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Changing curriculum policy into practice: the case of physical education in Hong Kong
Author(s) -
Johns David P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the curriculum journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.843
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1469-3704
pISSN - 0958-5176
DOI - 10.1080/0958517022000014718
Subject(s) - curriculum , constructive , popularity , physical education , adaptability , pedagogy , confusion , government (linguistics) , sociology , psychology , mathematics education , process (computing) , management , social psychology , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , psychoanalysis , economics , operating system
This article examines the differences between the formally stated aims of education and the implementation of the school curriculum in order to show the divergence between what is initiated and what emerges as school practice. This implementation problem is examined from the policy‐makers' and teachers' perspectives, with specific reference to physical education as a school subject in Hong Kong. First, it examines the existence and intention of educational policy towards curriculum as established by policy‐makers. Second, the implementation process is evaluated from the teachers' perspective by employing a framework adopted by Cuban (1998) that utilized effectiveness, popularity, fidelity, adaptability and longevity. The data are derived from a case‐study of a physical education programme that included document analysis, and interviews with teachers, parents and students. The case‐study provided a subjective perspective of teachers and their work, while the framework assisted in demonstrating the absence of cohesion between the various government agencies. The resulting fragmentation of ideas leading to confusion and frustration for teachers also indicates that longevity and adaptability are likely to be the most constructive criteria for the assessment of curriculum change.