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3.Learning Without Tears? The Relativity of a Curriculum Reform and Its Impact
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
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3 Learning Without Tears? The Relativity of a Curriculum Reform and Its Impact Mun-ling Lo INTRODUCTION 'Education i s a comple x system , an d it s refor m i s eve n mor e complex ' (Fullan and Miles 1995 , p. 405). Failure to recognize this results in what Elmore describes as the basic pattern of reform efforts: 'grand pretensions, faulty execution , puny results' (Elmore 1997, p. 241). Educational refor m is also unpredictable an d sometime s irrational becaus e it involves huma n beings creating their own realitie s that ma y be incongruent with those of policy-makers. Thus, educational chang e is a process of makin g sens e of the multipl e realitie s o f peopl e involve d i n th e implementatio n proces s (Lighthall 1973 ; Fullan 1989 , p . 184) . Interpersonal an d organizationa l aspects o f plannin g fo r chang e hav e bee n identifie d a s two o f th e majo r barriers t o chang e (Lindblo m an d Cohe n 1979 , p . 55) . Ver y often , educational reform s fail , no t o n ground s o f lac k o f knowledg e o f th e content of change, or the goal of the reform, bu t due to the neglect of the human factor s involved . Thi s chapte r explore s wha t happene d whe n a school tried to carry out curriculum reform (Targe t Oriented Curriculum / TOC) i n a n attemp t t o mak e sens e o f th e dynamic s o f chang e i n th e process of reform . I a m full y awar e o f th e numerou s factor s an d variable s (Lindblo m 1959; Sarason 1978 , p. 375; Fullan 1989 , p. 187) that ar e present in any educational reform . However , a s Allison (1971) argues , what we see and judge to be important 'depend[s ] not only on the evidence but also on the "conceptual lenses" through which we look at the evidence' (p. 2). In this chapter, I will no t attemp t t o lis t ou t th e plethor a o f factor s tha t hav e been identifie d a s barrier s t o implementation . Rather , m y goa l i s t o understand through the conceptual lenses of the participants the interaction that occurre d amon g thre e elements , namely, the curriculum reform , th e school's organization an d culture, and teachers' learning and professiona l development. Thi s perspectiv e recognize s tha t th e succes s o r failur e o f a reform effor t i s a relative matter. It depends on what is in focus and what is considered t o b e important . Consequently , w e nee d t o b e sensitiv e t o the unintended outcomes of a reform, as an unsuccessful attemp t at refor m in th e directio n planne d ma y resul t i n succes s i n fosterin g change s i n unanticipated areas , such a s teachers' professional developmen t a s in the case study to b e described below . The interaction s o f th e thre e distinc t element s which emerge d i n this study ar e critical : firstly , th e unintende d o r unplanne d feature s o f curriculum reform , specificall y it s impac t o n teachers ' professiona l development; secondly , the changing organizational structur e an d cultur e of the school as a response to curriculum reform ; an d thirdly, the impact of the culture of the organization generally and specifically the style of the school hea d o n teachers ' professiona l development . Accordingly , thi s chapter start s wit h a revie w o f th e literatur e o n organizationa l models , and teacher thinking and development, which are crucial to understanding the arguments that I shall develop. Then I shall give a brief background of the contex t i n whic h th e refor m i n th e case-stud y schoo l too k place , before describin g th e cas e stud y an d discussin g th e lesson s tha t ca n b e learnt. EXPLANATORYFRAMEWORK S The perspective s use d...