| This study was designed to investigate the factors contributing to the discrepancy between intended and implemented curricula. The first purpose of the study was to identify the factors influencing the success of curriculum implementation. Once these factors were identified, the second purpose of the study was to determine the relationships between these factors in different contexts. In this study, success of implementation was defined in terms of fidelity of implementation as well as in terms of student outcomes.;During the study, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. Qualitative data included daily field notes, audiotaped teacher and student interviews, and student work files. Quantitative data included formal pre and post assessments of student attitudes and content area knowledge relative to the curriculum topics as well as daily quantitative measures of teacher performance.;The data were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Categories of influence were identified and assertions were generated. These categories and their constituent assertions were used to generate a tentative model of curriculum implementation. The categories of influence were organized hierarchically according to the difficulty associated with changing or manipulating each factor. Nine broad categories of influence were identified: teacher beliefs, teacher knowledge, external factors, student characteristics, teacher expectations, teacher planning, teacher performance, classroom interactions, and student engagement. The categories which were most difficult to change or manipulate in this study included teacher beliefs and teacher knowledge. The categories most amenable to change included classroom interactions and student engagement.;Although contextual differences were found to significantly influence both the processes and outcomes of curriculum implementation, certain levels of the model appear to be generalizable to different types of contexts.;Two middle school science teachers and their science students participated in the study. The two teachers successively implemented a prepared environmental education curriculum. Each teacher participated in the study for approximately six weeks, while the entire data collection period spanned 16 weeks. |
