Teachers’ perceptions of the collaborative design and implementation of flexibility in a blended curriculum

Higher education institutions are increasingly faced with student diversity, which calls for a curriculum that adapts to and is accessible for students with different needs and capabilities. Many institutions address these calls by making their curricula (more) flexible. In this study 1) the main thoughts of curriculum flexibility are conceptualized, and 2) insights into the processes that positively affect the teachers’ role are provided. Teachers’ perceptions, experiences, and sense-making processes are central in the study. The overall research question of the study was: How is the collaborative design and implementation of flexibility in a blended curriculum affected by teachers' perceptions and interactions? The teacher education institution in this study designed a flexible blended curriculum that aimed at increasing student numbers and contributing to a larger variety of graduation portfolios. Four qualitative case studies were conducted; two studies focused on the design and two on the implementation of the flexible blended curriculum. Overall, it was concluded that 1) at an individual level, teachers’ professional identity underwent a change; 2) at the team level, collaboration in design teams provoked positive perceptions of the redesigned curriculum, and the design team’s network played a role in creating support for the innovation in the wider team of teachers; and 3) at the curriculum level, a shared rationale and shared perceptions were crucial for a successful design and implementation of the flexible blended curriculum. However, the study also showed that each of these processes at the three levels went along with its own challenges