Teachers’ Responses to Noncompliant Students: The Realities and Consequences of a Negotiated Curriculum

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Catherine D. Ennis, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: This research examined the context in urban high school physical education classes that influenced 10 teachers' conceptualizations of realistic educational goals for their students. Ethnographic data in the form of field notes and interviews were analyzed using constant comparison. Teachers reported that many students were unwilling to participate and were becoming progressively more difficult to teach. Teachers actively sought explanations for this behavior both in the students' backgrounds and their lack of interest in school. They identified inconsistencies between the school's educational mission and the students' aspirations for the future. Teachers reported substantial changes in their programs over their careers. Although they had begun their careers teaching skills and other knowledge-based curricula, the diversity and difficulties associated with teaching urban students had forced them to move from a curriculum of skills to a "curriculum" of motivation and order. Many of these programs exhibited characteristics of an elitist, discriminatory, and decontextual approach to curriculum.

Additional Information

Publication
Teaching and Teacher Education, 11, 445-460.
Language: English
Date: 1995
Keywords
Teachers, Effective teaching, Classroom discipline, Motivation, Curriculum

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