Curriculum implementation in a small and isolated school district

• Main Author: Paulin, Robert Stanley
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26586

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze program implementation in a small and geographically isolated school district within the province of British Columbia. Specifically, the study focused on the sources of help, the difficulties and the reasons for decisions during the implementation of a new social studies program for grades one through three, and a new science program for grade ten, during the 1983 to 1985 school terms. Taped interviews were conducted with all the teachers and administrators ( n = 22 ) who had involvement with these programs. The transcribed tapes were then analyzed for major themes around the three categories: sources of help, difficulties, and decisions. The main sources of help were the textbooks, curriculum materials and whatever limited equipment and supplies were immediately at hand in the isolated communities. The lack of time and classroom resources; severe communication problems; and the nature of multigraded teaching loads were the major difficulties. Implementation decisions were made on pragmatic grounds, including time and resources available, multigraded classroom configurations, and the perceived abilities of the children to be taught. The teacher was the implementer and decisions were largely a matter of that teacher's priorities. In this small and isolated district, the role of the teacher was paramount, as there were few support services and personnel available. Implementation put stress on the teachers' time for planning and experimenting with program changes in multigraded classrooms. No comparisons were drawn between this case study and other small or large school districts. Rather, implications were drawn for the improvement of program implementation in this case. === Education, Faculty of === Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of === Graduate