SRI LANKAN TEACHERS’ CONCERNS TOWARDS IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULUM REFORMS IN THE COMPETENCY BASED CURRICULUM REFORMS

This study was carried out in the period of 2010-2015 when the new changes were implemented in the Sri Lankan school curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate teachers’ concerns over the implementation of 5E model under the modernised the competency-based curriculum reforms for geography in Sri Lanka. The Concern based adoption Model (CBAM) was employed as theoretical and conceptual framework underlying the study. The respondents for quantitative approach on Stages of Concern (SoC) consisted of 311 geography teachers from secondary schools in Kalutara district, Sri Lanka. A total of nine (9) geography teachers who has shown their high concerns in the survey was selected for the qualitative methods on Levels of Use (LoU) and Innovation Configuration (IC). The study used adapted instruments such as Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ), basic interview protocol and innovation configuration map from the actual instruments of CBAM. The findings from analysis of SoCQ showed teachers remained at the initial SoC over the implementation of the 5E model. The results from the interviews revealed that geography teachers overall use of the innovation ranged from LoU II-preparation to LoU IVA- routine, whilst many remained at LoU II- preparation. The classroom observations showed that many teachers did not reach acceptable level of teaching in using the 5E model. The study suggested several intervening strategies to take geography teachers to the higher SoC and LoU as well as motivate teachers to practice at the ideal level of teaching using the 5E model. The results of the study are significant at a time when there is a greater attention on introducing new curriculum reforms in the country. In an any curricular reforms, teachers should be given greater attention as they are the main agents of implementation. There should be a continuous evaluation on the teachers’ responses to the implementation of curriculum reforms using a good model like CBAM.

Teachers’ Concern and Professional Development Needs in Adopting Inclusive Education in Saudi Arabia, Based on Their Gender for Vision 2030

This study looks into the concerns and the required professional development for adopting an inclusive education system, as expressed by elementary school teachers, based on their gender in Saudi Arabia. Participants in this research were special and general education teachers randomly selected from elementary schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which have special education programs. The theoretical framework of the study was the Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM). Non-experimental cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. Data were obtained from 332 teachers, i.e., the response rate was 83%. The Stages of Concerns Questionnaire (SoCQ) provided by CBAM indicated that respondent stages of concern 0–2 (Unconcerned, Informational, and Personal) ranked the highest, while stages 4–6 (Consequence, Collaboration, and Refocusing) ranked the lowest. This profile was identified as a “non-user profile”, meaning respondents wanted more information about inclusive education. Teachers, in general, showed interest for professional development on inclusive education, including immediate training and seminars/workshops. The only significant difference in interest for professional development was by gender. The t-test indicated that female teachers have more interest for professional development compared to male teachers.

Teachers’ Acceptance of Curriculum Reform in the Czech Republic: One Decade Later

Similarly to other Visegrád Group countries, the most recent curriculum reform in the Czech Republic brought substantial changes in the curriculum documents for schools. The purpose of this study is to investigate Czech primary and lower secondary teachers’ current attitudes towards curriculum reform. The results of a survey (n = 701) indicate that teachers have adopted rather negative attitudes. The acceptance of reform tends to increase among the teachers who use curriculum documents regularly and among the teachers with higher self-efficacy. In addition, teachers with system-centred/curriculum-oriented approaches are willing to accept the reform. There is no significant difference between teachers’ gender, their length of teaching experience, and their involvement in school management. Within the general frame of the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), the study draws on data from one country, but the implications for further educational development are potentially applicable across countries with similar educational policy backgrounds.

Evaluating M-Learning System Adoption by Faculty Members in Saudi Arabia Using Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM) Stages of Concern

This study assesses the use of an m-learning system by faculty members in Saudi Arabia using a new approach and methodology. Optimum use of educational technology requires consideration of requirements, obstacles and opportunities expected from user interaction with such systems and tools. While the use of m-learning in Saudi Arabia is relatively new, different research studies have investigated the use of m-learning in Saudi Arabia using different models. Most of the presented models investigated the acceptance and use from student perspectives, with little consideration of adoption by faculty members, their use of m-learning systems and their concerns (i.e. facilitators and barriers) as users. Some of the used models managed to provide significant results in relation to m-learning use, while others were found to lack a systematic and appropriate methodology. Concern Based Adoption Model (CBAM), which is widely used in the USA, Canada and (more recently) the Middle East (particularly Jordan), was used in this study to investigate m-learning adoption as an educational technology in Saudi Arabia. This framework provides tools to evaluate the use of educational technology within educational settings. This framework has not previously been used in Saudi Arabian educational research literature, and it is believed that the output will be valuable for enhancing the level of concern, adoption and use of m-learning in the future.

Liens entre le modèle CBAM et l’approche d’enseignement dans le contexte de l’adoption d’une classe d’apprentissage actif par des enseignants au postsecondaire | Relationships between the CBAM Model and the Approach to Teaching Inventory in the Adoption of the Active Learning Classrooms by Postsecondary Teachers

Although research shows that the use of active learning clasrooms, specially designed for the use of technologies and active pedagogies, has positive impacts on learning (Beichner et al., 2007), the process by which teachers come to adopt this type of class setup has yet to be explored in depth. This multi-case study uses the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI) theoretical models to describe the cases of 15 teachers who use this class setup, which is still quite new in the Quebec cégep network. The results reveal CBAM stage of concern (SoC) profiles that are sometimes surprising, especially with regard to new users who display characteristics typical of advanced user profiles. A correlation of the SoC profiles with the teaching approach adopted could account for this profile distribution. Finally, as collaboration is shown to be a dominant factor in the teachers’ interests, its links with the CBAM levels of use (LoU) are discussed.Des recherches montrent que l’utilisation de classes d’apprentissage actif (CLAAC) a des impacts positifs sur l’apprentissage, spécialement dans les classes aménagées pour une utilisation de la pédagogie active et des technologies (Beichner et al., 2007). Cependant, le processus par lequel les enseignants en viennent à adopter ce type de classe semble inexploré. Cette étude fait appel aux modèles CBAM (Concern-Based Adoption Model) et ATI (Approaches to Teaching Inventory) pour décrire 15 cas d’enseignants qui utilisent ce type d’aménagement encore récent pour le réseau collégial québécois. Les résultats montrent des profils d’intérêt et de préoccupation parfois surprenants, en particulier chez les nouveaux utilisateurs qui affichent un profil d’utilisateur avancé. Une corrélation des profils d’intérêts avec l’approche d’enseignement pourrait expliquer cette distribution de profils. Enfin, la collaboration est un élément dominant dans les intérêts des enseignants et ses liens avec les niveaux d’utilisation sont exposés.

ICT in Education

In recent times, most of the developing countries have concentrated themselves on evolving with the help of Information and Communication Technologies, Republic of Fiji being one of them. Fiji National University, one of the leading universities in Fiji has been playing a very important role for the development of the country. In this paper, the author has evaluated and analyzed the concerns of the in-service students who are studying in Fiji National University. This paper follows the Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) model to evaluate the stages of concern of 109 in-service students who are pursuing Bachelor of Education degree and also teach in primary and secondary schools in Fiji. The results showed that the in-service students have high concerns on the self-oriented levels. The results also exhibited a pattern between teaching experience of these in-service students and their stages of concern. Based on the analysis of results, the necessary steps have been recommended for the development of ICT in education.