EXPERIENCED K-12 TEACHERS’ OPINIONS ON BARRIERS PREVENTING SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS OF A CONSTRUCTIVIST CURRICULUM

Abstract

The Ministry of Education in Turkey utilizes a constructivist point of view as its philosophical framework for Curriculum. However, concerns exist among administrators, teachers, and families with regard to the successful application of the constructivist curriculum. This study investigated experienced teachers’ perceptions about these barriers. Ten K-12 teachers with between 15 and 29 years of experience were interviewed about barriers to the constructivist curriculum and suggestions for enhancing it. The collected data were transcribed, segmented, and coded. According to the results, 8 categories emerged as barriers that prevent successful implementation of a constructivist curriculum: huge content load, insufficient infrastructure, complexity of activities compared to children’s developmental stages, crowded classes, time limitation, insufficient in-service training, inappropriate parental support, and difficulty in assessment.