Hornfay Cherng
Department of Elementary Education National Hsinchu Teacher College
Chi-Shun Hwang
Yun-Lo Elementary School Taipei City
This study examined two qualitative case studies of teachers’ participation in curriculum reform. One American teacher and two Taiwanese teachers were compared and analyzed in terms of their experiences in the curriculum change processes. Dewey’s theory of experience was employed as the interpretive framework. The findings suggest that curriculum reform should not be viewed as an end to which the teacher is seen as a means. Instead, we argue that curriculum reform should be pursued only when teachers’ professional needs are met throughout the process. Teachers might take various forms of resistance against the reform policy if their needs are neglected. Unfortunately, teachers often feel exploited or alienated in the reform process due to such negligence. Providing teachers with a nurturing environment for continuous professional
growth is more fundamental and practical than simply trying to reform the curriculum every now and again. Teachers are often blamed for being unprepared or uncommitted when reform efforts fail, but people seldom ask why teachers are not prepared and not committed. We seem to pay much attention to what our children need, a primary reason for most reforms to occur. However, we often forget that it is the teachers who must have what we want our children to have first before they can deliver it.
Keywords: curriculum reform, qualitative inquiry, John Dewey, teachers’ professional development, comparative education