District Officials’ Assumptions about Teacher Learning and Change: Hindering Factors to Curriculum Reform Implementation in South Africa
Abstract
This paper intends to shed light on the issue of non-implementation of new curriculum reforms
by exploring how district officials’ understandings of teacher learning and change process can
shape the outcomes of the curriculum implementation. This will be done by examining the
officials’ assumptions about teacher learning and change, their source and impact in the
reform implementation process in a district in South Africa. The paper argues that district
officials’ assumptions influence the nature of the support they give teachers, for they become
the lenses for viewing and engaging with teachers. These assumptions, the paper shows, also
contribute to shaping the reform implementation or non-implementation process. In
conclusion, it is recommended that officials enhance their communication channels and work
rapport with teachers as these will facilitate their understanding of the various issues
confronting teaching and impacting reform implementation.