Negotiating the New Zealand English curriculum : a qualitative model of eight secondary English teachers' classroom practice and response to the English curriculum.

• Main Author: Morrison, Jennifer L.
• Language: en
• Published: University of Canterbury. School of Educational Studies and Human Development 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2295

Negotiating the New Zealand English Curriculum, opening with a contextualised look at the history and current educational environment surrounding secondary practice under the English Curriculum, describes how secondary English classroom practice in forms 3 to 7 relates to the principles of the English Curriculum set out in the Ministry of Education document, English in the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry, 1994). Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with eight Canterbury teachers were used to provide the basis for a qualitative analysis, and use is also made of current literature, evaluative studies in the area, school documents and key figures in the English Curriculum development process and debate. Because it was found that the English Curriculum does not to impact participants' individual pedagogy directly and that, in this context, classroom practice and response to the English Curriculum are intimately connected, the researcher presents a Model ofthe Factors Influencing Classroom Practice and Response to the English Curriculum. Factors in the Model include Experience, Management Purposes, Consciousness of Professional Environment, Teacher Interests, Context Constraints, Students and Teacher Beliefs. Students and Teacher Beliefs, two of the more significant factors, are examined with more detail in individual chapters. The author concludes with a theoretical discussion of the curriculum-practice relationship, as well as a brief look at implications of the Model for professional development.