A Study On Teacher Hidden Agenda In College English Curriculum Implementation

This paper explores teacher hidden agenda in College English curriculumimplementation. Set in the background of College English curriculum implementation,and taking college English teachers as the subjects, it examines such topic for thefollowing reasons (See Chapter One): First, after several rounds of reform, China’sCollege English teaching has enjoyed fruits, but at the same time some problems stillexist. It is at the stage of so-called “transformation” or “post-college English teachingperiod”. But no matter which direction the reform goes, curriculum reform will be at thecore. As far as courses are concerned, studies should focus not only on dominant curricula,but also on hidden ones. On the other hand, teachers’ growth and development cannot gounnoticed no matter what the reform attempts to achieve, because teachers play a majorrole in education: they carry out the teaching program, help achieve teaching goals andpass on knowledge. They should update ideas, enhance creativity, reflect on teaching,change roles according to situations, etc. so as to improve their overall quality and abilityto adapt to the development of this new age. Second, the author finds out, after readingliterature in this field, studies on hidden curriculum are far from satisfactory. There is noconsensus among experts in theory about hidden curriculum after nearly50years ofresearch in the field and it is still unsystematic. High-quality empirical research at themicro level is needed. The role hidden curriculum plays in emotion, moral and value hasbeen overemphasized and thus its non-academic aspect has been laid out. Most scholarsapproach it from the perspective of students rather than teachers. Few studies have beenconducted regarding its evaluation and evaluation criterion. In this paper, one of theabove-mentioned problems has been explored at length: First, a theoretical research onteacher hidden agenda in College English curriculum implementation is conducted, theterm is clarified, and an operational definition is put forward. Second, an empiricalresearch on teacher hidden agenda in College English is carried out in some universitiesof one province in order to understand the current situation in the field. Third, the factorsof teacher hidden agenda in College English are analyzed, its characteristics aregeneralized, and some measures are proposed to maximize the positive effects, encourage teachers’ devotion, enhance their academic development and upgrade college Englishteaching quality.The paper begins with a discussion on several terms: curriculum, hidden curriculum,and teacher hidden agenda. Then, a history of hidden agenda study is provided; what hasbeen achieved so far, and against what background the present study begins are alsopresented.(See Chapter Two) As a hypogyny conception of curriculum, hiddencurriculum is subordinate to curriculum, so a study of hidden curriculum requires a studyof the term curriculum first. After some analysis and research, the author states thatcourses fall into various groups if divided from the perspective of dynamicimplementation, which however, is disadvantageous to the overall study of curriculum.They can be classified into three levels from the angle of management, namely, nationalcurriculum, local curriculum and school-based curriculum, but in real practice, somecourses will fall out of the catalog. Therefore, the paper adopts the classification ofdominant curriculum and hidden curriculum out of consideration for the whole study.After some study on the formation of the term hidden curriculum, its type by definition,functions and feature description, the author goes on to analyze and discuss the presentsituation of English hidden curriculum and teacher hidden agenda studies, which lays atheoretical foundation for this empirical research. Then, under the guidance of somerelevant theories such as educational philosophy, educational psychology, teachers’curriculum enactment, ecology of education and so on, and their influence on hiddencurriculum, and being enlightened by some previous empirical researches, the authorpoints out, by way of theory speculation and factor analysis, there is a correlation betweencurriculum implementation and teacher, as well as between curriculum implementationand teaching. The author also analyzes the role change of teachers in curriculumimplementation and the variation of national, local and school-based curriculum in realpractice, thus coming up with a fourth curriculum in addition to the existing three, that is,teacher hidden agenda. After laying out, analyzing in great detail, and summing upprevious studies on the components of hidden curriculum, the author defines hiddencurriculum and presents three dimensions of it, namely, sense of responsibility, affectivity and creativity, thus forming a two-dimensional structure of teacher hidden agenda study.(See Chapter Three)The empirical research is carried out after the author proposes the operationaldefinition of this study through theory speculation, notion construction, dimensionanalysis，etc. First, a research tool is decided. On the basis of two-dimensional studyframework, with some reference to the scales of some relevant researchers, and accordingto the purpose of this study, the author chooses dimensions and variables for the threelevels, designs her own research instrument for this study, and a questionnaire on teacherhidden agenda, a classroom observation form and an interview outline are developed.(See Chapter Four) The questionnaire, which is concerned with the present situation ofteacher hidden agenda in College English and the correlation between teachers’demographic variables and hidden agenda, was given to312college English teachersfrom nine universities and colleges in Shaanxi Province. The result shows: first, theoverall level of teacher hidden agenda in College English is not very high, only at amoderate level. Second, on the whole, there is almost no clear correlation between thecurriculum and teachers’ gender, but there is a low level of positive correlation betweenthe curriculum and teachers’ age, teaching experience, professional title, school type andlocation. In other words, the elder, more experienced, superior in professional title theteachers are, the higher level the hidden agenda in that school will come to. The level ofhidden agenda of teachers from universities in the provincial capital, in most measures, issuperior to that of those from universities in remote areas. The higher level a university isat, the higher level its teacher hidden agenda will come to. But there is an exception: thereis no clear difference between teachers’ certification and the factors of teacher hiddenagenda; there is a kind of “U” relationship between the two. That is, the hidden agendalevel of teachers who have bachelor’s or doctor’s degree is slightly higher than those whohave master’s degree. At the same time, an in-depth study on the survey result of the ninedimensions of hidden agenda is also carried out by the author, in order to come to a betterunderstanding of its differences.(See Chapter Five) After getting a whole picture of thiscurriculum, the author conducts a further research on some vague points or unclear detailsin the questionnaire by way of classroom observation and interview. For example, the author goes to the classroom to observe teacher-student interaction and interview some ofthem to get some information about teachers’ classroom organization, teachers’ use ofteaching resources. Teachers are also being asked to voice their opinions on theirprofession, role, teacher-student relationship, syllabus, and some additional help theyrender to students after class. The above means, together with the quantitative research,validate the findings of the research.(See Chapter Six)Through the empirical research, we can see the characteristics of teacher hiddenagenda in College English. That is, the cognition orientation of college English teacherstowards the role of their profession lies somewhat in the middle of the two stages,“enjoyment type” and “development type”, which reflects the professional role of collegeEnglish teachers at present realistically. Teachers are unfamiliar with, or unaccustomed tothe role change in this modern age, which indicates that they need some improvements.They should be clear-headed, always be aware of their behaviors, and set role models.The relationship between teacher and student at college is harmonious, but there is stillroom for improvement. Teachers’ creativity has been aroused when it comes to lectures,but more creativity should be encouraged as far as teaching methods, teaching strategies,and teaching resources are concerned. Thus, the author presents with us some ways toboost the development of positive factors in College English curriculum implementationand College English teaching. That is, care orientation and cultural orientation should beadded to the process of College English curriculum implementation. More attentionshould be given not only to the professional development of college English teachers, butalso to their non-academic growth. We should show concern for their career, life and thelike.(See Chapter Seven) The author concludes the paper (See Chapter Eight) bymentioning again briefly the main idea of the article, summing up its major findings andlimitations; meanwhile, the author puts forward some suggestions for future developmentin the field.