Countless curricular decisions are made in districts continually, but none, more importantly, following a Crisis.
How curriculum leaders arrive at these decisions varies.
• More progressive school districts have continuous improvement models in place to address curriculum decision-making and are constantly affecting changes in the curriculum as a result of these plans.
• Others approach curricular decisions as a response to an identified need that has presented itself due to student performance or other pressures.
• Some make decisions haphazardly without results,
• While some school districts demonstrate lethargy and apathy toward curricular decision-making and are stagnant for all intents and purposes. (Gordon, Taylor, Oliva, 2019)
Organizational staff and administrators have a wide range of leadership, instruction, curriculum, technology, data analysis, organization, and communication capabilities. The challenge is finding a way to meet the needs while capitalizing on the people to get the work done collaboratively.
The Relationship of Politics/Society on Curriculum Reform
Political influence over what students are learning in the classroom has been at the
forefront in recent years, but its impact goes back decades. A recent study showed 48% of
principals and 40% of teachers feel politics impact their job, said Heather Schwartz, director
of the Pre-K to 12 educational systems program at the Rand Corporation, a research-
focused, nonprofit think tank. Often, the push for change within schools can be traced to
which political groups are in power and have greater influence.
Education is a sub-system of society that changes with societal and political influences.
Curriculum change/modification is a normal consequence of changes in the
environment/society. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the curriculum specialist to seek
continuous improvement in the curriculum and recognize what internal and external
influences prevail. Both teachers and curriculum specialists have roles in curriculum
development in collaboration with other school personnel.
Today’s curriculum leaders are working in environments of rapid disruption — and often
leading teams that aren’t co-located. As leaders balance demanding jobs alongside roles
outside of work, success requires a clear understanding of one’s own leadership style and
clarity around development goals. Curriculum Specialists/Leaders often make a unique
contribution by creatively transforming theory and knowledge into practice. At varying times,
he/she must be a digital designer, a human relations expert, a theoretician, a data analyst, a
subject matter expert, an evaluator, a researcher, and an instructor.
Leaders face these challenges:
• Leading virtual teams for high-impact results
• Collaborating across the organization — and across the globe
• Maintaining resiliency while handling uncertainty, solving problems, and dealing with
interconnected systems
• Tackling big priorities on all fronts
The purpose of this assignment is to discover what a Leader of Curriculum experiences and
perceives while leading, designing, and implementing curriculum in his/her educational
institution. How do they perceive the difference between being a leader of change rather than
a manager of curriculum? There is a significant difference as discovered in your reading.
Through conversation with a curriculum leader, you will identify the key skill set required to
lead innovative change and understand how to deal with the challenges a leader faces when
striving for academic excellence and growth.
