An Inquiry Into The Teachers' Understanding Curriculum

This inquiry has been made on a sample of Chinese-education in "the New Curriculum" . The investigation, which involves the methods of survey research, survey interview, classroom observation, conversation analysis and teaching plans analysis into the teachers' curriculum understanding, has been made in provinces and municipality including Fujian, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu and Shanghai. As it demonstrates, teachers in basic educational schools always agree with the ideas of "the New Curriculum", that is, they agree with the objectives advanced in "the New Curriculum", such as developing students into the ones who have social responsibilities and serve the people heart and soul; and have the spirit of innovation, practice abilities, scientific and humanistic quality and environment—protecting consciousness; and have basic knowledge, technical abilities and methods for lifelong learning; and have strong physique and excellent mentalities; have perfect aesthetic conceptions and life." On the other hand, they understand the curriculum in different ways when they work. Some of the ways belong to Professor J. Goodlad's curriculum chain (ideal curriculum, formal curriculum, perceived curriculum, operational curriculum, experiential curriculum), and others belong to Chinese special change which involves positive and passive understanding. The former can be sub-divided into real understanding, formal understanding and misunderstanding. The latter can be sub-divided into conceptual agreement while disagreement in practice, and disagreement both in mind and practice.We can not simply draw the conclusion that such teachers' understanding of curriculum occur because they lack professional vitalities and abilities, nor can we conclude that they have their own occupational laziness, or curriculum theory and policy. As mentioned above, it is called "normal behaviour" that patterns of curriculum change as professor Goodlad discussed, because any pattern of curriculum changes in this way. The curriculum pattern change as mentioned in this research should be discussed with the conditions in which the curriculum has been implemented. The theory, policy and implementation of curriculum, as well as teachers, would contribute to the deviation from "the New Curriculum". From this research, it can be concluded that any curriculum pattern needs its own condition. Different curriculum pattern needs different conditions that involve materials, system and culture. Without its necessary conditions, no "perfect" curriculum can work in educational practice. Meanwhile, the conversion of curriculum theory into the power to change practice depends on the active participation of curriculum practitioners. Without interaction, theory and practice would never contact each other, even if they are actually close together.Therefore, based on the knowledge of the present situation of Chinese teachers' curriculum understanding and the related research home and abroad, this research explores the complicated influencing factors of teachers' curriculum understanding and the causes of their interaction. Also, it is done in the light of the development of teachers' curriculum understanding, and in the context of China' social transformation and educational reform in primary and secondary schools.In the research, the issues of education such as curriculum and teachers' curriculum understanding are analyzed in the historical social background, and the complicated relationship between them is revealed in the perspective of educational principles. Finally, it suggests a way, namely "research-and-reform-oriented practice", to promote the mutual development of curriculum experts, curriculum policy makers, teachers in primary and secondary schools who implement the curriculum.