Everyday practices of teachers of English : a survey at the outset of national curriculum implementation

• Published in: The Australian journal of language and literacy 2013-06, Vol.36 (2), p.111-120
• Main Authors: Albright, James, Knezevic, Lisa, Farrell, Lesley
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied Linguistics; Curricula; Curriculum implementation; Education; Educational change; Educational policy; English curriculum; English education; English teachers; Language Education; National curriculum; Practice; Primary education; Primary school teachers; Secondary education; Secondary school teachers; Surveys; Teacher attitudes; Teaching methods
• ISSN: 1038-1562; 1839-4728
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03651916

This article reports the preliminary findings of an investigation into a number of everyday practices of primary and secondary teachers at the beginning of the implementation of the new Australian English curriculum. Teachers of the KLA/subject English participated in an on-line survey designed to explore their perceptions in relation to four domains of their practice: curriculum use, planning, professional learning needs, and the teaching of subject English. The survey results for the first three domains confirm the importance of official curriculum/syllabus documents in teachers' perceptions of their everyday practice but suggest that most teachers view 'in-school' resources considerably more authoritative than externally produced resources. The survey responses also reveal that teachers focus more on the process of teaching than on subject/ discipline content in reporting their practical realisation of teaching and learning activities, and view assessment as a key issue when responding to open-ended survey items. This research, forming part of the first phase of an ARC Linkage project, is being used to orient subsequent phases of data collection and explore possible implications for this period of curriculum change. [Author abstract]