George Posner's (2004) "Frame Factors" are utilized to analyze the framework of curriculum to ensure its' successful implementation taking into account the physical, cultural, temporal, economic, organizational, political-legal, and personal considerations. The curriculum is a working document, it is not static. The curriculum is actively implemented within the classroom as soon as the teacher utilizes it to teach her students. Curriculum is defined as a fixed series of studies in a school in a particular subject. The curriculum is composed of subparts, each subpart is representative of academic content in reading, writing, language arts, mathematics, science, and social students. These subparts are then categorized within the time frame of the school year either by importance of content or difficulty of understanding of content. Educators collaboratively come together to categorize subjects to be taught within the school year and other school personnel are also involved. Utilization of curriculum is mandated through administration that educators follow a set timeline which shows the hows, whens, whys, where, whats of academic content within the given school year. Educators have to teach every concept within the academic content to mastery before the taking of the state mandated tests, AIMS. Standards have to be taught to mastery, so students will perform on or above grade level on the state mandated tests. Why the push for good performance of stated mandated tests? In 2001, the "No Child Left Behind Act [required] that states develop challenging academic content and achievement standards for all schools and all children in the state. The standards in each state must include the same knowledge, skills, and levels of achievement expected for all children [in academic content areas]" (Simon, 2010, p.75). State's accountability focused on the results of the standardized state test known as adequate yearly progress, AYP. If a school should not meet AYP status, the school was labeled as a failing school and it would have certain consequences tied to the label. Therefore, due to that fact, federal, state, district administrators hold teachers accountable for the results of the standardized state tests. Problem: What are the issues that teachers face in implementing a mandated curriculum which contains a plethora of standards; standards that are to be mastered by students before the state mandated tests?
This past school year, the curriculum guide went through a lot of revisions. The basis for the curriculum was the Arizona State Standards. The basic components of the curriculum itself was the Arizona State Standards, the Safety Net Standards which was chosen by grade level teachers from grade level standards that were selected because of vital importance for students to master by the end of the school year, and the curriculum map. The curriculum map was divided into four quarters with the standards divided up into levels of importance, related areas, and or non-connections. Other features of the map were material correlations, student objectives, and academic vocabulary. On my first day on the job, they handed my student textbooks and materials, manipulatives, supplies, class roster, and a binder labeled curriculum guide. I analyzed the curriculum map on the inside of the binder. It specified teachings of academic content in a certain month, certain week, and certain day of the week. I asked the school improvement coordinator if the sequence of academic content taught would have to be followed, she agreed. Therefore, that is what I did, which was a big mistake. The content that was designated for the given grade level was way above the learning level of my students. I began to question the curriculum. What sort of guidelines were used, if any? Was student demographics used for decision making in creating the curriculum? Was scores from formative or summative tests utilized for decision making in creating the curriculum? How are students expected to master all content areas by the end of the school year? So many questions I had asked, but no response to any of them. My first year of teaching and I was told to teach the academic content and make sure students master each and everyone before the deadline. Analyzing pre-assessment scores which I used to tell me where my students were at, at the given time; justified the fact that academic content at grade level was not at the level of my students. Therefore, I was already falling behind on my first day of teaching! Every day, I wondered, why am I being forced to speed through the content before time runs out, but also during the running race students have to learn grade level content to mastery? 80% of my students were not at grade level academically. "Not only must the teacher cover the breadth of the curriculum, but also the students must learn the material at least at some minimal level of mastery or depth. These two tasks present a dilemma facing every teacher, the coverage/mastery dilemma" (Posner, 2004, p. 192).
Teachers are "[intellectuals] who have a highly developed ability to think, reason and understand especially in combination with wide knowledge. However, these natural talents of intellectuals are put on the back burner and they are only required to fill their students heads with material that is rotely memorized which does not require any critical thinking of any kind. Teachers who have chosen the career path in education wanted to make a difference in a child's life, not treat them as a stew pot and only add the water to boil, watch it slowly evaporate, and disappear. "Academic subjects were invented to explain the natural world and human experience, they potentially can have a profound impact on how students understand and experience the world" (Wraga, 2010, p. 4). All teachers face the issue of coverage/depth dilemma of the curriculum, also that the standards are standard and have no profound impact on how students understand and experience the world. Mandated curriculum also brings up the issue that standards are not meeting all the needs of every child. Teachers have to teach students who are beginning to be left behind because the mastery of content is not proficient. Teachers have to resort to their bag of tricks and somehow bring about change for these students. This brings about teachers who become a 'subscriber' or 'adapter'. "Subscribers are teachers who tend to make only minimal modifications to the district curricular materials and specific content standards for students" (Stevenson, 2008, p.82). "Adapters are teachers who regularly modify or supplement district curricular materials and content standards" (Stevenson, 2008, p.82). Teachers are put under so much pressure over accountability, teachers begin to grow into adapters or subscribers. Stevenson (2008) states for many educators there is an obvious disconnect between the mandates imposed by NCLB and how teachers envision [how] they can best meet the needs of their students. Therefore, these two forces establish a need for teachers to delve into their beliefs about what and how mandated curriculum should be taught. Teachers face issues such as coverage v. depth dilemma, meaningless standards, modifications of instruction, and personal integrations.
Mandated curriculum have various contexts: community characteristics, philosophical orientation, theoretical framework, politics, subject matter, teacher, classroom community, and children (Bloom, 2006, p.1). Curriculum is affected by community characteristics such as school culture and home culture. School culture has a set of expectations for students and so does home culture; when implemented together school and home culture support the curriculum holistically. Philosophical orientation also has to be considered in curriculum; it sets the basis for creation of perspectives/world view on the learner. Theoretical framework is based on study over time on effective learning and teaching that is implemented into the curriculum. Politics make sure regulations and laws are followed at federal, state, and district level concerning curriculum. Subject matter is concepts that are taught to standard and are defined as worthwhile to learn. Teachers guide the instruction of the curriculum within the classroom during the school day. The classroom community supports the learner's learning of curriculum. Children play a part in the shaping and molding of the curriculum to fit their needs during the given school year.
I utilized Posner's Frame Factors in analysis of implementation of mandated curriculum. Temporal frames indicate time limits or deadlines that teachers face. Teachers are racing against the clock in the day to fit in planned content, is it learned to mastery or not? Teachers are held accountable for teaching all content within the given time frame. Teachers have to consider the quantity of the content to be learned, the problems that may occur with understanding, and modify instruction to meet the needs of various individual students. Teachers also have to use all of the allotted instructional time. However, this is not always accomplished due to enrichment classes, reading and math interventions, daily interruptions by parents, staff, or visitors, and special education instruction (pull-out). Physical frames indicate the physical space of learning. Teachers, at times, lack resources to teach a certain contain such as textbooks or manipulatives. If students do not feel safe and supported within the classroom, students are not learning. Political-legal frames that affect curriculum is the state mandated test. Teachers utilize the curriculum in order to cover concepts within the given time period, so students are able to perform well on the test; however, master level of content was not reached which causes low performance on state test. Organizational frames required so curriculum can flourish in the current school. Teacher implements curriculum change based on school site. Personal frames that affect curriculum is the school staff characteristics and student's backgrounds. Information is utilized about staff, students, and support staff within the curriculum. Economic frames that associate cost and benefits. Teachers are facing various budget cuts in education and it affects the implementation of curriculum in the classroom and the academic achievement of students. Cultural frames involves the school and community culture. Teachers try to fit the curriculum into the culture of the students for meaningful learning.
Analyzing the problem: What are the issues that teachers face in implementing a mandated curriculum which contains a plethora of standards; standards that are to be mastered by students before the state mandated tests? As highly qualified teachers sign a contract stating they will give students the best possible education. In order for education to be at its' best, teachers research, plan, implement, evaluate, and reflect on a daily basis to meet the educational needs of every child. There are many factors that teachers face on a daily basis. For example, making sure content was covered successfully and student's gained a deep understanding of the content. There will be students who are unmotivated, physically exhausted, learning disabled, English Language Learner, and etc. which will all play into academic achievement and/or mastery of content. Teachers are challenged by many things in or outside of the classroom. Educators have come to build a resilience against negativisms in education because their attitudes and beliefs will affect their students in the classroom. However, those forces are what sparks a fire for educators to continue to fight for changes in education.
References
Bilbrey, C. & et al. (2011). An Examination of the Building Blocks Math Curriculum: Results
of a Longitudinal Scale-Up Study. Retrieved July 02, 2011, from http://eric.ed.gov.
Kenway, J. (2007). The Ghosts of the School Curriculum: Past, Present, and Future. The
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Posner, G.J. (2004). Analyzing the Curriculum: Frame Factors (3rd ed.). Boston: Mc Graw Hill.
Simon, M. (2010). Assessment Versus Achievement: Winner Takes All! Florida Journal of
Educational Administration & Policy, 3(2). Retrieved July 02, 2011, from
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Stevenson, H.J. (2008). To Adapt or Subscribe: Teachers' Informal Collaboration and View of
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Wraga, W.G. (2010). What the Problem with a "Rigorous Academic Curriculum?" Retrieved
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