An ethnographic study of curriculum implementation in two primary schools in Fiji

Abstract

This is a holistic study of curriculum implementation in two rural primary schools in Fiji. It is based on an ethnographic approach, utilizing extensive participant observation as the main method of investigation and data collection. Through an analysis of teachers' perceptions and pedagogic practices, within the context of their respective schools, an attempt is made to understand how teachers translate the intentions of curriculum developers into concrete classroom lessons. This involved, on the one hand, portraying, in depth, the culture of each school, teachers' pedagogic practices and their lived experiences; and on the other, interrogating these in the context of the schools' common educational colonial heritage, the national curriculum, the two external examinations, and above all, the expectations and wishes of the communities they served. The thesis is a result of this analysis. It shows that curriculum 'implementation' is far too complex to be explained either by a 'fidelity' or a 'mutually adaptive' model (Fullan, 1982, 1985). This study shows that while the national initiatives - curriculum, examinations, teacher education – foster considerable standardisation across schools in terms of teachers' pedagogic assumptions and practice, it is the institutional bias of each school (Pollard, 1985), created and sustained by teachers, parents and pupils, that regulates what gets done, when, and how, at the classroom level. Operating as mediators between the national curriculum and the institutional goals and limitations, teachers create localised versions of national curriculum, prioritising areas of concern according to their lived experiences and perceptions. The centralised curriculum development unit therefore is perceived as only one of the multiple 'reality definers' that matters. Based on the findings, and in addition to the immediate needs such as material resources for effective implementation of prescribed curriculum, the study recommends that there is an urgent need to promote professional skills of critical reflection amongst teachers so that they themselves can link theory to practice, make relevant judgements and justify them on professional grounds. It is suggested that this task be approached by fostering a sound concept of pedagogy in all initiatives taken by the Curriculum Development Unit (CDU).