Elementary Language Teachers: Teacher Agency and Curriculum-Making
Abstract
This study is a critical discourse analysis of language and literacy programmatic curricula found in documents created by Ministries of Education (or equivalent) across Canada, with a focus on the role of the teacher. The overriding intent of the study is to provide much-needed information for scholars, educators, and policy-makers to better understand the curricular conditions that can enable or constrain language teacher agency in curriculum-making. The research questions explore how the role of teachers in curriculum-making is represented in language curricula across Canada, how teachers' roles connect (or do not connect) to other curriculum commonplaces, including the student, subject matter, and milieu, and the implications of teacher agency in curriculum-making for promoting responsive curriculum development.
The theoretical framework for this study is grounded in an ecological model of teacher agency (Priestley et al., 2015), emphasizing that the achievement of agency is influenced by the surrounding ecological conditions. Additionally, it incorporates Schwab’s (1983) five commonplaces of curriculum planning—teacher, student, subject matter, milieu, and curriculum-making—and employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) as described by Fairclough (2013), adapted to align with the main aim and research question of the study.
The findings indicate that teachers' roles in curriculum-making are narrowly defined in the examined curricula, emphasizing classroom interactions while overlooking broader programmatic impacts. Most of the examined curricula view teachers as essential in addressing student needs, ensuring relevant content, and fostering inclusive environments, with an emphasis on engaging families. However, there is a significant lack of teacher involvement in curriculum-making, indicating a disconnect between teachers and the broader curriculum-making process. The analysis indicates that discourse can impacts teacher agency in responsive curriculum-making, as supportive language and collaboration empowers teachers, while unclear language, top-down approaches, and standardization create barriers to meeting students' needs. The study suggested that programmatic curricula should explicitly outline teachers' involvement in curriculum-making decisions, and that governments provide professional development workshops and training sessions focused on designing and implementing responsive curricula. This study highlights the critical need to enhance teacher agency in curriculum-making to ensure educational practices are informed by those with direct classroom experience.
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