Curriculum change is a complex process that involves many people, often with competing interests. These competing interests can derail progress toward the goal of better student learning, especially if countervailing forces are not addressed effectively. These countervailing forces are the result of the way that school systems are organized and managed, and they are largely beyond the control of individual teachers or schools. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify some important factors that influence the ability of a system to implement changes in its curriculum.
Conflicting Goals
One major factor is the conflict over goals for education itself. Different curriculum reforms embody different ideas about what should be taught, and the ways in which students should learn it. Some of these ideas promote democratic equality, by aiming to give all children the basic knowledge and skills they will need to function in society as adults. Others are oriented toward social efficiency, by seeking to equip different groups of students with the skills they will need for specific kinds of jobs in an economy that is becoming increasingly specialized.
Credentialing Over Learning
A second concern is the way in which educational institutions organize themselves, a factor that has a powerful effect on the effectiveness of curriculum change. When the emphasis in a system is placed on sorting and selecting students rather than on enhancing learning-which has been the case for much of American education since the 20th century-it becomes very difficult to pursue curriculum reforms that take learning seriously.