Teacher Perceptions of the Curriculum Development and Resource AdoptionProcess

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gather teacher perceptions of the curriculumdevelopment and resource adoption processes and to compare the perceptions ofmathematics and English language arts (ELA) teachers. The researcher investigated thelevel to which teachers perceived their participation was authentic, the process waseffective, participation in the process would positively impact the classroom, relatedprofessional development regarding the curriculum development and curriculum andresources implementation was effective, and the piloting process was adequate. Thefindings of this study indicated that teachers agree that their participation in thecurriculum development process was authentic, with the exception that they neither agreenor disagree that interrelated special education teachers were a critical part of thecurriculum development team; the curriculum development process was effective; theprofessional development regarding the curriculum development and curriculum andresources implementation was effective; participation in the curriculum developmentprocess led to positive impacts in their classrooms; and the resource piloting process wasadequate. The findings regarding differences between mathematics and ELA teachers’perceptions were mixed; where differences were found, mathematics teachers agreedmore strongly than ELA teachers. Mathematics and ELA teachers differed regardingtheir perceptions of interrelated special education teachers being a critical part of thecurriculum development team and involving all teachers made the curriculum anddevelopment process meaningful. Mathematics and ELA teachers’ perceptions differedregarding whether the time allotted matched the tasks to be completed for the curriculumdevelopment process. Mathematics and ELA teachers’ perceptions did not differ regarding the related professional development provided. In the area of participation inthe curriculum development process leading to positive impacts in the classroom,mathematics and ELA teachers differed regarding their perceptions of whetherparticipation helped them implement the new curriculum in their classrooms.Mathematics and ELA teachers’ perceptions that the process for piloting potentialresources was adequate differed regarding whether they perceived the number of teacherspiloting potential resources was appropriate. The implication is that teachers should beinvolved in the curriculum development and resource adoption processes. This studyshould be expanded to include all content areas and a variety of school district sizes.