A theory of enactment: The case of a first-grade teacher

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine a first grade teacher's personal theory about curriculum, and explore the ways in which this theory manifested itself about the content and the curriculum enactment process in a classroom context. Special attention was paid to analyze Sarah's (the teacher) classroom curriculum components in order to develop a theoretical model to describe Sarah's enactment theory of the curriculum in her context as a whole language teacher. The primary mode for conducting this study was classroom observations and in-depth teacher interviews. Formal curriculum standards, lesson plans, and reflective journals were used as supplementary resources for the primary data in this study. The analysis of the data suggested that this teacher had a well-developed theory about the content of her classroom curriculum that she used to set up the stage for enacting the curriculum at the classroom level. The curriculum enactment was carried out in the forms of stories, songs, group work activities, and direct teaching as structured events. In addition, Sarah used her rhythmic knowledge to process the curriculum as different segments across the classroom day. Moreover, Sarah enacted the curriculum through organizing students in different forms of communities to establish a culture for learning. The three major implications of this study are: that prospective teachers need to understand curriculum enactment as structured events, to use rhythms to help students make sense of their classroom time and predict the flow of classroom activities, and to establish a culture of learning in which students work as partners in the enacting process of classroom curriculum. Further research is needed to study the cognitive and social impacts of classroom tasks, conduct studies about curriculum enactment in different learning settings, or examine the impact of teachers' daily agenda on curriculum enactment in their context.