Revised curriculum in the Cypriot primary school: how to overcome the espoused level of change

Abstract

In this article the author discusses how the revised curriculum which has been recently introduced in public primary education in Cyprus can be implemented beyond the espoused level of change. This discussion is based on a study the author conducted on Cypriot primary school teachers’ reflective practices. The study was qualitative and used semi-structured interviews with a cross-section of 18 Cypriot primary school teachers. It revealed how the teachers reflect on their teaching and the kinds of professional exchange they engage in. In this article the author builds on these findings in order to explore the relationship between the effective implementation of the new curriculum and the primary teachers’ reflective practices and professional exchange. In particular, she aims to examine the extent to which Cypriot primary teachers’ different kinds of professional exchange and reflective practices can promote or limit curriculum implementation. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for the effective implementation of the revised curriculum in the Cypriot primary school.

Keywords:

• revised curriculum
• reflective practice
• professional exchange
• theories-in-use
• espoused beliefs
• professional trust
• primary school teachers