“Bigger Than the Syllabus”: Exploring Second Language Writing Instructors’ Curriculum Knowledge

Abstract

The discipline of curriculum studies has long understood curriculum to be more than just the official documents and materials created by experts. The reality of curriculum is much richer than that, taking into account what is intended, enacted, experienced, learned and more by numerous stakeholders, including both teachers and students (Ben-Peretz, 1990; Breault and Marshall, 2010; Schubert, 2008). It is also important to consider instructors’ curriculum knowledge, or what they know about curriculum as viewed through these broader and more nuanced lenses. This study explores second language writing (SLW) instructors’ curriculum knowledge, both in general and in relation to the specific curriculum in the writing program at a large public university where they teach. Through this situated qualitative inquiry, survey and interview data were collected and analyzed to explore themes related to curricular influences and venues (Lerner, 2019; Schubert, 2008). Five individual instructor case studies are explored in more depth, leading to insights regarding their curriculum knowledge. Findings indicate that these instructors’ curriculum knowledge is fluid and ever-evolving and is often related to their own experiences as both students and teachers. The participants also identified a perceived disconnect between the program-level intended curriculum and their classroom-level enacted curriculum. These findings demonstrate a need for more attention to teachers’ curriculum knowledge and literacy (Ben-Peretz, 1990; Shulman and Shulman, 2004) in university-level SLW teacher preparation programs, as well as a broader understanding of curriculum in university writing programs, more generally.