Transitions in Curriculum Reform: Implications for teaching and learning
Abstract
This paper draws upon research aimed at analyzing the ways in which the
stakeholders look at curriculum reform; identifying the perceived changes in the
transitional and the new curricula from the perspective of the stakeholders; and getting
to know the ways in which the stakeholders look at the development of the new
curriculum.
An exploratory study was carried out with 7 stakeholders, namely the General
Director of the Ministry of Education, the Dean of the Faculty of Education, the Head
of Department, thee permanent members of staff and one guest lecturer. Data were
collected through semi-structured interviews.
Findings suggest that the participants held a positive view of the new curriculum.
The main positive aspects were the existence of a new curriculum itself; team teaching;
the focus on students; fewer subjects per semester. As far as the negative aspects are
concerned, the lack of relevance of some subjects, the lack of facilities to support the
teaching and learning process and the lack of human resources especially educators
were identified.
Paper proposal
Curriculum reform is a complex and multifaceted process. It implies a wide array
of factors and dimensions starting with the process of elaboration and design until its
implementation and evaluation. In order to capture its complex variables and
dimensions, it is important to take a multi-perspective and multi-dimension stance. This
was the starting point to explore the main changes and challenges associated with the
curriculum reform in East-Timor, and particularly at the English Department of the
Faculty Education, National University of Timor-Lorosa´e. This paper draws upon
research aimed at analyzing the ways in which the stakeholders look at curriculum
reform; identifying the perceived changes in the transitional and the new curricula from
the perspective of the stakeholders; and getting to know the ways in which the
stakeholders look at the development of the new curriculum.
An exploratory study was carried out with 7 stakeholders, namely the General
Director of the Ministry of Education, the Dean of the Faculty of Education, the Head
of Department, thee permanent members of staff and one guest lecturer. Data were
collected through semi-structured interviews.
Findings suggest that the participants held a positive view of the new curriculum.
The main positive aspects were the existence of a new curriculum itself; team teaching;
the focus on students; fewer subjects per semester. As far as the negative aspects are
concerned, the lack of relevance of some subjects, the lack of facilities to support the
teaching and learning process and the lack of human resources especially educators
were identified. The main differences between the new and the old curriculum related
to the number of subjects included; the nature and focus of the subjects; the perspective
of the curriculum and role of student; the role of pedagogy and the role of faculty.
The participants spoke of issues such as insufficient budget, human resources and
national security as the main constraints, as well as team teaching and collaboration,
students’ centered teaching, lesson planning, newness of some subjects and lack of
materials and equipment as the main challenges they had to deal with. Issues such as
communication, evaluation methods and support were also referred to by the
participants as aspects to focus on the implementing the new curriculum. One of the
main implications of the study relates to training and professional development
opportunities for staff.