The study of innovation in language education began to generate particular interest only from the... more The study of innovation in language education began to generate particular interest only from the 1980s onwards, with important early contributions including Kennedy (1988) from a UK perspective and Henrichsen (1989) from a US one. The former was signifi cant in establishing the management of educational change as an emerging subdiscipline of applied linguistics. Before that time, the complexities and challenges of introducing educational change were often underestimated or insuffi ciently problematized. In recent decades, interest in the topic of innovation has grown substantially, particularly in general education in the work of scholars such as Michael Fullan (e.g., Fullan, 2001) and Andy Hargreaves (e.g., Hargreaves, 2003), and also in language education, as evidenced by recent books: Murray (2008), Alderson (2009), and Wedell (2009). For the purposes of this entry, I defi ne innovation as an attempt to bring about educational improvement by doing something which is perceived by implementers as new or different. I use it interchangeably with the term "change." Examples of innovation in language education over the past few decades include new pedagogic approaches, such as task-based language teaching; changes to teaching materials; technological developments, such as computer-assisted language learning; and alternative assessment methods, such as the use of portfolios. A further major strand of innovation concerns the expansion of language education in various EFL contexts; for example, English in the school sector starting increasingly early at elementary school level. The management of innovation is a critically important fi eld because the development of education rests in its hands. The litany of failures of educational reforms indicates that an enhanced understanding and implementation of the principles and practice of the management of educational change would make a major contribution to the discipline. The wider fi eld of applied linguistics needs to pay greater heed to the insights that innovation theory and practice can contribute (Waters, 2009). The main rationales for change are indicative of the centrality and ubiquity of innovations. Governments, school managers, teachers, or all of these want to make education more effective for students. Innovations may help schools to keep up-to-date with the latest developments or research fi ndings, and can also be a force to encourage educational equity and fairer opportunities for diverse sections of society. Educational change may also contribute to the development of economic competitiveness. There are less idealistic reasons for innovation too. Governments and policy makers sometimes want to create a facade of being up-to-date or to create an aura of activity. Changes may also be made so as to strengthen accountability systems or for short-term political advantage (Wedell, 2009). In the globalized world, governments also sometimes feel encouraged or impelled to indulge in policy borrowing, the adoption of innovations which other industrialized countries have been implementing. Innovation is extremely diffi cult to engineer successfully, and the classic work by Rogers (2003) outlines fi ve oft-cited factors which infl uence end users' responses: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Reforms which are perceived The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, Edited by Carol A. Chapelle.
This thesis sets out to explore the complexity of curriculum reform by examining how different st... more This thesis sets out to explore the complexity of curriculum reform by examining how different stakeholders, experiencing English language curriculum reform in different ‘layers’ of the education system in one province in Vietnam, make sense of change in relation to their professional roles, practices and behaviours. While there is a plethora of research on curriculum change in TESOL contexts, much of this is focused on the teacher and the practical constraints they might face in implementing a new curriculum. The multi-level interactions and relationships involved in sense-making, and the complexity that such interconnectedness suggests, seems to be a neglected research area. This qualitative case study begins to fill this research gap. Using a complexity perspective, the study investigated the perceptions, understandings and responses to primary English language curriculum change of seven primary English language teachers working in three districts in one province in Vietnam. The ...
Here we situate the book in today’s global English Language Teaching context, and provide our rat... more Here we situate the book in today’s global English Language Teaching context, and provide our rationale for exploring teachers ’ experiences of implementing complex English curriculum changes. We outline the structure of the book and explain the methodology used to gather the teachers stories that represent the core of each of the following chapters. The chapter ends with a series of questions that invite you to link important issues raised by the teachers’ stories that follow, to your own experiences of ‘living with curriculum change’.
International Perspectives on Teachers Living with Curriculum Change, 2017
This chapter considers the main messages emerging from the teachers’ stories and how these help t... more This chapter considers the main messages emerging from the teachers’ stories and how these help to explain the very limited success of the English teaching curriculum initiatives in most of the countries included. We see evidence of temporal dissonance between the concepts of teaching and learning and recommended teaching approaches introduced by English curricula, and those prevailing more widely within the existing educational culture; . Such dissonance, and other commonly mentioned factors, contributes to the state of contextual confusion evident in most of the stories, which in turn makes curriculum implementation professionally and personally risky for teachers.
The study of innovation in language education began to generate particular interest only from the... more The study of innovation in language education began to generate particular interest only from the 1980s onwards, with important early contributions including Kennedy (1988) from a UK perspective and Henrichsen (1989) from a US one. The former was signifi cant in establishing the management of educational change as an emerging subdiscipline of applied linguistics. Before that time, the complexities and challenges of introducing educational change were often underestimated or insuffi ciently problematized. In recent decades, interest in the topic of innovation has grown substantially, particularly in general education in the work of scholars such as Michael Fullan (e.g., Fullan, 2001) and Andy Hargreaves (e.g., Hargreaves, 2003), and also in language education, as evidenced by recent books: Murray (2008), Alderson (2009), and Wedell (2009). For the purposes of this entry, I defi ne innovation as an attempt to bring about educational improvement by doing something which is perceived by implementers as new or different. I use it interchangeably with the term "change." Examples of innovation in language education over the past few decades include new pedagogic approaches, such as task-based language teaching; changes to teaching materials; technological developments, such as computer-assisted language learning; and alternative assessment methods, such as the use of portfolios. A further major strand of innovation concerns the expansion of language education in various EFL contexts; for example, English in the school sector starting increasingly early at elementary school level. The management of innovation is a critically important fi eld because the development of education rests in its hands. The litany of failures of educational reforms indicates that an enhanced understanding and implementation of the principles and practice of the management of educational change would make a major contribution to the discipline. The wider fi eld of applied linguistics needs to pay greater heed to the insights that innovation theory and practice can contribute (Waters, 2009). The main rationales for change are indicative of the centrality and ubiquity of innovations. Governments, school managers, teachers, or all of these want to make education more effective for students. Innovations may help schools to keep up-to-date with the latest developments or research fi ndings, and can also be a force to encourage educational equity and fairer opportunities for diverse sections of society. Educational change may also contribute to the development of economic competitiveness. There are less idealistic reasons for innovation too. Governments and policy makers sometimes want to create a facade of being up-to-date or to create an aura of activity. Changes may also be made so as to strengthen accountability systems or for short-term political advantage (Wedell, 2009). In the globalized world, governments also sometimes feel encouraged or impelled to indulge in policy borrowing, the adoption of innovations which other industrialized countries have been implementing. Innovation is extremely diffi cult to engineer successfully, and the classic work by Rogers (2003) outlines fi ve oft-cited factors which infl uence end users' responses: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. Reforms which are perceived The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, Edited by Carol A. Chapelle.
This thesis sets out to explore the complexity of curriculum reform by examining how different st... more This thesis sets out to explore the complexity of curriculum reform by examining how different stakeholders, experiencing English language curriculum reform in different ‘layers’ of the education system in one province in Vietnam, make sense of change in relation to their professional roles, practices and behaviours. While there is a plethora of research on curriculum change in TESOL contexts, much of this is focused on the teacher and the practical constraints they might face in implementing a new curriculum. The multi-level interactions and relationships involved in sense-making, and the complexity that such interconnectedness suggests, seems to be a neglected research area. This qualitative case study begins to fill this research gap. Using a complexity perspective, the study investigated the perceptions, understandings and responses to primary English language curriculum change of seven primary English language teachers working in three districts in one province in Vietnam. The ...
Here we situate the book in today’s global English Language Teaching context, and provide our rat... more Here we situate the book in today’s global English Language Teaching context, and provide our rationale for exploring teachers ’ experiences of implementing complex English curriculum changes. We outline the structure of the book and explain the methodology used to gather the teachers stories that represent the core of each of the following chapters. The chapter ends with a series of questions that invite you to link important issues raised by the teachers’ stories that follow, to your own experiences of ‘living with curriculum change’.
International Perspectives on Teachers Living with Curriculum Change, 2017
This chapter considers the main messages emerging from the teachers’ stories and how these help t... more This chapter considers the main messages emerging from the teachers’ stories and how these help to explain the very limited success of the English teaching curriculum initiatives in most of the countries included. We see evidence of temporal dissonance between the concepts of teaching and learning and recommended teaching approaches introduced by English curricula, and those prevailing more widely within the existing educational culture; . Such dissonance, and other commonly mentioned factors, contributes to the state of contextual confusion evident in most of the stories, which in turn makes curriculum implementation professionally and personally risky for teachers.
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Papers by Laura Grassick