Testing Times for the Implementation of Curriculum Change: Analysis and Extension of a Curriculum Change Model.

1. Judy Smeed[1][1] 2. Terri Bourke[1][1] 3. Julie Nickerson[1][1] 4. Tracy Corsbie[2][2] 1. 1Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia 2. 2North LakesState College, Brisbane, Australia 1. Judy Smeed, School of Cultural and Professional Learning, Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Queensland 4059, Australia. Email: j.smeed{at}qut.edu.au School curriculum change processes have traditionally been managed internally. However, in Queensland, Australia, as a response to the current high-stakes accountability regime, more and more principals are outsourcing this work to external change agents (ECAs). In 2009, one of the authors (a university lecturer and ECA) developed a curriculum change model (the Controlled Rapid Approach to Curriculum Change [CRACC]), specifically outlining the involvement of an ECA in the initiation phase of a school’s curriculum change process. The purpose of this article is to extend the CRACC model by unpacking the implementation phase, drawing on data from a pilot study of a single school. Interview responses revealed that during the implementation phase, teachers wanted to be kept informed of the wider educational context, use data to constantly track students, relate pedagogical practices to testing practices, share information between departments and professional levels, and own whole school performance. It is suggested that the findings would be transferable to other school settings and internal leadership of curriculum change. The article also strikes a chord of concern: Do the responses from teachers operating under thecurrent accountability regime live their professional lives within this corporate and globalized ideology whether they want to or not? [1]: #aff-1 [2]: #aff-2