An example where research has found such attitudes to be critical is in the transition to content based instruction as a curricular approach across teaching English as a second language in the United States of America. A phenomenological study found that in the first year of implementation, foreign language teachers’ evaluation of outcomes was heavily dependent upon both their starting point in terms of their evaluation of the topic, although this could be mediated by a high degree of personal and professional flexibility: ‘Transitioning toward CBI, the findings suggest, can be a professionally intimidating experience, involving a struggle to re-examine one’s own teaching identity and one’s vision of what teaching and learning ought to be’ (Cammarata, 2009, p. 559). Central to this was the role of professional development with the study suggesting that there is ‘a need for professional-development programs to better scaffold teachers’ learning experience and to create safer environments for teachers to explore pedagogical alternatives’ (Cammarata, 2009, p. 559). Resistance to curriculum change and a lack of flexibility required to adapt to new standards and processes can therefore potentially be offset through adequate training, offering some guidance as to what is required at the level of professional development in supporting curricular transitions.
The significance of professional development to this end is likewise implied by cross cultural research on teacher attitudes towards skills/competency-based education, such as in research comparing New Zealand and Norway (Madsen, 2020, p. 301). The study found that the top-down imposition of the new curriculum in Norway contributed to discrepancies in implementation insofar as this imposition ‘could affect teacher educators’ motivation for their profession and can be perceived to undermine the trust that practitioners have in their professional and pedagogical competencies’ (Madsen, 2020, p. 301). A further study conducted in India found that there were significant differences in attitudes towards hypothetical curricula changes that differed significant across age, gender, type of teacher training, and subject specialisation (Niwas, 2018, p. 66). This further suggests that undertaking research within the context of a specific culture is essential in order to understand the specific relationships between attitudes and curriculum change that exist within that cultures as compared with other cultures. This implies the necessity of this research within the context of Kuwait.
References:
Cammarata, L. (2009). Negotiating Curricular Transitions: Foreign Language Teachers’ Learning Experience with Content-Based Instruction. UTP , 65 (4), 559-85.
Niwas, R. (2018). A Study of Teaching Competency in Relation with Attitude Towards Creative Teaching of B.Ed. Trainee-teachers. Journal of Education and Practice , 9 (4), 66-72.
Madsen, S. (2020). Understandings and attitudes regarding skill-based and competency-based cultures for learning: a comparative study of Norwegian and New Zealand teacher educators. Educational Research for Policy and Practice volume , 19, 301-17.
Hashem Adnan 