Teachers’ judgement, learning materials and curriculum

Navigating in a changing educational landscape

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21344/iartem.v15i2.981

Keywords:

Teachers' judgement, learning materials, curriculum, L1, Social studies

Abstract

Teachers’ choices of learning materials are made under conditions of a changing educational landscape. This small-scale qualitative study investigates how teachers reflect on their choice and use of learning materials in light of changes in the curriculum in Norway and the development of digital and analogue learning materials. It is based on focus group interviews with two groups of experienced teachers. The focus is on the subjects L1 (Norwegian), English and social studies. Our hypothesis is that there is often a tension between the teachers’ professional judgement, the demands of the curriculum, and the available learning materials. The analysis of the interviews shows that the changes in the Norwegian curriculum pose challenges for the teachers, but also that the interviewed teachers are ready for these challenges. With the development of digital learning materials, the teachers do not see the analogue textbook as obsolete, but they have an intention to be able to combine analogue and digital learning materials. The study shows the need for supporting the teachers’ professional judgement in light of the changes in the curriculum and the development of learning materials, both digital and analogue.

Author Biographies

  • Anders Stig Christensen, UCL University College Denmark

    Anders Stig Christensen, UCL University College, Denmark, is Ph.D. and lecturer in social science education at the department of teacher education. His research interests are in the areas of social science education, democratic education and citizenship education. He is the author of textbooks and learning material for the teacher education as well as lower secondary school.
    [Email: [email protected]]

  • Anne-Beathe Mortensen-Buan, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Anne-Beathe Mortensen-Buan, University of South-Eastern Norway, is associate professor in Norwegian language and literature (L1). Her research topics include reading literacy, learning materials and multimodality.
    [Email: [email protected]]

     

  • Kari H. Nordberg, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Kari H. Nordberg, University of South-Eastern Norway, is associate professor in social science education. Her research interests are textbooks and educational media, gender, and sexuality education.
    [Email: [email protected]]


     

  • Merethe Roos, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Merethe Roos, University of South-Eastern Norway, is professor of history. Her research focuses on educational history and the history of educational media, particularly in the Nordic countries, and her publications include several acclaimed monographs and editorial works, in addition to textbooks and a number of research articles. She is currently the leader of USN’s focus area Textbooks and Educational Media.
    [Email: [email protected]]

     

Downloads

Published

2023-11-24

Issue

Section

Peer-reviewed research articles

How to Cite

Christensen, A. S., Mortensen-Buan, A.-B. ., Nordberg, K., & Roos, M. . (2023). Teachers’ judgement, learning materials and curriculum: Navigating in a changing educational landscape . IARTEM E-Journal, 15(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.21344/iartem.v15i2.981