This study focuses on the different ways in which teachers relate their situational agency and professional assignment to the national curriculum content and curriculum dilemmas. It builds theoretically on transactional realism and empirically on analyses of interviews with teachers, exploring the nature of teacher agency during the enactment of a…

There is a move in some countries, including England, towards less curriculum control by government. This stands in contrast to a national curriculum which may be universally applied in all schools within a state/country. National curricula tend to use either content-based (subject mastery) or process (skills)-based models. More localised…

The aim of this study was to implement and evaluate the instructional design prepared as consumer-oriented and based upon interdisciplinary curriculum. In this study, case study approach, which is one of the qualitative research patterns, was employed. Observations, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data. For analyzing the…

Shared sense-making is suggested to be key for curriculum reform. "Shared sense-making" entails constructing a collective understanding of the meaning for reform, its significance and its implications for schools, through dialogue and negotiation across the levels of the educational system. This study explored changes in hands-on…

School-based curriculum innovations have been widely implemented in Chinese kindergartens since the turn of the new millennium. However, in the absence of professional guidance, Chinese kindergartens have been forced to "ride a blind horse" when developing curriculum. The aim of this study was to understand the nature of and mechanisms…

This study forms part of a wider comparative research project investigating the mechanisms and outcomes of school-based curriculum (SBC) development in kindergartens between the two neighbouring cities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, under the umbrella of 'one country, two systems'. This comparison will help to clarify how sociocultural contexts may…

Teaching experience has been identified as an important factor in pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development. However, little is known about "how" experienced teachers may draw on their previous experience to facilitate their PCK development. This study examined how two experienced high school biology teachers approached the…

Liberal Studies was initially introduced as a non-statutory subject in Hong Kong in 1992. It then confronted intense opposition and a bumpy implementation path before securing mandatory status in the new senior secondary curriculum introduced in 2009. Recently, this core subject has been under review. Whilst it is considered to promote students'…

Despite recognition of the importance of a developmentally appropriate approach to sexuality education, there is little direct guidance on how to do this. This study employed in-depth interviews with experienced sexuality educators and developers of sexuality education materials to identify how this concept is understood and applied in the field.…

This paper reports findings from a recent large-scale survey of Physical Education (PE) teachers' perceptions of teaching dance and compares them to results of a study completed 10 years previously [MacLean, J. (2007). A longitudinal study to ascertain the factors that impact on the confidence of undergraduate physical education student teachers…

Arts education in Western Australian primary schools consist of learning opportunities outlined by mandated curriculum. However, assumptions underlying this curriculum involving access, resources and support impact schools' capacity to implement the curriculum without them being adequately addressed by the written curriculum. Drawing on the policy…

Systems of monitoring and control have left many educators and organisations in the field of post-compulsory education struggling to find ways to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse society. Education is complex. Many educators would agree that it is influenced by many, often contradictory, voices and power structures. Based on the findings…

External stakeholders have increasingly participated in instructional and training activities in higher education; however, their contribution has not yet been adequately documented, especially in non-Western university contexts. This article reports a study that examined external stakeholders' roles and factors influencing their participation in…

Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to explore the principles and practices of sustainable development (SD) in the university curriculum. Design/methodology/approach: To explore the principles linked with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the learning and teaching practices in sustainability at the International University of…

This article investigates why potential doctoral students decided to enroll in a professional doctorate program instead of a traditional Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and how it enhanced their professional development and career promotion. Twenty professional doctorate graduates were invited to participate in this study, which was guided by the…