The experiences, expectations and evaluations of pre-school teachers as developers of curricula

Authors

  • Aino Ugaste
  • Maire Tuul
  • Rain Mikser
  • Evelyn Neudorf
  • Maria Jürimäe

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12697/eha.2016.4.1.04

Keywords:

early childhood education, curriculum development, teachers’ curriculum ownership, teacher professionalism

Abstract

Üha enam riike kehtestab alus- ja üldharidusastmes riiklikke õppekavu. Samas suureneb tähelepanu õpetaja omanikutundele õppekava suhtes ning õpetaja kaasamisele õppekava arendamisse, kuna mõistetakse, et need on riikliku õppekava eduka rakendamise eeltingimused. Seega on õpetaja tegevus õppekava arendamisel oluline uurimisteema. Uurimuse eesmärk on selgitada, millised on Eesti lasteaiaõpetajate kogemused koolieelse lasteasutuse õppekava koostamisel ja nende ootused seoses õppekava arendamise protsessiga ning milliseks nad hindavad õppekava koostamise protsessi mõju oma professionaalsele arengule ja demokraatliku professionalismi süvenemisele. 32 lasteaiaõpetajaga tehtud poolstruktureeritud intervjuudest selgus, et õpetajate hinnangul aitas lasteaia õppekava koostamise protsessis osalemine kaasa õppekava olemuse mõistmisele, suurendas motivatsiooni osaleda õppekavaarenduses ning toetas õpetaja üldist professionaalset arengut. Viimase olulisimaks osaks oli koostöövõime ehk demokraatliku professionalismi lisandumine. Uurimistulemused kinnitavad, et senine riiklik õppekavapoliitiline kurss on alushariduse puhul põhjendatud, ent õpetaja ootused viitavad vajadusele õppekava arendamise protsessi täiustada.

PDF Summary

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Alexander, R. (2012). Neither national nor a curriculum. Forum, 54(3), 369–384. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/forum.2012.54.3.369

Alushariduse raamõppekava (1999). Riigi Teataja I, 80, 737. Külastatud aadressil https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/12745713.

Ballet, K., & Kelchtermans, G. (2008). Workload and willingness to change: Disentangling the experience of intensification. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 40(1), 47–67. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220270701516463

Bennett, J. (2005). Curriculum issues in national policy-making. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 13(2), 5–23. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502930585209641

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Brennan, M. (2011). National curriculum: A political-educational tangle. Australian Journal of Education, 55(3), 259–280. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000494411105500307

Bähr, K., Fries, A.-V., Ghisla, G., Künzli, R., Rosenmund, M., & Seliner-Müller, G. (2000). Curriculum-making: Structures, expectations, perspectives: Implementation report. National Research Programme 33: Effectiveness of our education systems. Aarau: Schweizerische Koordinationsstelle für Bildungsforschung.

Carlgren, I. (1995). National curriculum as social compromise or discursive politics? Some reflections on a curriculum-making process. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 27(4), 411–430. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0022027950270405

Cerych, L. (1999). General report on the symposium "Educational reforms in Central and Eastern Europe: Processes and outcomes". European Education, 31(2), 5–38. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/EUE1056-493431025

Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (1992). Teacher as curriculum maker. In P. W. Jackson (Ed.), Handbook of research on curriculum (pp. 363–401). New York: Macmillan.

Colmer, K., Waniganayake, M., & Field, L. (2014). Leading professional learning in early childhood centres: Who are the educational leaders? Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 39(4), 103–113.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Eesti põhi- ja keskhariduse riiklik õppekava (1996). Riigi Teataja I 1996, 65, 1201. Külastatud aadressil https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/29725.

Goodson, I. (2014). Investigating the life and work of teachers. Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri, 2(2), 2014, 28–47. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12697/eha.2014.2.2.02b

Gundem, B., & Sivesind, K. (1997). From politics to practice: Reflections from a research project on curriculum policy and notes from (outside and inside) a National Curriculum Reform Project. Paper presented at Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, AERA, March 23–29, 1997, Chicago, Symposium Division L: Educational Policy and Politics.

Happo, I., Määttä, K., & Uusiautti, S. (2013). How do early childhood education teachers perceive their expertise? A qualitative study of child care providers in Lapland, Finland. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(4), 273–281. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0551-8

Hargreaves, A. (2000). Four ages of professionalism and professional learning. Teachers and Teaching: History and Practice, 6(2), 151–182. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/713698714

Heikka, J., Waniganayake, M., & Hujala, E. (2012). Contextualizing distributed leadership within early childhood education: Current understandings, research evidence and future challenges. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 41(1), 30–44. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1741143212462700

Hopmann, S. (1990). Current structures of curriculum making and their impact on content. In B. B. Gundem, B. U. Engelsen, & B. Karseth (Eds.), Curriculum work and curriculum content: Theory and practice. Contemporary and historical perspectives (pp. 158–180). Oslo: University of Oslo Institute for Educational Research.

Jadesko, V. I., & Sohin, F. A. (1978). Doshkolnaja pedagogika [Koolieelne pedagoogika]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie.

Kennedy, K. J. (2010). School-based curriculum development for new times: A comparative analysis. In E. H.-F. Law & N. Nieveen (Eds.), Schools as curriculum agencies: Asian and European perspectives on school-based curriculum development (pp. 3–20). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Kirk, D., & MacDonald, D. (2001). Teacher voice and ownership of curriculum change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 33(5), 551–567. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220270010016874

Koolieelse lasteasutuse riiklik õppekava (2008). Riigi Teataja I, 23, 152. Külastatud aadressil https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/12970917.

Koolieelsest kasvatusest lasteasutuses: programm ja juhendid (1974). Eesti NSV Haridusministeerium. Tallinn: Valgus.

Koolieelsest kasvatusest lasteasutuses: programm ja juhendid (1987). Eesti NSV Haridusministeerium. Tallinn: Valgus.

Kuiper, W., Nieveen, N., & Berkvens, J. (2013). Curriculum regulation and freedom in the Netherlands – A puzzling paradox. In W. Kuiper & J. Berkvens (Eds.), Balancing curriculum regulation and freedom across Europe (139–162). Enschede: SLO.

Law, E. H.-F., Galton, M., & Wan, S. W.-Y. (2007). Developing curriculum leadership in schools: Hong Kong perspectives. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 35(2), 143–159. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13598660701268569

Loginova, V. I., & Samorukova, P. G. (1983). Doshkolnaja pedagogika [Koolieelne pedagoogika]. Moscow: Prosveshchenie.

Lundahl, L. (2005). A matter of self-governance and control: The reconstruction of Swedish education policy, 1980–2003. European Education, 37(1), 10–25. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2005.11042375

Macdonald, D. (2003). Curriculum change and the post-modern world: Is the school curriculum-reform movement an anachronism? Journal of Curriculum Studies, 35(2), 139–149. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220270210157605

McCulloch, G., & McCaig, C. (2002). Reinventing the past: The case of the English tradition of education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 50(2), 238–253. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8527.00200

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Motiejunaite, A., & Kravchenko, Z. (2008). Family policy, employment and gender-role attitudes: A comparative analysis of Russia and Sweden. Journal of European Social Policy, 18(1), 38–49. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0958928707084453

Nieveen, N., & Kuiper, W. (2012). Balancing curriculum freedom and regulation in the Netherlands. European Educational Research Journal, 11(3), 357–368. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2012.11.3.357

Nummenmaa, A. R., & Karila, K. (2006). Collaborative planning in multi-professional day care centre – problem-based learning as a strategy and script for learning at work. In E. Poikela & A. R. Nummenmaa (Eds.), Understanding problem-based learning (pp. 209–223). Tampere: Tampere University Press.

Oberhuemer, P. (2005a). Conceptualising the early childhood pedagogue: Policy approaches and issues of professionalism. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 13(1), 5–16. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502930585209521

Oberhuemer, P. (2005b). International perspectives on early childhood curricula. International Journal of Early Childhood, 37(1), 27–37. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF03165830

Osgood, J. (2006). Deconstructing professionalism in early childhood education: Resisting the regulatory gaze. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 7(1), 5–14. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2006.7.1.5

Osgood, J. (2009). Childcare workforce in England and "the early years professional": A critical discourse analysis. Journal of Education Policy, 24(6), 733–751. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02680930903244557

Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Simpson, D. (2010). Being professional? Conceptualising early years professionalism in England. European Early Childhood Education Journal, 18(1), 5–14. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502930903520009

Sofou, E., & Tsafos, V. (2010). Preschool teachers’ understandings of the national preschool curriculum in Greece. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37(5), 411–420. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10643-009-0368-2

Sousa, F. (2013). Portugal – the mirage of curricular autonomy. In W. Kuiper & J. Berkvens (Eds.), Balancing curriculum regulation and freedom across Europe (pp. 189–210). Enschede: SLO.

Treier, J. (2004). Alushariduse õppekava rakendumine. Lasteaedade õppekava koostamisest (kutsemagistritöö). Tartu Ülikool.

Tudge, J. (1991). Education of young children in the Soviet Union: Current practice in historical perspective. The Elementary School Journal, 92(1), 121–133. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/461683

Tuul, M., Mikser, R., Neudorf, E., & Ugaste, A. (2015). Estonian preschool teachers’ aspirations for curricular autonomy – the gap between an ideal and professional practice. Early Child Development and Care, 185(11–12), 1845–1861. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2015.1028387

Tuul, M., Ugaste, A., & Mikser, R. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of the curricula of the Soviet and post-Soviet eras: A case study of Estonian pre-school teachers. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(6), 759–781. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220272.2011.596225

Urban, M., & Dalli, C. (2008). Editorial. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 16(2), 131–133. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13502930802141576

Urban, M., Vandenbroeck, M., Van Laere, K., Lazzari, A., & Peeters, J. (2012). Towards competent systems in early childhood education and care: Implications for policy and practice. European Journal of Education, 47(4), 508–526. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12010

Westbury, I. (1994). Deliberation and the improvement of schooling. In J. T. Dillon (Ed.), Deliberation in education and society (pp. 37–65). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

Westbury, I. (2008). Making curricula: Why do states make curricula, and how? In F. M. Connelly, M. F. He, & J.-A. Phillion (Eds.), The Sage handbook of curriculum and instruction (pp. 45–65). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412976572.n3

Published

2016-04-23

How to Cite

Ugaste, A., Tuul, M., Mikser, R., Neudorf, E., & Jürimäe, M. (2016). The experiences, expectations and evaluations of pre-school teachers as developers of curricula. Eesti Haridusteaduste Ajakiri. Estonian Journal of Education, 4(1), 92–118. https://doi.org/10.12697/eha.2016.4.1.04

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>