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Creativity, Collaboration and Conformity: Curriculum Making and Teacher Motivation

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Title: Creativity, Collaboration and Conformity: Curriculum Making and Teacher Motivation
Language: English
Authors: Victoria Wong (ORCID 0000-0002-1735-0045)
Source: Curriculum Journal. 2026 37(2):356-373.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Science Teachers, National Curriculum, Science Curriculum, Experienced Teachers, Curriculum Development, Teacher Motivation, Teacher Persistence, Teacher Shortage, Teacher Attitudes, Faculty Mobility
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1002/curj.70007
ISSN: 0958-5176
1469-3704
Abstract: There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in England. There is a particular challenge in recruiting physical science teachers, with government targets for recruitment being missed for the last 10 years and a high proportion of physical science teachers leaving early in their careers. This paper explores very experienced (25+ years) science teachers' description of school curriculum-making against the backdrop of this teacher retention crisis. Semi-structured interviews focusing on teachers' views on the national curriculum and how it impacted school-level curriculum-making were carried out with 15 very experienced teachers. Data focused on curriculum-making at academy trust, school or classroom level were extracted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with the theoretical lenses of curriculum-making and self-determination theory. The data show that teachers value creativity and collaboration in curriculum-making but are increasingly subject to school policies requiring their conformity. Expecting conformity can reduce the skills of curriculum-making in the teaching workforce and is experienced as profoundly demotivating and even dehumanising, leading directly to teachers' decision to leave the profession. The findings will be of interest in understanding teacher motivation and retention in subjects beyond science and countries beyond England.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1503345
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
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  Data: Creativity, Collaboration and Conformity: Curriculum Making and Teacher Motivation
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Victoria+Wong%22">Victoria Wong</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1735-0045">0000-0002-1735-0045</externalLink>)
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Teachers%22">Science Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22National+Curriculum%22">National Curriculum</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Science+Curriculum%22">Science Curriculum</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Experienced+Teachers%22">Experienced Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Curriculum+Development%22">Curriculum Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Motivation%22">Teacher Motivation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Persistence%22">Teacher Persistence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Shortage%22">Teacher Shortage</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Attitudes%22">Teacher Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faculty+Mobility%22">Faculty Mobility</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1002/curj.70007
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  Data: There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in England. There is a particular challenge in recruiting physical science teachers, with government targets for recruitment being missed for the last 10 years and a high proportion of physical science teachers leaving early in their careers. This paper explores very experienced (25+ years) science teachers' description of school curriculum-making against the backdrop of this teacher retention crisis. Semi-structured interviews focusing on teachers' views on the national curriculum and how it impacted school-level curriculum-making were carried out with 15 very experienced teachers. Data focused on curriculum-making at academy trust, school or classroom level were extracted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with the theoretical lenses of curriculum-making and self-determination theory. The data show that teachers value creativity and collaboration in curriculum-making but are increasingly subject to school policies requiring their conformity. Expecting conformity can reduce the skills of curriculum-making in the teaching workforce and is experienced as profoundly demotivating and even dehumanising, leading directly to teachers' decision to leave the profession. The findings will be of interest in understanding teacher motivation and retention in subjects beyond science and countries beyond England.
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        Value: 10.1002/curj.70007
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 356
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      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Science Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: National Curriculum
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Science Curriculum
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Experienced Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Curriculum Development
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Motivation
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Persistence
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Shortage
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      – SubjectFull: Teacher Attitudes
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      – SubjectFull: Faculty Mobility
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (England)
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      – TitleFull: Creativity, Collaboration and Conformity: Curriculum Making and Teacher Motivation
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