Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This paper describes and interprets how five teachers of high school freshmen defined and made meaning of a change process in which they were involved. The restructuring initiative, which was administratively imposed, involved teaming, interdisciplinary teaching, and block scheduling. The study took place during the 1st year of implementation, 6 months after the team had received the mandate and prepared for the restructuring. The tools of inquiry included the following methods: (a) analysis of three in-depth phenomenological interviews, (b) participation observation, and (c) analyses of documents such as minutes from team meetings and curriculum planning sessions.

Although several interrelated themes emerged, uncertainty and doubt became the pervading theme that had a critical and sometimes debilitating effect on the teaching team's ability to move from subject-based to interdisciplinary teaching. This uncertainty and doubt was magnified and perpetuated because of the deficit model utilized to implement the initiative: lack of teacher input into decision to restructure, the school's history of adopting trends, lack of professional development, lack of a written curriculum, lack of administrative leadership, and the pull between loyalty to subject and allegiance to team.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Beane

J. A.

(1995). Introduction: What is a coherent curriculum? In Beane

J. A.

(Ed.), Toward a coherent curriculum: 1995 yearbook of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (pp. 1–14). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Bogdan

R. C.

, & Biklen

S. K.

(1992). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Bolman

L. G.

, & Deal

T. E.

(1991). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Corbett

H. D.

, Dawson

J. A.

, & Firestone

W. A.

(1984). School context and school change: Implications for effective planning. New York: Teachers College Press.

Drake

S. M.

(1993). Planning integrated curriculum: The call to adventure. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Elmore

, Peterson

, & McCarthey

(1996). Restructuring in the classroom: Teaching, learning and school organization. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Fullan

(1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Bristol, PA: The Falmer Press.

Fullan

M. G.

(with Stiegelbauer, S.). (1991). The new meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press.

Glickman

(1993). Renewing American's schools: A guide for school-based action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

10.

Grossman

P. L.

, & Stodolsky

S. S.

(1995). Content as context: The role of school subjects in secondary school teaching. Educational Researcher, 24 (8), 5–11.

11.

Hargreaves

(1994). Changing teachers, changing times: Teachers’ work and culture in the postmodern age. New York: Teachers College Press.

12.

Hargreaves

, & Macmillan

(1995). The balkanization of secondary school teaching. In Siskin

L. S.

, & Little

J. W.

(Eds.), The subjects in question: Departmental organization and the high school. New York: Teachers College Press.

13.

Lortie

D. C.

(1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

14.

Maeroff

G. I.

(1993). Team building for school change: Equipping teachers for new roles. New York: Teachers College Press.

15.

Murphy

(1991). Restructuring schools: Capturing and assessing the phenomena. New York: Teachers College Press.

16.

Murphy

, & Hallinger

(1993). Restructuring schools: Learning from ongoing efforts. In Murphy

, & Hallinger

(Eds.), Restructuring schools: Learning from ngoing efforts (pp. 251–272). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

17.

Sikes

P. J.

(1992). Imposed change and the experienced teacher. In Fullan

, & Hargreaves

(Eds.), Teacher development and educational change (pp. 36–55). Washington, DC: The Falmer Press.

18.

Siskin

L. S.

, & Little

J. W.

(1995). The subject department: Continuities and critiques. In Siskin

L. S.

, & Little

J. W.

(Eds.), The subjects in question: Departmental organization and the high school. New York: Teachers College Press.

19.

Strauss

, & Corbin

(1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory and procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

20.

Wasley

(1991). Teachers who lead: The rhetoric of reform and the realities of practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

21.

Wasley

(1994). Stirring the chalkdust: Tales of teachers changing classroom practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

22.

Webb

, Corbett

H. D.

, & Wilson

B. L.

(1993). Restructuring systematically for students: Can it be more than just talk? In Murphy

, & Hallinger

(Eds.), Restructuring schools: Learning from ongoing efforts (pp. 188–215). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Out on a Limb on Our Own: Uncertainty and Doubt in Moving from Subject-Centered to Interdisciplinary Teaching

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References