THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONCERNS OF TEACHERS AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM IN A SMALL SCHOOL SETTING

This study measured concerns of social studies teachers and administrators in a small school and the relationship of these concerns to the degree of implementation of a social studies curriculum change. Two questionnaires were administered within a six month time period to ten implementers. One survey, the Stages of Concern Questionnaire, adapted from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model of the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin, was administered prior to the initial use of the new curriculum and following six months of implementation. In this teachers reported concerns about the social studies curriculum innovation and its implementation. The second questionnaire was developed by the researcher and was approved by two university professors who were experts in the social studies field. This instrument measured the degree of implementation of the social studies curriculum change. Data analysis included individual subject profiles and frequency tables for item response to the Stages of Concern Questionnaire. Data reported on the Implementation Questionnaire were used to determine high and low implementers of the social studies curriculum change. An ethnographic approach was employed to research in depth the implementation process. Findings in the study indicated: (1) There were no consistently high intensity concerns for either the highest or the second highest concern scores. (2) The high implementers did not unanimously register dominant concerns and there was no apparent agreement on concerns among the low implementers. Low implementers had management and personal concerns that shifted little. High implementers appeared to be shifting toward high level impact concerns. (3) Age, educational background, years of experience, and job assignment were not consistent factors in the degree of implementation. However, entrenched teachers appeared to be less receptive to curricular innovation. Recommendations include the need for further ethnographic studies in a sampling of small schools in order to determine the satisfaction of teachers with the teaching profession; impact of teacher attitudes toward innovation in school curriculum and determination of the appropriate structure of inservice sessions for low implementers of curriculum change