and be able to make sense out of the teachers’ multiple realities. Thus the researcher will return the findings from the interviews to the participants to ensure that the researcher has interpreted what the participant intended correctly. The third philosophy which underpins this research study is axiology. Axiology refers to the values that the researcher brings into the research (Creswell,2013).The interpretive researcher must be aware of her own biases, values and beliefs as these can influence every aspect of the study. Being a teacher at CPS herself, the researcher may have her own values and biases about the ITC. The voices of the teachers interviewed by the researcher will be presented through an interpretation of the researcher. This researcher acknowledges that this study, conducted in the qualitative paradigm, is value-laden and subjective. As such the researcher will as mentioned earlier return TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 35 her interpretations of the interview to the participants so that they can verify the researcher’s interpretations. “The qualitative strategy used in the study is largely determined by the purpose of the study, the nature of the research questions and the skills and resources available to the investigator” (Denzin and Lincoln,1998, p.64).For the purpose of this research and the nature of the research questions a case study approach was used to investigate the teachers’ concerns and the challenges they experienced at CPS in the implementation of the ITC.A case study is explained as a study of a case within a real-life, contemporary context or setting (Yin,2009).Case (as cited in Creswell,2013) refers to a case study as a choice of what to be studied, that is bounded by time and place rather than being a methodology. Creswell (2013) views a case study as a qualitative approach in which the researcher investigates a real-life, case or cases over time through detailed in-depth data collection from multiple sources of information. The defining features of a case study according to Creswell (2013) will be used to justify the use of such an approach to this research study. One feature of a case study is being bounded by parameters such as time and place. Similarly, the investigation into teachers concerns is bounded by time and place because it is currently occurring throughout the primary schools so, accurate information will not be lost due to time. The study is also bounded by the number of sources of information, i.e. there is a limit to the number of persons who can be interviewed. It is possible to interview only three teachers at CPS because only three teachers are implementing the ITC. This study is a single case as it will be conducted in a rural primary school in South Trinidad. All three of the teachers to be interviewed will be from the same school; hence they may experience similar context and culture within the school. Thus making this research a single case study. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 36 According to Creswell (2013) the intent of a case study can determine further the type of case study the research is designed after. An intrinsic case study is one in which the intent of the research is to highlight an unusual case that needs to be described and detailed. However, an instrumental case study is one in which the intent of the study is to understand a specific issue, problem or concern and the selection of the case or cases will be best able to understand this problem. Investigating teachers’ concerns at a primary school in south Trinidad is an instrumental case study as this research will help the researcher to understand the concerns of the infant one, two and first standard teachers specifically from the CPS, who are implementing the ITC. Sampling Procedure The researcher chose to interview three teachers at CPS. Their criterion selection was simple, they were all teachers who were involved in the implementation of the ITC in their classes and they taught at CPS. Non-probability sampling, which is the preferred method of sampling in qualitative research, was used in this research. More specifically, purposeful sampling was used by the researcher to determine the participants of the research. “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” (Merriam,2009,p.77). Patton (as cited in Merriam, 2009) refers to purposeful sampling as ‘information-rich’ cases. The researcher selects participants who will be able to provide the most useful and insightful information that is of central importance to the purpose of the research. This made the purposeful sampling of the researcher unique in that the teachers were the only teachers at Coroville who were implementing the PCR. Merriam (2009) says that there is no answer as to how many people should be interviewed; however, the researcher must be able to TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 37 determine if the amount of persons interviewed gave sufficient data. A good method of determining that the researcher has interviewed enough persons is when the data starts to repeat itself; this means that the data is exhaustive, saturated and redundant. For the purpose of this study, the researcher believes that data collected from the three teachers at CPS will be able to provide sufficient data to address the research questions and purpose of this study. Participants’ Profile Infant One-Teacher A Teacher A has been a teacher for eight years during her eight years she attended the University of Trinidad and Tobago for four years where she attained her Bachelor of Education degree. Teacher A was the standard two teacher of Coroville Primary School. On completing her degree, Teacher A was reassigned to the same where she was given the infant one class. Since 2012, Teacher A has been the infant one teacher. Teacher A attended the workshops that were done to educate the teachers about the ITC. Infant Two- Teacher B Teacher B is a teacher for 16 years where she attended the Corinth Teachers’ College from 2002- 2004.Teacher B attained her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Trinidad and Tobago in 2014.Miss B has been a teacher of the infant two class for two years, she was the infant one teacher but she moved to the infant two class when teacher A was assigned to her class.Teacher B attended the workshops for both the infant two and the standard two classes because at that time Coroville Primary did not have a standard two teacher. Standard One – Teacher C TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 38 Teacher C has been a teacher for 23 years, she attended the Corinth Teachers’ College from 1998- 2000.Teacher C has been a teacher of Standard One for eight years. Teacher C attended the workshop to educate Standard One teachers about the ICT. Method of Data Collection and Instrumentation Research questions number one, two and three will be operationalized through semi-structured interviews and open-ended questions. The use of semi-structured interviews for the purpose of this research is appropriate as this data collection technique will allow the researcher to be given enough room to probe the teachers and elicit from them their concerns and possible solutions to their concerns in the implementation of the ICT. The use of interviews also tend to provide useful information that is used to inform the reform process in education. Semi-structured face to face interviews also allows the researcher to make discoveries as the teachers’ voices will be less constrained but yet the interview will still be controlled to some degree by the researcher. The interview will be done face to face between the researcher and the teacher, this is so that the researcher will be able to tape record the interview and observe facial expressions or body movements that the researcher thinks is important to note. Guided questions will be prepared before the interview by the researcher, (see Appendix C), however, the researcher will ask follow on questions based on the teacher’s response to the question asked. The relationship between the researcher and the participants is a close one as the researcher is also a teacher at CPS, hence the teachers may feel a sense of comfort being interviewed by the researcher. The interview questions, will be asked through the funnel approach in which general questions will be asked followed by more specific questions and then concluded with general TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 39 winding-down questions. The researcher will make the participants feel comfortable and will clearly indentify the purpose of the interview to the participants prior to getting the participant’s consent to be interviewed. The researcher will ensure that the environment in which the interview will be conducted will be extremely quiet as the interview will be recorded with the permission of the participant. A tape recorded interview ensures that everything said is preserved for analysis (Merriam, 2009). Analyzing the Data Data collection and data analysis is a simultaneous process. Analysis of data will begin as soon as the first interview is done; the researcher will not wait until all the data has been collected. “You have undermined your entire project by waiting until after all the data are collected before beginning analysis” (Merriam, 2009, p.170). Analysis of data during collection will help the researcher to steer future data collection in a particular path. Data collected without simultaneous analysis lacks direction, is repetitious of the other data collected and can be frustrating due to the volume of data that will now be needed to be analyzed (Merriam,2009). The data collected for this research will be analyzed manually, based on Creswell’s 2013, data analysis spiral. Data will be organized by transcribing the recorded interviews into Microsoft word documents. This will be done by the researcher herself as this will allow the researcher to become one with the data. After organizing the data the researcher will get a sense of the entire interview by reading the transcript over several times and will write notes on the side of the interview transcript. The researcher will delve into the data, trying to make sense if it as a whole before the researcher breaks it into parts Agar (as cited in Creswell, 2013). TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 40 The researcher will then describe, classify and interpret the data into codes and themes. The researcher will then form codes through a process described by Corbin and Strauss (2008) as mining the data. The researcher will use open coding to initially analyze the data. Creswell (2013) says that open coding codes the data for its major categories of information. The researcher will scrutinize the interview transcript line by line, looking for leads, ideas or issues in the data itself. A deeper meaning will be sought after by the researcher and each line or chunks of data will be coded where possible. In vivo codes will also be used as they are codes derived from the exact words spoken by the interviewee (Appendix D). Categories or themes will be developed from the codes through a process of comparing the similarities and differences amongst the codes. Themes or categories are defined by Creswell (2013) as “ …broad units of information that consist of several codes aggregated to form a common idea ” (p.186).The researcher will write out all the codes and link them to categories using the constant comparative method. Corbin and Strauss (2008), say that this type of comparison is essential as it allows the researcher to differentiate one category or theme from another. Prefigured categories will be used from the theoretical framework of the CBAM model; however, the researcher will be mindful of emergent codes and categories while coding the data. Codes that did not relate to the operationalization of research questions one, two and three were omitted .Creswell (2013) says that describing and developing themes from the data consists of answering the research questions and forming in-depth understanding of the central phenomenon. The researcher will revisit the data several times to uncover new information that could be added to the existing themes or even generate a new theme. This will be done until the researcher reaches saturation. Saturation is the point where you have identified the major themes and no new information can add to your list of themes or to the details of existing themes TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 41 (Creswell, 2013).On completing the categorization of the codes and reaching saturation point the researcher will represent the themes formed in a tabular form (Appendix E & F). Interpreting the data goes beyond the codes and themes developed, it looks at the larger meaning of the data (Creswell, 2013).Interpretation of the data will be based on the literature that will have been reviewed. The researcher will try to link the analyzed data to what the literature has to say. Then the final step in the data analysis spiral is the representation of the data. The researcher will then represent the data in the form of rich, thick narratives. Ethical Considerations “Ensuring validity and reliability in qualitative research involves conducting the investigation in an ethical manner” (Merriam, 2009, p.209).Internal validity or credibility looks at how congruent is the research findings to reality. To ensure that this research maintained a high level of credibility some strategies were employed by the researcher. Firstly the researcher is aware that she is the main instrument of data collection and analysis. Hence the researcher tried to be as close as possible to the data by reading and re-reading the transcribed interview. Merriam (2009) calls this activity ‘adequate engagement in data collection.’ This is so that the researcher will be able to understand the perspectives of the teachers, to uncover the complexity of human behavior in a contextual framework and to present a holistic interpretation of what is happening (Merriam, 2009). The researcher is aware of her biases being a teacher herself at CPS. Another strategy the researcher used to ensure high internal validity is through reflexitivity. The researcher kept a journal in which she made entries after each interview and during the data analysis process (Appendix G). Lincoln and Guba (as cited in Merriam, 2009) says that reflexitivity is the process of reflecting critically on the self as researcher, the human as TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 42 instrument. This also ensured that the researcher be aware of her own assumptions and biases whilst conducting the research. It will also help the reader to understand how the researcher may arrive at a particular interpretation of the data (Merriam, 2009). Thirdly, the researcher used member checking or respondent validation (Merriam, 2009) to ensure that the researcher did not misinterpret what the participants meant to say, thus maintaining high internal validity or credibility of the research. The researcher returned to the participants and ensured that her interpretations of the interviews and their statements were representative of what the participants meant to say. The researcher asked the teachers to write their comments about the researcher’s interpretations next to the data. “To a large extent the validity and reliability of a study depend upon the ethics of the investigator” (Merriam, 2009, p.228).The researcher used Patton’s 2002 “Ethical Issues Checklist” as a guide during the collection of the data. The researcher, firstly had informed the infant one, two and first standard teachers that she wanted to interview them. The researcher informally explained to the infant one, two and first standard teachers the purpose of her desire to interview them. They were made aware that they would remain anonymous and letters would be used to replace their real names. The researcher also assured them that the tape-recorded interviews will be heard by the researcher only and what was said will be held in confidentiality. A letter was then presented with the same details about the purpose of the research and ensuring the participants of the confidentiality of the interview and the participants. The letter also made the teachers aware that they could pull out of the interview anytime that they wished (Appendix B).It is also important to note that the principal was also presented with a letter requesting permission for the researcher to conduct a research in the school (Appendix A ). TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 43 Limitations and Delimitations “Limitations are those conditions beyond the control of the researcher that may place restrictions on the conclusions of the study and their applications to other situations” (Best and Khan, 2006, p.39).The limitations of this study were the time constraints presented by meeting the deadline for submission of the research. Another limitation was the interviewing of the teachers, Interviews were conducted during the month of February, the teachers were busy with zonal sports and so it was difficult to find time for the participants to sit and be interviewed. Then the Easter vacation provided problems for the researcher to be able to meet with the participants to confirm the researcher’s interpretations of her findings from the interviews. “Delimitations are the boundaries of the study” (Best and Khan, 2006, p.39), this study cannot be generalized as the findings are specific to the infant one, two and first standard teachers of CPS. Another boundary is only three teachers qualified to be interviewed because they are the only three teachers who are implementing the ITC presently at the school. This study is also limited to one primary school in the St. Patrick area. Chapter Summary The chapter began with a brief overview of the research study followed by a justification for the research design being a Qualitative Case Study. The sampling procedure is explained as to why three participants were chosen followed by a brief description of each participant. The chapter goes on to explain how the data will be collected and analyzed along with attached appendices. The chapter is concluded with the identification of ethical considerations observed and the limitations and delimitations of the study. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 44 CHAPTER 4 –Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings Introduction: This chapter involves the presentation of the findings of the data that was gathered through individual face to face, semi-structured interviews with three of the teachers at CPS. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed as described in detail in the previous chapter. The findings from the data set will be presented in the form of thick, rich, narratives together TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 45 with direct quotations by the three teachers during each interview. According to Bogdan & Biklen (as cited in Merriam, 2009), this helps the reader to get closer to the people you have studied. A detailed description of Case Studies also allows the reader to vicariously experience the setting of the study and it convinces the reader of the plausibility of your research (Merriam, 2009). The findings will be presented in the order of the research questions one, two and three. Presentation of Findings Research Question # 1: What are the concerns of teachers at CPS about the implementation of the ITC and why do they have these concerns? All three teachers expressed similar concerns when they were asked what some of their concerns about implementing the ITC were. When the transcripts were coded which were then grouped into themes (Appendix E), an overarching concern that came up was training. The teachers felt as if the workshops that they all attended at different times during the third school term in 2013, did not give them clear details as to how they should integrate all the subject areas into a lesson. According to Teacher A in a frustrated voice: They did not sit with us and give us a step by step thing you know. Like looking at how we going to teach it, they did not do that. It was just a broad thing. We had on our own now through reading and through putting two and two together. Then you know how to. It was just a sensitization! The teachers also found that the persons who came to train them on the workshops were not able to teach them how to integrate the different subject areas. The trainers were persons who were TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 46 experts in their field and they showed them possible methods of teaching topics or concepts within that subject area. There was no demonstration of how to teach an integrated lesson. This was clearly expressed by Teacher B: They used secondary school teachers who were specialists in their areas for eg. Art & Craft, they thought they just came to explain some little thing to the primary school teacher. Some of them did not really understand the integration so like when we did Art & Craft the person was just giving us ideas of things we could do in Art & Craft. Not really relating it to this (pointing to the Toolkit), how you going to integrate in Maths, Writing, etc. Teacher C also found that the persons sent on the workshop were not helpful as she said: When we were on the workshop they asked us at the end if we had any questions, to write it on a piece of paper and send it up. Another teacher and I counted the number of questions that were sent up there were more than twenty questions they only answered about seven of those questions. Those were the ones they could have answered. The teachers also found that the length of the workshops were not sufficient because they felt as if they had to rush through things to be able to complete the workshops within the two week period that they were given. As Teacher B exclaimed quite clearly: The training was too short! Another major concern that was common amongst all three teachers is the lack of feedback and not being certain about what they were doing. They were not sure that they were implementing the ITC in the manner in which it should be. They felt as if the way in which the Toolkit was structured TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 47 it was open for different interpretations and they were not sure if they were interpreting it correctly. As Teacher B said: Well part of me doing my degree when we did Curriculum Development, one of the things they said which makes it work is feedback and checks. There are no real checks like from a Curriculum Officer or from somebody. Another concern that came up from the interviews was a lack of support. Support in three different areas was discussed during the interviews, support from the Ministry, administration and colleagues. The teachers opinion of support from the Ministry were a bit different in that Teacher A felt as if she does not get support from the Ministry but Teachers B and C mentioned that their only support from the Ministry was through a numeracy coach who was assigned to the school for two days a week. These were the three teachers’ responses when they were asked if they get support from the Ministry: Teacher A: No, they just tell us we have to teach it, this is the new thing and we have to implement it. Teacher B: You see how we have a Maths coach that has helped a lot because he has given us a lot of support. Teacher C: They send a numeracy coach but he could only help with the Maths what about the other subjects? TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 48 The teachers shared similar views when they were asked about support from Administration. They all felt that the Principal was providing support in the best way that she could. Teacher A: Well she does still pass and ask if everything okay. Teacher B: We got some help in that we are given the resources , some of them like to lock it away. Teacher C: If I don’t understand this thing too good, far less for she? They also expressed a sense of collegiality when asked about support from colleagues as they all met with the other two teachers who were also implementing the ITC at CPS, however, as expressed by Teacher B, they more or less were implementing the ITC on their own. Teacher B: We tried to come together but everybody just end up doing their own thing. Time was also expressed as a concern by the teachers as they felt as if sufficient time was not given to implement this new curriculum. They also felt as if they themselves did not have enough time to plan and deliver the lessons as outlined in the Toolkit. Teacher A: Time management is a problem. How are you going to do all those activities within one lesson? Teacher B: You still find the subjects that they thought that you will start doing being left behind eg TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 49 Agri-Science you just not getting the chance to do it. Teacher C: This Toolkit have too much activities to do within the time they give for a lesson, just too much .O gosh they will kill me! According to the findings in reference to research question one some of the concerns that the teachers at CPS have about the implementation of the ITC are Training, Feedback & Clarity, Support and Time. Research Question #2 : What are the Stages of Concern of teachers at CPS about the implementation of the ITC? For the purpose of answering this question, the concerns discovered from the data in answering research question number one were then placed into categories according to the stages of concerns of the CBAM model and then they were condensed into themes according to the four levels of concerns. The findings were then summarized in tabular form (Appendix F). It was very interesting to code the data and discover that the Stages of Concerns existed amongst the concerns of the teachers at CPS. The findings suggest with reference to question two that the teachers did not have any unrelated concerns, that is, they were all aware of the ITC. This is because all three teachers had gone to the ITC workshops in 2013 and they were each implementing the new curriculum in the classroom. Each teacher was outfitted with the necessary books, i.e. the Toolkit, Curriculum Guide and the Teacher’s Guide, that were needed to assist in the implementation of the ITC. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 50 The second level of concern according to the CBAM Model is the self level which encompasses two concerns, informational concerns and personal concerns. The teachers had informational concerns in the form of poor workshops that lead to insufficient training: Teacher B: The majority of the people on that workshop, everything was Greek to them and they didn’t know which way to go. The teachers were not clear about what they had to do and the Toolkit and Teacher’s Guide, that were sent to assist them, were not collaborating: Teacher A: The Toolkit and the Curriculum guide are not corresponding in some areas. Poor communication also existed amongst the teachers. Teacher B We shared emails at the workshop but nothing ever materialized. Personal concerns existed due to an increased workload and each teacher expressed a sense of confusion over whether or not they were doing the correct thing. Teacher A: How are you going to do all of those activities? Teacher A: It was more guessing. It was for you now as the teacher to best cut and fit and try to make it work. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 51 The third level of the CBAM Model refers to task, a concern which basically looks at how the teacher is able to manage the change. Time was a major problem amongst the teachers at CPS as they felt as if they were not given enough time at the workshops to gain a better understanding of the innovation and they also felt that due to the increased workload they didn’t have sufficient time to complete all the activities recommended in their lessons: Teacher A: The training was too short; they just rush everything so that we could finish within the length of time of the workshop. Teacher C: This Toolkit have too much activities to do within the time they give for a lesson, just too much .O gosh they will kill me! Availability of resources was another concern as the teachers all agreed that they were getting resources and they made some themselves. However, as expressed by Teacher B she had not gotten the time to really go through the resources. Teacher B: I ent get to it as yet, but they have the resources Physical space was also mentioned as a concern in that there was no space to store the resources that were being sent. Teacher C: All the resources packing up in the office we need to build shelves or something to store TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 52 all those resources. The teachers expressed management concerns in that they were trying to figure how they can best use the information and resources efficiently and effectively in implementing this new innovation. Teacher A: Well I look in the Toolkit and I try to pull out what is not in the Curriculum Guide and I combine it together. The fourth level of the CBAM Model is the Impact level which looks at three concerns, the consequences of this new innovation on the students, how teachers cooperate regarding the use of the innovation and ways in which the innovation can be improved. The three teachers looked at both the positive and negative impact the ITC had on their students. Teacher A: They are very excited so I think it has a positive impact on the students. Teacher B: It student friendly in that you have a lot of hands on activities. Teacher C: This thing making the children feel they playing and so they enjoy the lessons. Teacher A: I find the content to be weighty and some of the things beyond the reach of the children. Teacher B: …but yet some of them might stay within the play and not get the concept. Teacher C: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 53 However, to me it making them more disruptive. I prefer the old way. Collaborative concerns came up in the form of support from the Ministry, from administration and from colleagues. Teachers A and B felt as if they were not being supported by the Ministry and Teacher C felt as the numeracy coach that was assigned to their school was not sufficient: Teacher A: No support from Ministry, they just tell us we have to teach it, this is the new thing now and we have to implement it. Teacher B: There are no real checks like from a Curriculum Officer or from somebody coming to say well how you going? Teacher C: They send a numeracy coach but he could only help with the Maths what about the other subjects? In terms of support from administration the teachers felt as if the Principal was doing the best that she could in supporting them: Teacher A: Well she does still pass and ask if everything okay. Teacher B: We got some help in that we are given the resources , some of them like to lock it away. Teacher C: If I don’t understand this thing too good far less for she? The teachers also tried to come together to support each other but they basically returned to doing things on their own: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 54 Teacher B: We tried to come together but everybody just end up doing their own thing. In terms of improving the ITC, these were the suggestions made by the teachers: Teacher A: More workshops, there should be follow- up workshops for sure. Teacher B: There should be in- house workshops for both the teacher and the parents. It will help everybody it will bring all of us on the same page from administration right down. Teacher C: They need to revise this thing carry it back to the drawing board. It was too rushed it should be implemented into pilot schools first. The findings for research question two show that the teachers at CPS have concerns at each stage of the CBAM model, except the awareness level. The teachers had similar concerns at each level of the SoC according to the CBAM Model, about the ITC. These concerns varied in degree and intensity amongst the teachers. It was observed that teacher A showed a greater amount of concern at the impact level, whereas Teacher B showed more concern at the impact and task levels whereas Teacher C seems to have more concerns at the self level. Research Question # 3: What do the teachers think can be done to relieve these concerns? The answers to research question #3 were coded in the refocusing stage (Appendix F), some of the suggestions made by the teachers were: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 55 1. Follow-up Workshops 2. In house training for all teachers at the school including parents 3. Pilot testing 4. Feedback from Curriculum Personnel. 5. More coaches for the different subject areas Summary of Findings The findings for research question one showed that the teacher’s concerns at CPS about implementing the ITC were inadequate training at the workshops that they attended, they found that they lacked feedback from curriculum personnel as to whether or not they were implementing the ITC correctly. They were also not clear about the Toolkit and Teacher’s Guide as some things did not coincide with each other. The findings also revealed that the teachers lacked support from the Ministry, administration and from each other and lastly they found that time was an issue. The workshops were not long enough, they felt as if they were rushed into implementing the ITC and they also found that time was insufficient to deliver the planned lessons from the Toolkit. The findings from research question #2 found that the teachers had concerns at each stage of the CBAM except the awareness stage. The teachers showed concerns at the informational, personal, task, consequence, collaboration and refocusing stages. Each teacher however had more concerns than the other at different levels, as mentioned earlier Teacher A showed a higher degree of concern at the refocusing level, Teacher B showed more concern at the impact level and Teacher B showed a higher degree of concerns at the self level. The suggestions made by the teachers in answering research question #3 were very limited and so the findings were given in point form: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 56 1. Follow-up Workshops 2. In house training for all teachers at the school including parents 3. Pilot testing 4. Feedback from Curriculum Personnel. CHAPTER 5: Discussion and Recommendations Introduction: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 57 The findings of this research were compared to the literature review and what the literature says about change, the feeling, thoughts and occupations experienced by the persons experiencing the change and the factors that affect change. It was enlightening to witness what the literature has to say within the real life setting of CPS. The chapter begins with a sequential discussion on the findings based on the research questions, followed by a conclusion of these findings. The researcher then makes her recommendations based on the research and for further study. Discussion of Findings: Research Question #1: What are the concerns of teachers at CPS about the implementation of the ITC? The concerns of the teachers at CPS are no different from what the literature says about the concerns experienced by teachers when implementing an educational change.Fullan,2007 identified quality and practicality as one of the characteristics of change that can act as a barrier or a facilitator to the implementation of an innovation. At CPS the teachers were concerned about the inefficient training they received prior to having to implement the ITC in their classrooms. Rushed workshops and inefficient trainers may have lead to the poor quality and reduced practicality of the innovation. Another concern of the teachers at the school is no stranger to the literature, a lack of clarity and feedback. The teachers felt that they needed someone they recommended a Curriculum personnel to visit them and give them a feedback as to whether or not they were doing the right thing. This concern shows that the innovation lacks clarity in which Fullan, 2007 says is essential for successful implementation. He also warns that teachers can interpret the innovation in an TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 58 oversimplified manner which may lead to false clarity. This was not apparent in the teachers at CPS. Support was found to be another concern that existed amongst the teachers at the school. The research found that they had very little support from the Ministry as they felt that they needed more coaches in the other subject areas in addition to the numeracy coach who visits the school two days of the week to assist with Mathematics. They also thought that they needed support from the Ministry through having feedback from Curriculum Personnel so as to ensure that they were doing the right thing. Fullan, 2007 spoke about external factors that affect implementation of an innovation such as the Ministry, which plays a crucial role in the successful implementation of that innovation. The teachers expressed that the principal’s support was little but it was the best that she could do. The importance of administrative support was mentioned in the literature review as one of the CBAM’s 12 principles of change. It states that administrative leadership is essential to long term change and the school is the centre for change. The importance of administrative support is also seen in Fullan’s Educational change model which looks at administration as a local factor that affects implementation. Teachers are also local factors according to Fullan, 2007, the teachers at CPS supported each other for a brief period of time, presently little team work exists and the three teachers work independently whilst trying to implement the ITC in their classrooms. This is supported again by the CBAM’s 12 Principles of Change that suggests that change is a team effort; if it does not exist at the school then clearly the teachers may have difficulties in dealing with the ITC. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 59 Last but not least time was found to be of a major concern for teachers at CPS who were implementing the ITC.As the CBAM’s Principles of Change says, change is a process, it takes time. The teachers were mandated to implement the ITC within a very short period of time thus creating a matter of concern for the teachers at the school. As Fullan, 2007 says change consists of three characteristics: a change in materials, strategies and beliefs. Hence the teachers needed time for all three of these changes to occur. Research Question #2: What are the stages of concern of teachers at CPS who are implementing the ITC? The CBAM which focuses on the personal side of change was used to assess the stages of concern of the teachers at CPS who are implementing the ITC. The findings revealed that the concerns of the teachers at CPS existed within three out of the four levels of the SoC of the CBAM. All three teachers were aware of the ITC as they were each implementing it in their classrooms and they had attended the workshops on different occasions. This may be the reason why no concerns were found at the unrelated level of the CBAM. However, it was evident as the findings can prove that the teachers had concerns at different stages of the CBAM. The teachers were found to have concerns at the informational, personal, task, consequences, collaboration and refocusing stages. However, each teacher had concerns of varying degrees and intensities. It was found that teacher A had concerns at the highest degree at the consequence stage as she expressed concerns over the content of the curriculum being too weighty for the children. Teacher B had concerns that existed within the task and impact levels. As teacher B expressed not having sufficient time to complete all the activities of the lesson plan. She was also concerned about the suitability of the new curriculum for her students at the school. Although Teacher C found the ITC as distracting to her students she predominantly has self and task TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 60 concerns as she also was struggling with having sufficient time to complete the lessons that were recommended in the Teacher’s Toolkit. According to the Literature having concerns at differing degrees is quite normal as Hall and Hord, 2006 says teachers can have more than one SoC at the same time but at different degrees and intensity.Harry,2007 also said that individuals experience concerns differently but there may be other factors that affect ones concerns such as support, proper training, poor administrative support and a lack of collegiality. Noteworthy is that all these factors exist at CPS. It is also important to note that the ITC is only two years old hence time can also play a major role in the type, degree and intensity of concern felt by the teachers at CPS. Research Question #3: What do the teachers think can be done to relieve some of their concerns in the implementation of the ITC? It was astonishing to note that the teachers had concerns at the refocusing stage of the CBAM as they were each able to provide suggestions as to what they think can be done to improve the implementation of the ITC. Teacher A saw that the innovation should have been a pilot project before being implemented into all the schools across Trinidad and Tobago. This view was also expressed by Teacher B who jokingly said, “It seems like all the schools are pilot schools.” Another suggestion that was made by both Teacher A and B was that follow-up workshops should be carried out throughout the term so that they would be able to get answers for questions of doubts that they encounter when implementing the ITC. Teacher B even went further and suggested that an in-house workshop should be done by Curriculum Officers .These workshops she added should include all the teachers of CPS along with the principal and the parents. This would help everyone to come to a unified understanding of the ITC. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 61 Another suggestion was the teachers felt that they needed more support from the Ministry of Education in the form of feedback from Curriculum Personnel. The teachers at CPS also suggested the use of more coaches in addition to the numeracy coach would be able to help in the other subject areas. Findings from studies done on coaching and its impact on teaching practices have found that coaching increases implementation or skill transfer, Cornett & Knight (2009). Conclusion: The findings at CPS suggest that the teachers concerns are very similar to what the literature has to say. They all shared similar concerns but at different degrees of intensity of the SoC. These concerns varied due to different factors such as a lack of training, support, clarity and time. Some of the suggestions made by the teachers that they think will be able to relieve their concerns were the provision of follow-up workshops, in-house training for all those involved, pilot testing and more support from the ministry in the form of feedback from curriculum personnel and provision of more coaches. Recommendations: The use of the SoC of the CBAM focuses on the feelings of teachers about an innovation. Research done internationally, regionally and locally have all prescribed the use of the CBAM to identify these feelings in the form of concerns. It is necessary that the concerns of the teachers at CPS be addressed so as to ensure the successful implementation of the ITC or any other innovation as a matter of fact. The findings from this Case Study at the CPS have been used as a guide for the following recommendations:  The process of change and the different feelings that people undergo during change is vital to understanding how one feels about an innovation. It is important that teachers TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 62 also understand these changes. Hence, teachers should be educated about the concerns theory prior to being introduced to the innovation.  The workshops should be better organised by having suitable trainers who would not only instruct the teachers in the different subject areas but also be able to demonstrate how they can integrate the different subject areas.  The workshops should not be directed to the teachers only but to all those involved especially the supervisors and the administrators. In this was the administrators will be better able to provide the necessary support for their teachers. Such as providing a more collaborative work environment that promotes collegiality and support amongst the teachers.  Follow-up workshops should also be included because the teachers would now be able to clear any doubt they may have encountered whilst implementing the new curriculum. Joyce and Showers (2002) have emphasized that stand alone workshops has a less than 5% chance of causing any change in teacher practice. They suggest ongoing professional development that will create a more professional learning community not only amongst teachers but also with the stakeholders as an effective approach in increasing the chance of change.  A support team should be set up so as to provide feedback to the teachers and any other assistance that they may need. Credano (2006) says that the implementation stage is not the end of educational reform. There should be some form of evaluative measures put in place so as to ensure that the expected outcomes are achieved. These evaluative measures can be used by the teachers to determine whether or not they are implementing the innovation in the way it should be. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 63  More time should have been given before the implementation of the ITC. It should have been a gradual change rather that a sudden one. Thus certain schools should have been acted as pilot schools before making the change nationally. Eberhart (2015) says that innovation and testing goes hand in hand or else there will be a lot of new ideas but none that will take you closer to improve education and learning. Recommendations for Further Study: After each interview the researcher wrote a reflection (Appendix G), where I was fully convinced that there really was a need to determine what the teachers’ concerns were at CPS in the implementation of the ITC. More so, I couldn’t help but wonder if these concerns were similar to other teachers in other schools who were also implementing the ITC. This research was also restricted to only one school hence further research can be done to determine if these concerns were similar across different context and settings. I also wondered if there was any relationship between the concerns of the teachers and factors such as age, sex, qualification, length of time teaching, etc, this can also be looked into for future research. Finally the SoC is just one aspect of the CBAM; research can also be done to determine the teachers’ levels of use LoU at the said CPS. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 64 References Barrow, D. (2011). Professional Education Development in the Context of Tobago;Teachers' Concerns with Change. Caribbean Curriculum, 43-67. Best, J. &. (2006). Research in Education (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Cambell, C. (1996). The Young Colonials:A Social History in Trinidad and Tobago 1834-1939. Mona: Jamaica: The Press U.W.I. Cetinkaya, B. (2012). Understanding Teachers in the Midst of Reform:Teachers' Concerns about Reformed Sixth Grade Mathematics Curriculum in Turkey. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics,Science and Technology Education, 155-166. Corbin,J. & Strauss,J.C.(2008).Basics of Qualitative research:techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory.Los Angeles,Calif:Sage Publications Cornett,J. & Knight,J.(2009).Research on coaching,in Jim Knight Ed.Coaching approaches and perspectives.Corwin Retrieved on May 23,2015 from http://nationalequityproject.org/research/research-coaching-as-an-education-reform- strategy Credano,A. (2006).Innovation and Change in Education,retrieved on May 23,2015 from http://www.warriorlibrarian.com/LIBRARY/innovate.html Creswell, J. (2012). Education research:Planning,conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage Publications. Creswell, J. (2013). Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design,Choosing Among Five Approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage . TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 65 Eberhart,M. (2015). 5 innovative models to education.Retrieved on May 23,2015 from https://www.devex.com/news/5-innovative-models-to-improve-education-outcomes- 86046 Education, M. o. (2013). Primary Curriculum. Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago: Curriculum Planning and Development Division. Fullan, M. (1991). The new meaning of educational change . London: Cassell. Fullan, M. (2001). The new meaning of educational change (3rd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. Fullan, M. (2007). The New Meaning of Educational Change.Fourth Edition. New York and London: Teachers College Press. Fullar, F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptualization. American Educational Research Journal 6 (2), 207-226. Harry, S. (2008). Teachers concerns about CAPE Communication Studies innovation. Recoceptualising the agenda for education in the Caribbean:Proceedings of the 2007 Biennial Cross-Campus Conference in Education,April 23-26,School of Education,UWI (pp. 203-205). St. Augustine,Trinidad and Tobago: School of Education,UWI. Hord, H. &. (2006). Implementing Change,Patterns,Principles and Potholes. Boston: Pearson. Joyce,B.R. & Showers,B. (2002).Student achievment through staff development,3rd ed. New York:Longman. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 66 Lake, K. (1994). Integrated Curriculum. U.S Department of Education: Office of Educational Research and Improvement. Leung, A. (2008). Teacher Concerns about Curriculum Reform:The Case of Project Learning. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 75-97. Loucks, S. (1979). A concerns-based approach to curriculum change. Educational Leadership, 37,121-215. MacMath, S. (2011). Teaching and Learning in an Integrated Curriculum Setting:A Casestudy of Classroom Practice. Toronto. Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative Research:A Guide to Design and Implementation. San Francisco:CA: Jossey-Bass. Miles,M. (1964).Innovation in education.New York:Bereau of Publications,Teachers College,Columbia University Patton, M. (2002). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods ( 3rd ed.). California: Thousand Oaks:Sage. 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. Rogers, E. (1995). Diffusion of Innovations (4th ed.). New York: Free Press. Roofe-Bowen, C. (2007). The Revised Primary Curriculum in Jamaican Primary Schools:Grade One Teachers' Levels of Use and Concerns. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 67 Snyder, J. &. (1992). Curriculum Implementation In P.W Jackson. Handbook of Research on Curriculum, 402-435. Wang, W. (2013). Teachers' Stages of Concern and Levels of Use of a Curriculum Innovation in China:A Case Study. International Journal of English Language Teaching. Wiles,J.W. & Bondi J.C.(1998).Curriculum development: a guide to practice. Boston: Pearson Yin, R. (2008). Case study research:Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 68 Appendix A Letter to the principal of CPS requesting permission to conduct the study. The Principal, Coroville Primary School Monday, 9th February, 2015 Dear Madame, I am kindly asking your permission to conduct a research at your school. This is for the sole purpose of my completion of the Master’s of Education (with a concentration in Curriculum), programme at the University of the West Indies. The title of my research is “An investigation into the teachers’ concerns about the implementation of an Integrated Thematic Curriculum at Coroville Primary School in the St. Patrick Educational District of Trinidad and Tobago.” My purpose at your school is to interview your infant one, two and first standard teachers over the course of the month of February. Your kind consideration will be greatly appreciated. Yours Respectfully, __________________________________ Cynthia Sakawat- Lemessy. (Assistant Teacher Primary) TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 69 Appendix B Letter to participants requesting their permission to be interviewed Mr. /Mrs. A, B & C, Coroville Primary School, St. Patrick District. 10th February, 2015. Dear Sir/Miss, As you are aware, I am a Master of Education student of the University of the West Indies, with a concentration in Curriculum. I am required to conduct a research study as part fulfilment for the completion of this degree. My research is based on the investigation about the concerns of the teachers who are implementing the Integrated Thematic Curriculum at your school. As such I require your participation in conducting this research. Your participation will entail an interview in which you will be asked about your concerns about the implementation of the ITC. You will also be required to review and confirm what you said during the interview so as to ensure validity and reliability. I can assure you that confidentiality and anonymity will be kept throughout the entire research and you are free to withdraw from the study at any time.Your participation will be fully appreciated. Yours respectfully, __________________________________ Cynthia Sakawat-Lemessy TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 70 Appendix C Interview Protocol Time of Interview: Date: Place: Interviewer: Interviewee: Warm Up Questions: 1. How long have you been in the teaching profession? 2. How long have you been a teacher at this school? 3. How long have you been teaching your present class? 4. What is your understanding of the ITC? Other Questions 1. What are some of the concerns you are faced with in implementing the ITC? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Do you think those concerns are due to personal reasons, professional issues, students issues and or curriculum issues? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. What do you think can be done to improve the implementation of the ITC? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 71 4. Can you explain how these suggestions can be used to alleviate your personal, student, professional and or curriculum issues? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Do you have any other concerns/suggestions/comments at this time? Please state below in complete sentences. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 72 Appendix D Coded Interview-Research Question #1 Transcribed Interview of Teacher B Codes I - How long have you been in the teaching profession? B – Fourteen plus years. I – How long have you been a teacher at this school? B – The same amount of time, fourteen plus years. I – How long have you been teaching your present class? B – Let me see I spent two years in standard three and two years in first year and the rest in second year so that leaves a total of ten years in second year. I - What is your understanding of the Integrated Thematic Curriculum? B - Well first to begin the idea of how you will do a theme before is not the same idea in that each level has particular themes to work with for each term. Whereas in the past you might have planned your theme let’s say Carnival and carry it across is not like that. So getting used to the idea that it is not what you would have planned was challenging at first. I - What are some of your concerns in the implementation of the ITC? B –Well part of doing the degree when we did curriculum development one of the things they said which makes it work is feedback and checks. And using schools really as pilot schools but it seems as if all schools are pilot schools trying to implement this thing. There are no real checks like from a Curriculum Officer or from somebody coming to say well how you going? When we went on the workshop we shared emails but I have not received anything from anybody. We shared emails because at that point in time it was sounding nice it was sounding fun,so we would share best practices but nothing really materialised. On facebook they New strategy Feedback/Support Lack of communication TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 73 have this group they set up, Teachers Practices. The person who set up the site is doing it. You could see she is doing it because she would put up stuff that she did in terms of Art & Craft. She had organised a workshop with Mr. H on how to use the books the Toolkit and stuff but I didn’t go. So some schools, the majority well let me don’t say the majority the people who I know who I speak to they have not touched it. They not bothering theyself with this thing. I-So they are not doing the ITC at all? B- From what I gather from them they not trying it really. Some schools are trying it to a point and some to me not trying it at all. I – Are you trying the ITC? B- I am trying it but not entirely .Not entirely in terms of the amount of timeframe they give you. Like in the Toolkit they will have a topic and they will have it for three hours or one to two. I don’t do that. I take the outcomes that I could apply to my classroom situation and I do those. If I spend two days on a topic then I take two days. Like how this have Mapping Your Immediate World once a week estimated time, I do mines in like two days three days for the most .But I am trying it. There are some benefits to it but my concern is you not sure if you doing it correctly because there isn’t anything set up to say to check on it to see if you getting through and you see the areas that you not really getting a chance to do one of the main areas is the Music.Having no prior skill in that. I – Did you get any training? B- Well whilst you there at the workshop you feeling like you know what to do. The man run through beats and rhythm but it sort of stayed in short term memory. Time you come back in the classroom and you want to try and implement this thing now you know you can’t really remember. I –So they need follow up workshops? B-They need it they need it. They need follow ups. The cd that I am using is something I got from you all for SEA you know. Management Knowledge Clarity/Training Follow up workshops. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 74 I-The CAC Music cd? B- Yeah because they said it is the same thing we would have to use. I-Or okay. B-I think Miss N. made a copy and that is what I have. I-In terms of resources, do you have enough resources? B-Well the resources start to come fast and furious but time to get down with it. I started using some last term like the linking cubes in Maths that is basically what I have been using really. I-Uh huh. B-Some of the things that came for Language I ent really get in depth with them yet like the Reading rods and thing. I know how to use it but I ent get to it as yet. But they have the resources there. I-Okay B-Because like in the Agri- Science we have to do Ornamental Fishes so the fact that they sent an aquarium I trying to set up so I could have that on display in the classroom and take it from there. I-What personal concerns you think you had in implementing the new curriculum? B-Well first to begin you got the sense you were interested. There was to be no scheme, no scheme, no scheme everything was coming. When you got the books at first in my mind a toolkit was the resources, the Toolkit is the book with the lesson plans (laughing).So okay you get these books the Curriculum Guide when you check it through they just put new headings on the same information from the old syllabus, right. They just put new headings like ‘Elaborations’ whatever. If you take your time and read it through and you look at the old syllabus it is the same objectives and stuff you seeing. So getting used to the book was challenging personally because you have to make time to go through these books to really do this Time Resources TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 75 thing efficiently. Then the whole talk was still being banded about no scheme no scheme, the supervisors on the other hand not, they don’t have much information about this new curriculum so when they come they still expecting to see a written up scheme with weeks and we were told something else in the workshops. They said we don’t have to write it we don’t have to write it because the book coming set up with everything. Another shortfall, my first term in doing it just using the book there were topics in Maths I didn’t do because the Toolkit has it set out in terms of the subjects and what you suppose to look at. So now under Mathematics you have topics that weren’t done at all and that took me like the whole first term to realise aye it don’t have this it don’t have that it don’t have the other. So now you being told it did not cover all Maths topics. They using the term ‘stand alone’ of the topics which you still have to teach. So by following the Toolkit I missed out on some categories because of how they just put certain concepts and you thinking that is all you have to do. Then you realise no you still have to teach all your Maths in here and outside of here, you still have to do it. What in the Toolkit and still use your Curriculum Guide to see what are your other topics that you should do. I-So it really is about familiarising yourself with the book and then you will know which way to go. B-Yeah This didn’t have anything on number, so this caused some confusion for me at first during the first term. I -Did you have enough support? B-Some colleagues we tried to work it out together but we still doing it our own way from our understanding and support from other colleagues. I got something from a school in Port-of Spain, couldn’t work at all here because they went in dept. They wrote up everything Spanish everything, everything, everything. But maybe it could work in their system I couldn’t work it here because you could see it wasn’t a school with one class there were several classes. Like there were two infants whatever so they would be working together. So how we are just one first year one Support from Supervisors Quality of Curriculum Guide Workload Confusion Support TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 76 second year one standard one. It had some difficulty for us to link together we could link like the amm… Values, Art & Craft and thing we could link together but outside of that and to a point the Social Studies and maybe the Agri-Science.But like the Maths and the Language they still separate. I-What about administrative support? B -We got some help in that we are given the stuff. Some persons lock away the books and when they hear the workshops then they give the teachers.I don’t know if I could mention when I went on the workshop for the standard two’s most persons had the books when they came on the workshop. Some people had already started planning the normal way so there was alot of confusion,what I will do now I can’t do this from some of the schools that came and then one or two of the schools had the document was kinda familiar with it so they were kinda flowing but the majority of people on that workshop everything was greek for them and they didn’t know which way to go. I-What about issues with students did they make it difficult to implement? B-Well not really, it student friendly in the sense that you could see a linkage but yet still how it sort of hands on some of them might stay within the play and not get the concept. They could get carried away with it, so you have to stop the play and let them know that this is the concept you trying to get across here. I-Is that difficult to do seeing that they are at that age,second year? B-Huh huh there are some difficulties because of the varying maturing ages. It have some who are a little more mature so they know that this is just not play and there are some who at the level where play is still their life. I-Are there any other curriculum issues? B-With the introduction of the Spanish I am a bit comfortable with it because I did Spanish at UTT. They told us there you don’t really have to teach it in isolation. You integrate it into their conversation eg days of the week. Administrative support Training/Workshop Student discipline TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 77 I-Is there anything else about this curriculum that provided you with challenges? B-You still find the subjects that they thought that you will do they are still suffering such as the Agri-Science in the sense that you not getting the chance to do it. I-So time is an issue? B- Time is very important because you have 9 core subjects. I-Do you think about how the ITC impacts the students? B-It is beneficial to the students, but the old and the new way can still work. I-So you think there should be a balance between both the old and the new way? B-Huh huh.it is beneficial you if you have the time, the resources, the space so like maybe if we get the thing set up outside and you could go out and take your time and you take it out and you put them in groups you will get satisfaction and learning out of it. Some schools don’t have physical structure, we creating it now so that you could make it easier so that we could see all that we have and how to use it, having it packed away really does not help .And some people still feel that it must be packed away and not taken out. Ministry sent it, is not really to be used. I-What do you think can be done to alleviate some of your concerns? B-You see how we have a Maths Coach that has helped a lot because he has given us a lot of support. Breaking it down and making it clearer. So if we could get follow up for the main areas eg Language, because your Science and Social Studies you could follow the theme and do that. So if they send somebody for Language and that person giving you guidance like what we getting for the Maths you will make your way better. I-What about training? Time Time Benefits of ITC Support/Training/Coach Lack of training TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 78 B-The training was too short and some of the people who came to do the training had their own ideas what they came to do. It was in line with the Toolkit to a point but they used secondary school teachers who were specialists in their areas for eg. Art and Craft they thought they just came to explain some little thing to the primary school teacher. Some of them did not really understand the integration so like when we did the Art & Craft the person was just giving us ideas of things we could do .Not really relating it to this, how you going to integrate it in Maths, Writing etc. She just did things you could do in Art & Craft. There were Curriculum Officers there who tried to guide the workshop but it didn’t mesh. I-Is there anything else you think could be done B-I think we as a staff should do in house training like a workshop, everybody because it going across the board from infants to five.This is what I think will help us. Get on to the Curriculum Division ask for the people and try and have a series of workshops it will help everybody it will bring all of us on the same page from administration right down,it will help everybody. I-What do you think can be done for time? B-I don’t know,I don’t know what could be done because you just have the best of intentions and then when you reach home… There should be in house workshops for the teachers and the parents because if we have to implement the new test report parents,we need to understand it and parents need to understand it there are a lot of things to read different skills because there is one school I know is using both the old and the new test report books. They ticking the boxes but they still putting a sheet from the old test report book with marks and placement to satisfy the parents so I feel the same thing we will have to do here. I-Any other comment, suggestion etc? B-I feel we need support from all stake holders about this new curriculum and what is the real focus for education. Because right now like we still don’t know what it is. Most of the groups eg. the PTA they just get silent. TTUTA does just make a fuss then you don’t hear them. As usual we make the 9 days fuss and then we go back to normal. When I was at UTT Mr. Simmons will say what Solutions-‘In house training’ Informing parents Support from all stakeholders TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 79 might work in POS might not work in Cedros. Because yes when you feel you getting help with lesson plans when you really get down to it, it might not be feasible here. I-Thank you Miss B for your time let me assure you that what you have said to me is strictly confidential. Thank you very much. B- You’re welcome Miss, I hope what I said will be helpful. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 80 Appendix E Coded Transcript in Tabular Form CODES & CATEGORIES THEMES new strategy knowledge training follow-up workshops Training clarity confusion uncertainty little feedback quality of Curriculum Guide Feedback/Clarity support administrative support numeracy coach lack of communication support from Ministry collegiality support from supervisors Support insufficient time workload too much activities Time TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 81 Appendix F Coded Interview-Research Questions #2 & 3 CODES & CATEGORIES Stages of Concern Emerging Themes Poor Workshops and Training Teacher A: The workshop left me more confused. Teacher B: The majority of the people on that workshop,everything was Greek to them and they didn’t know which way to go. Teacher C: The workshop was a waste of time. INFORMATIONAL SELF Clarity and Quality Teacher A: The Toolkit and the Curriculum Guide are not corresponding in some areas. Teacher B: When you look at the Curriculum Guide closely they just put new headings on the same information from the old syllabus. Teacher C: Here nah is the same old objectives they put under new headings. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 82 Poor Communication Teacher A: My colleagues and I discuss it but…(chuckles)…you know. Teacher B: We shared emails at the workshop but nothing ever materialised. Teacher C: Some colleagues we tried to work it out together but we still doing our thing. Workload Teacher A: How are you going to do all of those activities? Teacher B: Then you realise you still have to teach all the Maths in here (pointing to the Curriculum Guide) and outside of here. Teacher C: There is too much paper work now. PERSONAL Confusion Teacher A: It was more guessing. It was for you now as the teacher to best cut and fit and try to make it work. Teacher B: My concern is you not sure you doing it correctly. Teacher C: I didn’t even know that the Curriculum Guide left out some topics that I had to teach on my own. Time Teacher A: MANAGEMENT TASK TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 83 Time management is a problem. How are you going to do all those activities within one lesson? Teacher B: You still find the subjects that they thought that you will start doing being left behind eg Agri-Science you just not getting the chance to do it. Teacher C: This Toolkit have too much activities to do within the time they give for a lesson, just too much .O gosh they will kill me! Resources Teachers A: One of my major concerns is you need to provide the resources in order for the children to do the activities. Teacher B: I ent get to it as yet, but they have the resources. Teacher C: I must admit first time in all my years teaching I see so much things come here. Physical Space Teacher B: We don’t have physical space for all those resources. Teacher C : All the resources packing up in the office we need to build shelves or something to store all those resources. TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 84 Management Teacher A: Well I look in the Toolkit and I try to pull out what is not in the Curriculum Guide and I combine it together. Teacher B: I take the outcomes that I can apply to my classroom situation and I do those. Teacher C: The numeracy coach gave me some suggestions which I use. Positive Impact on Students Teacher A: They are very excited so I think it has a positive impact on the students. Teacher B: It student friendly in that you have a lot of hands on activities. Teacher C: This thing making the children feel they playing and so they enjoy the lessons. CONSEQUENCE IMPACT TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 85 Negative Impact Teacher A: I find the content to be weighty and some of the things beyond the reach of the children. Teacher B: …but yet some of them might stay within the play and not get the concept. Teacher C: However,to me it making them more disruptive. I prefer the old way. Support from Ministry Teacher A: No support from Ministry, they just tell us we have to teach it, this is the new thing now and we have to implement it. Teacher B: There are no real checks like from a Curriculum Officer or from somebody coming to say well how you going? Teacher C: They send a numeracy coach but he could only help with the Maths what about the other subjects? COLLABORATION Support from Administration Teacher A: Well she does still pass and ask if everything okay. Teacher B: TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 86 We got some help in that we are given the resources , some of them like to lock it away. Teacher C: If I don’t understand this thing to good far less for she? Support from Colleagues Teacher A: Communication with other colleagues helps to a point. Teacher B: We tried to come together but everybody just end up doing their own thing. Teacher C: I does work with everybody, I does ask Miss A and B whenever I confused. Improvements Teacher A: More workshops, there should be follow up workshops for sure. Teacher B: There should be in house workshops for both the teacher and the parents. It will help everybody it will bring all of us on the same page from administration right down. Teacher C: They need to revise this thing carry it back to the drawing board. It was too rushed it should be implemented into pilot schools first. REFOCUSING TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 87 Appendix G Reflection on Interviews Teacher A My interview with Teacher A was done very early, in the month of February. I had informed the teacher about my research and I had given her, along with the other two teachers, a copy of the letter requesting their permission to be interviewed. I must mention that I did not inform Teacher A that she will be audio-taped during the interview. I made a mental note to inform the other two teachers of this prior to interviewing them. At the beginning of the interview she was a bit nervous as she kept glancing at the cellular phone, recording the interview. Very soon however, she became engrossed in the questions that were being asked and she became comfortable for the rest of the interview. Teacher B Teacher B was interviewed almost a month and a half later as I wanted to analyze the data collected from my interview with Teacher A before interviewing Teachers B and C. Analysis of the data was stalled for some time because I had turned my attention to my presentation and a brief bout of illness. The guided questions used to interview Teacher B were somewhat different from the guided questions used to question Teacher A. This is because of my findings from the TEACHERS CONCERNS ABOUT THE ITC 88 interview with Teacher B as well as a small change in my research questions. Teacher B was very vocal and quite comfortable during the interview. Teacher C Teacher C was the last teacher to be interviewed, however, due to time; the researcher did not analyze the interview with Teacher B before interviewing Teacher C. Hence, the guided questions used to interview Teacher C were similar to the ones the researcher used to interview Teacher B. Teacher C was reluctant about being interviewed far less being audio taped. However, with further explanation of the purpose of the interview and the intention of the researcher, Teacher C agreed to be interviewed. Teacher C has the most experience of the three teachers who were interviewed in working at CPS. During the interview Teacher C was very honest and she kept asking if I was positive that I will erase the audio recording when I had completed my analysis of the interview. Indeed my interaction with these three teachers has convinced me further that there is truly a need to investigate what are the concerns of these teachers implementing the ITC and the teachers themselves are the best persons to suggest possible solutions to their concerns.