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.