Teachers’ Stages of Concern and Levels of Use of a Curriculum Innovation in China: A Case Study

Abstract

This paper describes a study of the implementation of a new English language curriculum for senior secondary school in China. The study applied the Concerns-Based Adoption Model and examined the stages of concern and levels of use of the new curriculum of three teachers in a secondary school in Guangdong province. The findings of the study suggest that the three teachers hold a positive view towards the new curriculum, that their concerns are characteristic of three stages - management, personal concerns and consequence, and that they are implementing the new curriculum largely at two levels - mechanical use and routine use. Uncertainty about the National Matriculation English Test , lack of teacher training, and inadequate teaching time are found to be the main factors that hinder the implementation of the new curriculum in their classrooms.