Negotiating Standards in the Primary Classroom: The Teacher's Dilemma

by Wien, Carol Anne; Katz, Lilian G.

• ISBN13: 9780807745106
• ISBN10: 0807745103
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-19
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

This book takes you into the classroom to see how eight teachers struggled with the dilemma of how to balance a standardized curriculum with their understanding of sound early childhood educational practices. You#x19;ll see up close how each teacher developed a variety of strategies in her efforts to respond to imposed standards and assessments, to the developmental nature of children, and to the challenge of diversity in the classroom. It presents and analyzes a variety of approaches used by these teachers, including a linear approach, an integrated approach, a holistic approach, and ignoring the imposed standards entirely.

Author Biography

Carol Anne Wien is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at York University, Toronto, Canada.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Lilian G. Katz
Preface	xiii
Early Childhood Teachers in Public Schools	1	(12)
The Context	4	(2)
The Standardized Curriculum and Reporting System	6	(2)
Eight Teachers in Primary Settings	8	(5)
Grace: Sustaining Community in a Developmentally Appropriate Kindergarten	13	(18)
The View into Grace's Classroom: An Image of Developmentally Appropriate Teaching	14	(11)
Grace's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum	25	(4)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	29	(2)
Corrine: Teacher Direction or Developmental Appropriateness in Kindergarten	31	(17)
The View into Corrine's Classroom	32	(9)
Corrine's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum	41	(4)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	45	(3)
Janet: The Resistance of a Developmentally Appropriate Teacher	48	(14)
The View into Janet's Classroom	49	(4)
Janet's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum: Displeasure and Resistance	53	(8)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	61	(1)
Ann: Literacy as the Focus of Curriculum	62	(16)
The View into Ann's Classroom	63	(7)
Ann's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum	70	(6)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	76	(2)
Susan: A Classroom On-Task	78	(17)
The View into Susan's Classroom	79	(10)
Susan's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum: Linear and Segmented	89	(4)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	93	(2)
Ellen and Penny: Tension Between Meaningful Experiences and Pressure from the Standardized Curriculum	95	(20)
The View into Ellen and Penny's Classrooms	97	(1)
Ellen and Penny's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum: Tensions	98	(8)
Confronting the Tensions: Integration and Relevance	106	(3)
The Relation of Classroom Events, Expectations, Rubrics, and Report Cards	109	(3)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	112	(3)
Beth: Science as the Focus for Expansive Frameworks that Integrate Curriculum	115	(21)
The View into Beth's Classroom: Integration of Standardized Curriculum	117	(12)
Beth's Stance Toward the Standardized Curriculum: Integration and Complexity	129	(5)
Constraints, Choices, and Possibilities	134	(2)
The Mechanistic Versus the Holistic: The Hope for Early Childhood Education in Prescriptive Settings	136	(20)
The Paradigms of Clockwork Mechanism and Holism	137	(2)
Four Approaches Toward the Standardized Curriculum	139	(9)
What Moves Teachers Toward the Mechanistic or the Holistic?	148	(4)
Implications	152	(1)
Epilogue	153	(3)
Appendix A: Brief Description of Methodology	156	(2)
Appendix B: Discussion Questions	158	(1)
References	159	(6)
Index	165	(10)
About the Author	175