The Politics of Curriculum-Making: Understanding a "Teacher-Led" Curriculum in British Columbia, Canada

• In Event: 43.074 - Aspects of Teacher's Work and Learning in Canadian Schools

Abstract

Since 2013, teams of teachers have worked with the Ministry of Education to redesign British Columbia’s K–12 curriculum. This has been a unique opportunity for teachers to use their professional judgement to shape the direction of what is taught in schools across the province. At the same time, these teams of teachers have been tasked with navigating potentially diverse expectations as to curricular approach, form and content. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with teachers who served on these teams, this paper foregrounds the politics of curriculum making. The findings illustrate that BC’s “teacher-led” curriculum is an ongoing site of struggle, embedded in multiple relations of power and knowledge.

Author

• Andree Elizabeth Gacoin, British Columbia Teachers' Federation