Author:
Sven Paulus

Doctoral defence: Piret Viirpalu „Teachers’ feelings of curriculum ownership: Estonian schoolteachers as curriculum developers and curriculum users“

On 31st of October at 14.00 Piret Viirpalu will defend her doctoral thesis „Teachers’ feelings of curriculum ownership: Estonian schoolteachers as curriculum developers and curriculum users“

Supervisors: 
Professor emeritus Edgar Krull (cand, University of Tartu)
Associate Professor Rain Mikser (PhD, University of Tartu)

Opponent:   
Professor emeritus Eero Ropo (PhD, Tampere University)

Summary

Research results have shown that the success or failure of curriculum innovations largely depends on teachers' perceptions, expectations, and ownership of these innovations. Consequently, teachers must understand the reasons for curriculum policy changes and the ideas reflected in them and feel ownership towards them. However, teachers tend to resist externally initiated innovations because they need a sense of ownership of the planned innovations. To increase teachers' feelings of curriculum ownership, teachers have been involved in making decisions related to the curriculum; they have been given the status of curriculum developer and curriculum policy maker. However, the officially granted status of autonomous curriculum developer does not necessarily ensure that teachers act independently or experience a sense of ownership of the curriculum. Neoliberal standardisation practices have proven to be a significant obstacle in developing teachers' feelings of curriculum ownership. State exams and international comparative studies prevent teachers from acting as autonomous professionals who create and implement a curriculum that considers their beliefs. The research started with creating a questionnaire and piloting it to study Estonian teachers' experiences with the use and development of curricula, their preparation for curriculum development, and expectations for the best curriculum solutions. The results of the subsequent survey of a representative sample of teachers in Estonian general education schools revealed a contradiction between the teachers' curriculum ideals and practical expectations. Teachers expected a great deal of freedom in curricular decisions but, at the same time, preferred rather detailed curriculum guidelines. Teachers' feelings of curriculum ownership were also reflected in their definitions. Almost half of the respondents defined the curriculum as a mandatory, prescriptive document that limits their feelings of ownership. Many teachers, as curriculum users, developers and solution providers, do not feel a sense of ownership of the curriculum. In the doctoral thesis, a recommendation is made to make the curriculum development process more personal - the curriculum should not be an externally created document; teachers must feel that they are represented in the curriculum development process and that the curriculum they use is theirs.

Location: 
Senate Hall of the University of Tartu (Ülikooli 18)

URL: https://hdl.handle.net/10062/105276  

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