Every few years educational institutions must review the curriculum to meet students’ skills and knowledge needs for the future. Unfortunately, many of these reviews are insufficiently thorough or take so long that by the time new materials are adopted, they may be outdated. This inefficiency is a disservice to both the students and their employers. It also fails to fulfill the broader mission of high schools and colleges, which has historically been to prepare young people for life as citizens and global workers.
A key to a successful curriculum change is buy-in from all stakeholders, particularly practicing educators, both administrators and classroom instructors. However, the process by which curriculum changes are developed and implemented often leaves this critical group out of the conversation and leads to confusion, frustration, and mistrust.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a curriculum change process utilizing a Concerns-based Adoption Model (CBAM). Specifically, we wanted to understand whether faculty and staff who were involved in the curriculum revision process felt that they were supported and understood by their colleagues and were aware of specific procedures and decisions that were being made.
Among the most significant barriers to implementing proposed curricular changes were the need for additional resources (e.g., funding, personnel) and the fact that the current workload did not adequately allow for implementation of planned curricular changes. Similarly, respondents indicated that faculty development focused on how to apply the curricular changes to their classrooms and teaching situations was needed.
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