Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work

Mukaro Joe Phaeton; Michèle Stears

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

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Mukaro Joe Phaeton ¹ ^* , Michèle Stears ¹

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¹ University of KwaZulu-Natal^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The research reported on here is part of a larger study exploring the alignment of the intended, implemented and attained curriculum with regard to practical work in the Zimbabwean A-level Biology curriculum. In this paper we focus on the alignment between the intended and implemented A-Level Biology curriculum through the lens of teachers’ interpretation of the curriculum.

Material and methods:
This interpretive study sought to understand how teachers interpret a particular curriculum design. Participants were five teachers drawn from four High schools in Zimbabwe.

Results:
The findings show a misalignment between the intended and implemented curriculum caused by teachers’ misinterpretation of the intended curriculum. Teachers lacked knowledge of Science Process Skills and could not interpret them from the curriculum documents. They interpreted the curriculum through the examinations and were reluctant to engage with the curriculum in order to understand the objectives for practical work.

Conclusions:
The poor design of the curriculum contributed to this reluctance. This misalignment has implications for curriculum design and implementation.

Keywords

curriculum alignment
intended curriculum
practical work
science process skills

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 13, Issue 3, March 2017, 723-740

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

Publication date: 08 Dec 2016

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Article Downloads: 17873

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How to cite this article

APA

Phaeton, M. J., & Stears, M. (2017). Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(3), 723-740. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

Vancouver

Phaeton MJ, Stears M. Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(3):723-40. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

AMA

Phaeton MJ, Stears M. Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2017;13(3), 723-740. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

Chicago

Phaeton, Mukaro Joe, and Michèle Stears. "Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2017 13 no. 3 (2017): 723-740. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

Harvard

Phaeton, M. J., and Stears, M. (2017). Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 13(3), pp. 723-740. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a

MLA

Phaeton, Mukaro Joe et al. "Exploring the Alignment of the Intended and Implemented Curriculum Through Teachers’ Interpretation: A Case Study of A-Level Biology Practical Work". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 13, no. 3, 2017, pp. 723-740. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00640a