Teachers’ experiences of enacting curriculum policy at the micro level using Bernstein’s theory of the pedagogic device

ABSTRACT

This study examines the experiences of teachers in the Republic of Ireland, as agents of the pedagogic device, in enacting curriculum policy at the micro level of the classroom. It explores their enactment of policy at a time of significant curriculum reform of junior secondary school education. Drawing upon the findings of in-depth interviews with teachers, this study integrates Bernstein’s Theory of ‘Pedagogic Device’ with Ball’s concept of ‘policy enactment’ and ‘policy actor’ and provides valuable insights into the development of curriculum policy at the macro level and how this is translated and enacted at the micro classroom level. It explores teachers’ experiences in translating the subject knowledge and pedagogical practices in the classroom and how these align to the official curriculum policy. Moreover, the study provides an insight into the correlation between the classification and framing of a subject and its perceived status among teachers and students. Particularly, the balance between the common and esoteric discourses and how this has a strong influence on the positioning of subjects in a school is explored.

KEYWORDS:

• Policy enactment
• teacher as policy actor
• curriculum policy
• Bernstein pedagogic device
• home economics education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amanda McCloat

Amanda McCloat, is the President of St Angela’s College, Sligo. She has extensive senior management experience in third level having held the position of Head of the Home Economics Department and Senior Lecturer at St. Angela’s College, Sligo for eleven years. Amanda has wide-ranging experience teaching, lecturing and researching in the field of Home Economics and Home Economics teacher education at secondary and third level. She is the European Representative on the Executive Committee of International Federation for Home Economics (IFHE); Vice-President of the European Association of Home Economics (EAHE) and is an executive member of the Association of Teachers of Home Economics, Ireland (ATHE). Ms McCloat was appointed to the inaugural Healthy Ireland Council in May 2014. Her research interests and publications are in the areas of Home Economics education; food education; food literacy and cooking skills; and Education for Sustainable and Responsible Living.

Martin Caraher

Martin Caraher, trained as an EHO in Dublin before moving into public health and health promotion work. He was a founder member of the London Food Board and was the public health representative on the London 2012 Olympic Food Advisory Board. In 2012/13 he was the ‘Thinker in Residence’ at Deakin University, Melbourne and was the Australian Healthway’s fellow for 2008 and again in 2016. His publications cover a range from food access in local communities, through work on food taxes, school food, cooking, fast food to food banks and food poverty. Martin has published over 160 articles, 5 books and 30 books chapters.