Central European Journal of Public Policy

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Central European Journal of Public Policy – Vol. 6 – № 2 – December 2012

Student’s Work Effects of Age and Length of Professional Experience on Teachers’ Attitudes to Curricular Reform Anna Tůmová1 Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

Abstract: The goal of the text is to establish whether teachers’ age and length of professional experience affect their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation in the Czech Republic. This text relies on a secondary analysis of quantitative data (N = 1002 respondents). The “age” variable was not statistically significant for either of the questions analyzed. The variable of length of professional experience was statistically significant only for three of the questions analyzed. The general trend that can be observed for these three statements is, above all, that teachers with professional experience longer than 15 years are more pessimistic about the reform. For the remaining seven variables under analysis, no significant association with the length of teachers’ professional experience was observed. In general, the effects of the variables of age and length of professional experience on teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation are not as strong as they might be expected or as they are often suggested by teachers or the general public. Keywords: teachers, curricular reform, teachers’ attitudes, teachers’ age, length of professional experience

Central European Journal of Public Policy Vol. 6 – № 2 – December 2012 – pp 84–99 ISSN 1802-4866 © 2012 Anna Tůmová Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

Introduction – Tůmová • Effects of Age and Length of Professional Experience…

Curricular reform can be considered one of the most important changes in the Czech Republic’s education system after 1989 because it has redefined the goals and content of education2. Schools and teachers should no longer focus especially on knowledge acquisition, but place more emphasis on developing more general skills and attitudes in students. At the same time, the reform has significantly strengthened teachers’ autonomy in formulating and implementing the curriculum. Teachers have been given more freedom in their work, but also more responsibility for the result of the education process. Teachers represent the key element of education policy. According to the OECD study Teachers Matter (2005), the quality of teachers and their educational work is the most important factor affecting educational achievement and simultaneously susceptible to educational policy, i.e. which can be affected by educational policy instruments (OECD 2005). The importance of teachers in the education process has been demonstrated by many empirical studies (e.g., Hattie, 2003; Sanders, Rivers, 1996; Rockoff, 2004; Hanushek, 1992). Teachers are key stakeholders in the reform because their efforts are essential in the implementation process. Their attitudes to the reform can be considered of primary importance for the success of reform implementation, as demonstrated by many scholarly and empirical studies (e.g., Smith, Desimone, 2003; Sikes, 1992; Datnow, Castellano, 2000; Kalin, Zuljan, 2007). The goal of this text is to establish whether the variables of length of teachers’ professional experience and teachers’ age are associated with teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform at the primary and lower/upper secondary levels (ISCED 1–3).

Mgr. Anna Tůmová – Department of Public and Social Policy, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague • [email protected]

1 This text was written under Specific Academic Research Project SVV 2012 265 503.

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2 Curricular reform in the Czech Republic was initiated in 2004 by the adoption of the Education Act. The Act took effect from 1 January 2005.

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STUDENT’S WORK – Tůmová • Effects of Age and Length of Professional Experience…


Theoretical Background and Literature Review

terrogation. Dissatisfaction and exhaustion are typical for many mid-career teachers. According to some studies, 40% of teachers considered leaving the teaching profession, but no study reports a mid-career crisis in the majority of teachers (Huberman, 1989). The next stages are phases of serenity and conservatism. Huberman (1989) and Lazarová (2011) reported characteristics such as emotional exhaustion, stress, health problems, declining self-confidence, decrease of ambitions, dogmatism, greater prudence, increased nostalgia for the past, scepticism to changes and higher resistance to innovation. According to some studies, the feelings of serenity are connected with greater relational distance from pupils. Finally, the last major stage is marked by disengagement in which important factors are the same as in other professions, e. g. physiological changes and social pressures. The results of research studies in the Czech Republic and abroad mostly disprove the general belief that older teachers are more resistant to changes, i.e. reject the association between teachers’ age or length of professional experience and their attitudes to changes. Datnow and Castellano (2000) conducted a qualitative study of the ways teachers at two primary schools in California respond to a curricular reform entitled, “Success for All” (SFA). As an evidence-based and comprehensive school reform model, SFA meant a substantial change in the methods of instruction and learning. With the basic aim of developing reading skills in all students, it adapted educational methods and teachers’ styles of working with the class. “Major components of SFA include a 90-minute reading period, the regrouping of students into smaller homogeneous groups of reading instruction, eight-week assessments, cooperative learning and one-to-one tutoring” (Datnow, Castellano, 2000). Teachers did not create the curriculum according to which they taught; in contrast, external experts prepared both the curriculum and teaching methods and simultaneously provided the teachers with methodological support. Some teachers responded to this fact in a reserved way. Based on 47 individual interviews, Datnow and Castellano (2000) created a typology of teachers according to the level of support for and agreement with the reform. Most of the teachers (64%) belonged to the first two categories (supporting SFA). 28% of them merely accepted the reform and 8% disagreed with it. The authors came up with some surprising conclusions. The first category of teachers which strongly supported the reform comprised of only one young teacher and its mean length of professional experience in the education sector was thirty years. This finding contrasted the general belief that changes tend to resisted by older teachers and supported by younger ones. Among the reasons of teachers’ disagreement with the reform, Datnow and Castellano (2000) stated both disapproval of some “technical” aspects (such as teaching

Attitudes encompass affective, behavioural and cognitive responses which are not separable from each other. Some attitudes are stable over time, but some of them depend on the context (Bohner, Wänke, 2002). For example, teachers’ attitudes to teaching are influenced by teacher development because teachers can see the effects of changes in student results (Guskey, 2002). The present text uses the terms “attitudes” and “attitudes and opinions” as broader terms for a set of attitudes, opinions and beliefs. According to the conclusions of some studies, teachers’ attitudes and responses to reforms are correlated with characteristics such as age, length of professional experience, gender or cultural background (e.g. Huberman, 1989; Datnow, 1998). Most teachers and school principals, but also members of the general public, believe that teachers who have worked in the field for a long time tend to be less flexible and open to changes, compared to younger teachers with fewer years of professional experience. There is a generally held assumption that older teachers with longer professional experience are more resistant to changes. This has been demonstrated, for example, by Lazarová & Jůva’s study of intergenerational relations in teacher teams (Lazarová, Jůva, 2009). If the research question is whether the length of teachers’ professional experience and teachers’ age influenced teachers’ attitudes to curricular reform then it is necessary to deal with models of teacher career development, such as those introduced by Huberman (1989), Steffy (2000), Long (1999), or Lazarová (2011) and Lukas (2007) in the Czech Republic. Teacher career models describe a set of stages from career start to leaving the profession, but these stages are not rigid (Steffy 2000). Huberman (1989) divided the career cycle as follows: The first major stage of career entry revolves around survival and discovery. As teachers adapt to life in the school, they typically experience a difference between professional ideals and the everyday reality in the classroom. In the second major stage, stabilisation, teachers are more interested in the curriculum and methods of teaching. Steffy (2000) spoke about a shift from teachers’ needs to students’ needs. The teacher actually ‘becomes’ an educator, identifying with the profession and roles. The third stage can be very different because there is a balancing and an assessment of career. First, Huberman (1989) described a phase of experimentation/diversification, teachers are more confident to try new teaching ways and methods, different materials and different pupil groupings, but often face institutional barriers. They may be ready for new challenges and incentives. Second, Huberman (1989) spoke about a phase of stock-taking/in86

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aids) and a more general ideological disapproval of such changes which tended to be based on a belief that the reform stripped the teachers of a large amount of autonomy and freedom. A Finnish qualitative study focused on specialized teachers’ attitudes to curricular reform of the initial vocational education and training (VET) system and the ways their professional identity was affected by it. The VET system was transformed from a strongly school-based system to closer cooperation between VET institutions and workplaces. The qualifications included at least six months of learning in authentic work environments. Students were guided by workers during this time. Students and teachers also had to visit the workplaces to participate in guidance and evaluation. Further changes and projects were undertaken by VET institutions at the local level (Vähäsantanen, Eteläpelto, 2008). Based on a narrative analysis of interviews with sixteen teachers, the study identified three different ways of negotiating teachers’ professional identity vis-à-vis the reform (Vähäsantanen, Eteläpelto, 2008). First, those with a “resistant orientation” disapproved of the reform and its goals, advocating the status quo. They found their existing role to be meaningful and thought it would be jeopardized by the reform. This group consisted of six teachers, with a mean age of 46 years and a mean length of professional experience of 10 years. The second group of teachers with an “inconsistent orientation” held highly ambivalent attitudes to the reform. They could not or did not want to take a strongly positive or negative stance on the reform. The group consisted of five teachers with a mean age of 50 years and a mean length of professional experience of 16 years. The last group, five teachers, supported the reform; its mean age was 46 years and mean length of professional experience 14 years (Vähäsantanen, Eteläpelto, 2008). Curricular reform in the Czech Republic was initiated by adoption of the Education Act in 2004. This was made possible by monitored preparation phases3. Curricular documents were developed at two levels – the national level (Framework Educational Programmes, FEPs) and the school level (School Educational Programmes, SEPs). SEPs were prepared by schools themselves, based on principles set out in FEPs. Teachers and principals faced a difficult task because they were not prepared for drafting curricular documents and did not have experience with it. Many experts also pointed out problems in the implementation phase of the reform (e.g. Simonová, Straková, 2005).

Beran, Mareš and Ježek (2007) studied education professionals’ attitudes to curricular reform in the Czech Republic, problems associated with it and further education of teachers. Based on the results of a questionnaire survey4, they found that the teachers viewed the reform negatively, found it difficult to accept and were concerned about it. The teachers’ attitudes were not associated with length of professional experience in the education sector or number of years working in their current school. The Research Institute of Education in Prague reflected the course of the curricular reform in two of its analyses. The first publication was based on 19 interviews with coordinators at pilot and partner schools (Janík et al., 2010a) and the second, follow-up analysis presented the results of a questionnaire survey5 (Janík et al., 2010b). The interviews with pilot and partner school coordinators revealed that the reform was often perceived positively, as an opportunity for change (Janík et al., 2010a). However, according to the questionnaire survey, teachers approached the reform more negatively, criticizing its formalist implementation. The reform as such was not received smoothly at secondary schools, being accepted by 14% of the respondents, not accepted by 30% and received ambivalently by 55%. The reform tended to be accepted more strongly at pilot schools and by school principals, compared to teachers. The attitudes to the reform were associated with gender, with more women than men accepting the reform, but unrelated to length of professional experience or specialization. Most of the teachers expected changes in the methods and forms of instruction, less of them expected the reform to affect educational goals (the competency orientation) or educational content. These sceptical beliefs about the reform’s goals were probably related to the perceptions of its formal implementation (Janík et al., 2010b). None of the Czech studies cited above focused specially on the relationship between teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform and their age and length of professional experience. Therefore, the added value of this text lies in concentration on this topic.

3 The aims of the reform were formulated in the National Programme for the Development of Education in the Czech Republic (the so-called White Paper) in 2001.

4 The research sample included 731 respondents from 50 schools. 5 The research sample included 1098 respondents from 58 schools.

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Methods

•

This text relies on a secondary analysis of quantitative data collected by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports6 in a study about the education sector7. The research sample consisted of 1002 respondents recruited from among teachers at the primary and lower/upper secondary levels (ISCED 1–3). Based on quota sampling, the sample is representative of the regional distribution and composition of types of schools in the Czech Republic. The data was collected between March 25 and April 17, 2009, by means of standardized face-to-face interviews between interviewers and teachers taking approximately 30 minutes each. The goal of the analysis is to establish whether teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform are influenced by their age and length of professional experience8. Therefore, the following hypotheses have been formulated: H1: Teachers’ age affects their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation. H2: The length of teachers’ professional experience affects their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation.

Teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation were observed through a battery of questions: • Question: Did the introduction of FEPs and SEPs bring about any change in your personal work practices?9 • Statement: The introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers10. • Statement: The introduction of FEPs into educational practice was not accompanied by sufficient clarification and support by central authorities. • Statement: The reform and FEPs are incomprehensible to me; I do not know what I am expected to do. • Statement: Despite the introduction of FEPs, changes in teaching style and an individual approach are difficult to push through at school.

6 Analýza předpokladů a vzdělávacích potřeb pedagogických pracovníků pro zkvalitňování jejich pedagogické práce. Učitelé ZŠ a SŠ [Analysis of education professionals’ abilities and educational needs for improvement of their educational efforts], Factum Invenio, s. r. o., Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2009. 7 The Ministry of Education commissioned the study from the Factum Invenio Agency. 8 Age was collected as an interval variable, length of professional experience as an ordinal variable. 9 The respondents answered using a five-point scale where 1 meant “large change” and 5 “no change”. 10 The respondents answered all of these statements using a four-point scale: agree strongly, agree, disagree, agree strongly.

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• • • •

Statement: The fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time. Statement: The introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied. Statement: Most schools are introducing the reform in a formal way, by merely creating the necessary documents. Statement: The reform did not help me or my students in any way. Statement: The reform discredited the approaches that are being introduced (emphasis on key competencies, activating teaching methods, integration of contents, project teaching…).

The data was processed and analyzed in the SPSS 13.0 statistical software. The effects of both variables were verified by means of the Chi-Square Test which tests independence between two variables. Adjusted residuals have been established to express the difference between observed frequencies and those expected under the condition of independence at the levels of statistical significance of 5% (adjusted residual equals 1.96), 1% (adjusted residual equals 2.58) and 0.1% (adjusted residual equals 3.29). For questions/statements where the effects of both variables were statistically significant11, the adjusted residuals were complemented by the so-called “symbol scheme” to make the contingency tables clearer and easier to interpret. The different values of adjusted residuals were replaced by mathematical symbols as follows: • Values of adjusted residuals in the interval of (−1.96; 1.96) were replaced by 012 • Values of adjusted residuals in the interval of (−2.58; −1.96) were replaced by – • Values of adjusted residuals in the interval of (1.96; 2.58) were replaced by + • Values of adjusted residuals in the interval of (−3.29; −2.58) were replaced by −− • Values of adjusted residuals in the interval of (2.58; 3.29) were replaced by ++ • Values of adjusted residuals lower than −3.29 were replaced by −−− • Values of adjusted residuals higher than 3.29 were replaced by +++ 11 This text only pays closer attention to those variables where a statistically significant relationship was established through the Pearson Chi-Square test. 12 Values of adjusted residuals greater than –1.96 and lower than 1.96 were replaced by the number 0.

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Results

Table 1 Variables and p-values for the Pearson Chi-Square test

The goal of the article was to establish the effects of the variables of teachers’ age and length of professional experience on questions and statements related to teachers’ attitudes to and opinions about the curricular reform and its implementation. Table 1 shows p-values for the Pearson Chi-Square test. For the variable of teachers’ age, the relationship with neither of the variables analyzed proved statistically significant. The positive effects of length of teachers’ professional experience proved statistically significant for only three statements evaluating the curricular reform, namely for teachers’ agreement with the following statements: “The introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers”; “The fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time”, and “The introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied”. The statement that “the introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers” was agreed with by substantially higher numbers of teachers with more than 5 years but less than 10 years of professional experience. Table 2 shows the teachers’ answers (both frequencies and percentages), the values of adjusted residuals, and the “symbol scheme” demonstrating which categories of teachers by length of professional experience were substantially more or less likely to give the different answers to the question. The table makes it apparent that the category of teachers with professional experience longer than 5 years but less than 10 years was less likely to agree strongly but more likely to disagree with the statement. Teachers with professional experience longer than 5 years but less than 10 years, who may be in the second stage of career (professional stabilization), are more interested in the curriculum and teaching methods. They are active and motivated to improve their teaching. Their strong disagreement with the statement “the introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers” may be seen as an effort to look for positives in the reforms and overlook their negative aspects. Another reason can be that they were more likely to be assigned the task of SEP preparation, so they might identify more with the reform. In contrast, teachers in the category with professional experience longer than 15 years were much more likely to agree strongly and much less likely to disagree with the statement. Their agreement with the statement confirms a finding of Huberman (1989) and Lazarová (2011) about general scepticism and distrust of change.

Variable

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P-values for the Pearson Chi-Square test Age

Length of professional experience

Question: Did the introduction of Framework Educational Programmes (FEPs) and School Educational Programmes (SEPs) bring about any change in your personal work practices?

0.692

0.587

Statement: The introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers.

0.323

0.018

Statement: The introduction of FEPs into educational practice was not accompanied by sufficient clarification and support by central authorities.

0.471

0.265

Statement: The reform and FEPs are incomprehensible to me; I do not know what I am expected to do.

0.182

0.800

Statement: Despite the introduction of FEPs, changes in teaching style and an individual approach are difficult to push through at school.

0.620

0.496

Statement: The fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time.

0.172

0.004

Statement: The introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied.

0.317

0.002

Statement: Most schools are introducing the reform in a formal way, by merely creating the necessary documents.

0.997

0.298

Statement: The reform did not help me or my students in any way.

0.282

0.958

Statement: The reform discredited the approaches that are being introduced (emphasis on key competencies, activating teaching methods, integration of contents, project teaching…).

0.682

0.421

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Table 2 Level of teachers’ dis/agreement with the statement “The introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers” by length of their professional experience

likely to disagree). Their disagreement came as little surprise given their relatively short experience in the school. According to the teacher career model, career entry typically a stage of survival and discovery. On one hand, beginning teachers have to adapt to the environment in schools and cope with reality. On the other hand, they are willing to learn and discover new things. Consequently, they may hold more positive attitudes to the reform and, more generally, to change. Table 3 describes the respondents’ answers in detail.

Less than 5 More than years 5 years, less than 10 years Agree strongly

Agree

Disagree

Disagree strongly

Total

More than 10 years, less than 15 years

More than 15 years

Frequency

61 (6%)

64 (7%)

74 (8%)

295 (30%)

Adj. resid.

−1.7

−2.4

−0.4

3.3

Symbol scheme

0

−

0

+++

Frequency

58 (6%)

61 (6%)

54 (6%)

185 (19%)

Adj. resid.

1.3

0.9

−0.3

−1.4

Symbol scheme

0

0

0

0

Frequency

17 (2%)

24 (3%)

19 (2%)

37 (4%)

Adj. resid.

1.0

2.6

1.2

−3.4

Symbol scheme

0

++

0

−−−

Frequency

2 (0%)

3 (0%)

3 (0%)

12 (1%)

Adj. resid.

−0.5

−0.1

−0.1

0.5

Symbol scheme

0

0

0

0

138 (14%)

152 (16%)

150 (16%)

529 (55%)

Total

494 (51%)

358 (37%)

97 (10%)

20 (2%)

969 (100%)

A statistically significant effect of the variable of length of professional experience was also observed for the statement that “the fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time”. Teachers with professional experience longer than 15 years were more likely to agree with the statement (more specifically, more likely to agree strongly and less likely to disagree). This result can be explained similarly to the previous variable, i.e. by scepticism of teachers with longer professional experience to change and innovation. Differences were further observed for the category of teachers with professional experience under 5 years which were less likely to agree with the statement (more specifically, less likely to agree strongly and substantially more 94

Table 3 Level of teachers’ dis/agreement with the statement “The fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time” by length of their professional experience Less than 5 More than years 5 years, less than 10 years Agree strongly

Agree

Disagree

Disagree strongly

Total


More than 15 years

Frequency

26 (3%)

33 (4%)

37 (4%)

165 (17%)

Adj. resid.

−2.3

−1.5

−0.7

3.1

Symbol scheme

−

0

0

++

Frequency

65 (7%)

70 (7%)

76 (8%)

248 (26%)

Adj. resid.

0.0

−0.2

0.9

−0.6

Symbol scheme

0

0

0

0

Frequency

38 (4%)

33 (4%)

21 (2%)

81 (9%)

Adj. resid.

3.3

1.5

−1.3

−2.4

Symbol scheme

+++

0

0

−

Frequency

5 (1%)

10 (1%)

12 (1%)

26 (3%)

Adj. resid.

−1.0

0.7

1.5

−0.9

Symbol scheme

0

0

0

0

134 (14%)

146 (15%)

146 (15%)

520 (55%)

Total

261 (28%)

459 (49%)

173 (18%)

53 (6%)

946 (100%)

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The statement that “the introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied”13 was also received differently by teachers with different lengths of professional experience. Teachers in the category with professional experience under 5 years were substantially more likely to agree and, in contrast, somewhat less likely to agree strongly. Teachers in the category with professional experience between 5 and 10 years were less likely to agree strongly with the statement. Teachers with professional experience between 10 and 15 years were more likely to disagree strongly with the statement and, in contrast, teachers with professional experience longer than 15 years were more likely to agree strongly. The main significant difference is in the category of teachers with professional experience under 5 years (see Table 4). The reason can be stronger disagreement of beginning teachers with formalism in schools generally. Table 4 shows the frequencies and percentages of respondents’ answers along with the values of adjusted residuals and the “symbol scheme”. For the remaining seven variables under analysis, no significant association with the length of teachers’ professional experience was observed.

Table 4 Level of teachers’ dis/agreement with the statement “The introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied” by length of their professional experience Less than 5 More than years 5 years, less than 10 years Agree strongly

Agree

Disagree

Conclusion In this text, the effects of teachers’ age and length of professional experience on their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation have been analyzed. The “age” variable was not statistically significant for either of the questions analyzed. Hypothesis H1: “Teachers’ age affects their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation” can be rejected. The variable of length of professional experience was statistically significant for three of the questions analyzed (specifically, “The introduction of FEPs increased the administrative and unpaid workload for teachers”, “The fuss about the reform is useless; at our school, we have been practicing everything it requires for a long time”, and “The introduction of FEPs is often accompanied by plagiarism: other schools’ programmes are being copied”). The general trend that can be observed for these three statements is, above all, that teachers with professional experience longer than 15 years are more likely to agree with them. This trend confirms the finding of Huberman (1989) and La13 Teachers and principals were in a very complicated situation, because they did not have relevant experience and were not prepared for drafting SEPs and actively participating on them. Teachers had limited time for the drafting process. Some schools copied SEPs from others (especially from pilot schools). Data was collected in 2009 and it is possible that current situation is better and some schools have created their own SEPs.

96

Disagree strongly

Total


More than 15 years

Frequency

23 (3%)

29 (3%)

42 (5%)

147 (17%)

Adj. resid.

−2.2

−2.2

1.0

2.4

Symbol scheme

−

−

0

+

Frequency

65 (8%)

60 (7%)

48 (5%)

177 (21%)

Adj. resid.

3.4

0.5

−1.1

−1.9

Symbol scheme

+++

0

0

0

Frequency

25 (3%)

40 (5%)

27 (3%)

121 (14%)

Adj. resid.

−1.0

1.1

−1.3

0.8

Symbol scheme

0

0

0

0

Frequency

6 (1%)

13 (2%)

16 (2%)

26 (3%)

Adj. resid.

−0.9

1.1

2.4

−1.9

Symbol scheme

0

0

+

0

119 (14%)

142 (16%)

133 (15%)

471 (55%)

Total

241 (28%)

350 (40%)

213 (25%)

61 (7%)

865 (100%)

zarová (2011) about scepticism to changes and innovation among teachers with longer professional experience (the stage of serenity and conservatism according Huberman, 1989). Hypothesis H2: “The length of teachers’ professional experience affects their attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation” can be confirmed even if the relationship between the variables proved significant for only some of the questions analyzed. In general, the effects of the variables of age and length of professional experience on teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation are not as strong as they might be expected or as they are often suggested by teachers or the general public. 97


There are some methodological limitations to the analysis presented in this text. First, it used secondary data collected by another research project (e.g., as a consequence, length of professional experience was recorded as an ordinal variable). Second, data was collected in 2009, so we can assume a development of teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform due to time and other factors. Further research might focus on the development of teachers’ attitudes to the curricular reform and its implementation and their changes. The central question is if the aims of the curricular reform are considered as an important topic for school practice. What are teachers’ attitudes to the aims of the curricular reform, not only to its implementation phase? Kennedy and Kennedy (1996) pointed out the difference between teachers’ attitudes and classroom reality. An important topic for further research would also be the effects of teachers’ attitudes to curricular reform on reality in schools.

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