Risk aversion in a performativity culture - what can we learn from teachers' curriculum decision making in history?

Autor/in	Harris, Richard
Titel	Risk aversion in a performativity culture - what can we learn from teachers' curriculum decision making in history?
Quelle	In: Journal of curriculum studies, 53 (2021) 5, S. 659-674Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; gedruckt; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0022-0272; 1366-5839
DOI	10.1080/00220272.2021.1884294
Schlagwörter	Abneigung; Entscheidung; Risikobereitschaft; Lehrer; Curriculum; Risiko
Abstract	Using the notion of risk aversion, this study explores the decisions teachers make when constructing a curriculum. Adopting a qualitative, grounded approach, this study used semi-structured interviews with nine history teachers to examine the decisions they were making during a period of considerable curriculum change in England. Five key categories were identified, which were then defined as risk averse or high risk. The findings show that teachers largely adopt a low-risk approach when constructing a curriculum. In particular choice of content, pedagogical and assessment approaches are affected. Also, changes to the curriculum in high stakes examination courses have a major distorting impact on the curriculum choices for the phase of schooling prior to the examination course. This study would suggest that teachers generally aim to maximize examination outcomes through adopting a low-risk approach to curriculum change. However, according to the literature, these low-risk approaches appear unlikely to improve examination outcomes, whilst at the same time narrowing students' experience of the curriculum.
Erfasst von	IPN - Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik an der Universität Kiel
Update	2022/1