Implementing values education in the regular curriculum: A problem-solving approach to challenge and support teacher growth

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to report a research project concerned with the development of mathematics and language teachers' skills and understanding of themselves as pedagogical problem solvers and the impact of this development on their ability to implement curriculum reform in their teaching programmes. The project took place in Guandong Province, China, and aimed to challenge and support teachers to incorporate values education into their subject areas rather than treating it as an add-on subject. The teachers were working in a pressured, examination-driven environment and hence it was necessary for them to develop creative problem-solving strategies to integrate the new teaching approach within the existing constraints of curriculum and time. This chapter will report the growth that occurred in the teachers’ ability to do this, and will examine the critical incidents that were catalysts for this growth to occur. This chapter will address an issue which is important not only in China but worldwide, with the current emphasis on quality learning and instruction and also the growing pressure for schools to take responsibility for values education. Teachers are required to respond to changes and implement recommendations within the constraints of day-to-day classroom management. They need to be critical and informed professionals, so it is argued that by adopting a problem-solving approach to professional development, teachers would be better able to view themselves as competent problem solvers who are able to develop various strategies to deal with change. The chapter will discuss some implications arising from the project for challenging and supporting teachers, worldwide, to implement curriculum reforms, specifically in values education, but also in a more general sense.