2025 Theses Doctoral

English Teaching as Curriculum Inquiry: What Methods Coursework, English Teachers, and Curriculum Ideologies Reveal About Each Other

Stolzer, Jacqueline

Teachers are not always given the support, space, or conceptual tools for deliberating about curriculum or curricular choices in meaningful ways. While not without limitations, Schiro’s (2013) framework of curriculum ideologies can serve as a launch point for considering divergent visions for schooling and their implications for curricular action.

Rooted in the traditions of teacher research and constructivist grounded theory, this study thus sought to understand: (a) what happens when a curriculum ideology framework is introduced to graduate students in a pre-service English Methods class; (b) what happens when those students-turned-teachers return to the framework as a way to make meaning of their early experiences in teaching and curricular design; and (c) what can be learned from teachers’ responses to the curriculum ideologies that might lead to more nuanced theorizing.

Data were constructed from semi-structured interviews and reflections on coursework artifacts and interpreted from a desire to gain deeper understanding around the purpose of English Methods coursework, the role of the teacher educator, and curriculum ideology as a concept. Provisional recommendations for conceptualizing Methods coursework and curriculum ideologies are presented in the final chapter.