Volume 7, Issue 2, August 2014, Pages 102–110
Fouzi Bellalem1
1 English Department, University of Yanbu, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This paper reports on a qualitative study which explored the beliefs of a sample of foreign language teachers about school in Algeria within a context of curriculum reforms. It was found that the participants believed that the Algerian school was generally a site of power and domination; that there was a drastic lack of resources; that students were unmotivated; that parents were disengaged; and that school administration was bureaucratic. The paper concludes that curriculum reforms in Algeria were not paralleled with social, economic and political reforms of educational institutions. It is suggested that there is an urgent need to equip schools with resources to make them adequately prepared for the effective implementation of the new curriculum. However, in the long term, it is suggested that policy-makers should promote a culture of active participation of all those involved in education, mainly the teachers and parents, towards improving the current situation of schools in Algeria, and ultimately, of the educational system.
Author Keywords: Teachers' beliefs, curriculum reforms, foreign language teaching, school in Algeria, policy and power in education.
Fouzi Bellalem1
1 English Department, University of Yanbu, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
Original language: English
Copyright © 2014 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This paper reports on a qualitative study which explored the beliefs of a sample of foreign language teachers about school in Algeria within a context of curriculum reforms. It was found that the participants believed that the Algerian school was generally a site of power and domination; that there was a drastic lack of resources; that students were unmotivated; that parents were disengaged; and that school administration was bureaucratic. The paper concludes that curriculum reforms in Algeria were not paralleled with social, economic and political reforms of educational institutions. It is suggested that there is an urgent need to equip schools with resources to make them adequately prepared for the effective implementation of the new curriculum. However, in the long term, it is suggested that policy-makers should promote a culture of active participation of all those involved in education, mainly the teachers and parents, towards improving the current situation of schools in Algeria, and ultimately, of the educational system.
Author Keywords: Teachers' beliefs, curriculum reforms, foreign language teaching, school in Algeria, policy and power in education.
How to Cite this Article
Fouzi Bellalem, “Foreign Language Teachers' Beliefs about School in Algeria within a Context of Curriculum Reforms,” International Journal of Innovation and Scientific Research, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 102–110, August 2014.
