Responses to curriculum pressures: A policy-capturing study of teacher decisions about content

Teacher decisions about the content to be covered in the classroom have a strong effect on student achievement. The present study attempted to determine the relative power of 6 factors that might influence decisions about the content of 4th-grade mathematics: district test, mandated textbooks, distr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of educational psychology 1981-04, Vol.73 (2), p.129-141
Main Author: Floden, R. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Curriculum Development
Decision Making
Educational Administration
Human
Mathematics Education
Student Teachers
Teacher Attitudes
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Summary:Teacher decisions about the content to be covered in the classroom have a strong effect on student achievement. The present study attempted to determine the relative power of 6 factors that might influence decisions about the content of 4th-grade mathematics: district test, mandated textbooks, district instructional objectives, other teachers' opinions, the principal's opinions, and parents' opinions. 66 student teachers (23-64 yrs old) were presented with descriptions of hypothetical school districts constructed to provide systematic variation in the presence or absence of these pressures. Ss' responses to questions about consequent addition and deletion of topics were analyzed to estimate the effect of each factor. Ss indicated general willingness to add topics but reluctance to delete topics. Test and objectives had significantly greater effects than other topics on responses to questions about the addition of topics. (19 ref)
ISSN:0022-0663
1939-2176
DOI:10.1037/0022-0663.73.2.129