Finding the Student in an Era of Standardization: Challenges of Engaging Students in Standardized Curriculum

• In Event: 65.062 - Identity and Curriculum in Narrative Research

Abstract

Using a narrative inquiry approach with a focus on “stories of experience” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988), we consider the “harmonies and tensions” (Clandinin & Connelly, 2001) of English10 students’ lived experiences of curriculum in an era of standardization and testing. We examine nuances and complexities of student and teacher experiences that intersect as they negotiate the English curriculum at their culturally diverse high school. Examination of their curriculum experiences revealed challenges and successes of the curriculum for the students and the teachers, and raised questions about complexities of engaging students in curriculum when their prior experiences might suggest disengagement or disinterest. (101 words)

Authors

• Elaine Chan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Andrea Flanagan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Rita Cihlar Hermann, University of Nebraska - Lincoln