TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE BARRIERS TO THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF A PEDAGOGIC INNOVATION:

A SOUTH EAST ASIAN CASE STUDY

PAUL MORRIS

Abst rac t - This paper summarizes the results of a study designed to determine why teachers did not use a teaching approach which was recommended by curriculum planners. The study indicated that teachers assessed the innovation with regard to its efficiency for covering the syllabus, its congruency with the expectations of sig- nificant others and whether its use entailed any undesirable consequences. Each of these criteria was directly influenced by the overall need to select pupils in Hong Kong, which was manifested in the importance attached to the public examination. These findings are discussed in the light of available models for explaining how teachers react to innovations and with reference ~o the strategy of curriculum devel- opment utilized in Hong Kong.

I n t roduct ion

As in many countries in East Asia, the teaching and learning styles used in Hong Kong schools have been typified as stressing the transmission and rote learning of information. In an attempt to change this situation, the govern- ment has imported and introduced a variety of curricular innovations. These require the use of a 'new' approach to teaching which emphasizes pu- pil involvement and a heuristic style of learning. Smith and Keith (1971) apt- ly describe innovations which require a large scale of change and a radical change of teacher behaviours as the 'alternative of grandeur'. Classroom observations (Morris, 1984) showed that teachers did not use the new ap- proach despite expressing attitudes favourable to that approach. More spe- cifically, only a small proportion of the total observed time was devoted to those categories of activities which require the active involvement of pupils, and that time devoted to pupil involvement did not generally require that they engage in tasks which emphasized a heuristic style of learning. The vast majority of lessons observed were characterized by teachers lecturing and pupils answering narrow questions and transcribing information into their exercise books.

This situation merely confirms the results of research on the implementa- tion of planned curriculum change which indicates that ' . . . the modal pro- cess of change whereby innovations are developed external to the schools and then transmitted to them has led to no significant change at the user lev-

InternationaI Review of Education - Internationale Zeitschrift fiir Erziehungswissenschaft - Revue Internationale de Pddagogie XXXI (1985), 3-18. All rights reserved. Copyright 9 by Unesco Institute for Education, Hamburg and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht.

el' (Fullan, 1972). Similar findings have been reported by Galton (1980) and Becher and Maclure (1975) inthe UK, Husen (1972) in Sweden, Hawes (1979) in Africa, and Lewin (1981) in Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The impor- tant issue which arises - and to which this study is addressed - is: Why are innovations, especially those which require behavioural changes, not successfully implemented?

Explanations of the implementation of planned change have been derived primarily from managerial and systems models (e.g., Easton, 1965; Lewin, 1947; Beeby, 1966). These stress the influence of resistance and conserva- tism on the part of the user and resource availability as the key determinants of implementation. Thus the motivation, leadership, and attitudes of parti- cipants, and the structure, incentive system, and resources of an organiza- tion, have all been used to explain why innovations are/are not implement- ed. As Hurst (1981) aptly points out: 'in educat ion. . , it is the custom to blame failure on the Luddism of the work force.' By focusing on such fac- tors, the assumption is that non-implementation is an essentially technical and temporary phenomenon. If, for example, users' attitudes, skills, or re- source availability are isolated as the cause of non-implementation, then these are barriers which can be surmounted by the more efficient use, or in- creased allocation, of resources. A change agent could, for example, be em- ployed to modify users' attitudes and a training course could be run to pro- vide users with appropriate skills. From this perspective, which Olson (1982) terms the 'logistic' conception of the change process, neither the context in which the innovation is to be used, nor the nature of the innovation itself are viewed as critical determinants of how an innovation is used.

An alternative viewpoint, which informs this study, is that termed the 'barriers to change perspective' (Crossley, 1984), which views users of inno- vations as rational decision makers who have to cope with a number of fac- tors which can limit successful implementation. Macdonald and Rudduck (1971) argue that these factors can operate at the school level, at the system level, and on a wider socio-political level.

An example of work which is derived from this perspective is that of Hurst (1978), and Doyle and Ponder (1977). They focus on teachers' deci- sions as a critical determinant of whether an innovation is implemented and how it is implemented. Hurst identified eight criteria by which users ap- praise an innovation and decide whether to try and use it. These relate to the availability of information, desirability, feasibility, resources, conse- quences, costs, efficiency, priority, and trialability. Doyle and Ponder argue that teachers assess an innovation from the viewpoint of 'pragmatic scepti- cism'. This involves a primary concern for the practicality of an innovation given the 'distinctive ecology of the classroom'. They argue that teachers as- sessed whether an innovation was practical with reference to the following

criteria: Is it instrumental in terms of classroom contingencies? Is it congru- ent with prevailing conditions? What are the costs involved in using the in- novation?

The concern of this study is the identification and analysis of those factors which teachers perceive as influences on the teaching approach they use. This allows consideration of why the innovation was not implemented and of the appropriateness of two available models which seek to explain how teachers react to innovations.

The innovation on which this study focuses is the Economics (form IV-V) curriculum which was introduced to Hong Kong secondary schools in 1975 (CDC, 1975). Along with a number of other new curricula which were introduced at that time (e.g., 'Integrated Science' and 'Social Studies'), the official curriculum documents were explicitly based on pro- jects and developments published in the West. The main purpose of these innovations was to bring about a less didactic approach to teaching. The Economics curriculum stressed the need for an inductive teaching sequence and the application of economic principles to real world situations. The use of four specific strategies was recommended to achieve these purposes: role playing and simulation games, tutorials and seminars, individualized in- struction, and problem solving exercises.

In order to determine the factors which teachers perceived as influences on their teaching, a series of semi-structured interviews was made with 45 teachers of Economics at the form IV-V level. Each of these teachers taught at different schools. The teachers were initially interviewed after a lesson had been observed and they were asked what factors had influenced the approach which they had used in that lesson. Subsequently a series of supplementary interviews was undertaken, which allowed teachers to elabo- rate on how these influences operated. All of these interviews were tape- recorded and transcripts were made. The transcripts were analyzed to deter- mine (a) the frequency with which different factors were cited as influences on the teaching approach used, and (b) the precise manner in which these factors were perceived to operate.

Results

The interviewees readily provided explanations of the factors which in- fluenced how they taught. Many provided more than one factor as an in- fluence on their teaching approach. Accordingly, the data were differentiat- ed to show when an explanation was the only one offered (the sole explana- tion) and when a combination of explanations was offered. In this situation the first explanation offered was classified as the 'primary' explanation,

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whilst the subsequent explanation was classified as the 'secondary explana- tion'. Table 1 shows the influences which teachers identified and the fre- quency with which they were cited.

Table 1. The Categories of Influences on Teaching and the Frequency with Which They Were Used

Categories of influences

Types of explanation

Sole Primary Secondary

The need to cover the syllabus in the time available 13 11 4

Pupils' expectations 7 5 12 Pupils' ability level 2 0 0 Peer's expectations 1 2 1 Principal's expectations 1 1 1 Lack of materials 0 1 1 Standard English of:

(i) Pupils 1 0 0 (ii) Teacher 0 0 1

The majority of teachers cited aspects of the public examination as the main influence on their teaching. Both 'sole' and 'primary' explanations mainly referred to this influence. The second most important influence cited was 'the pupils' expectations'. The standard combination of primary and secondary explanations referred initially to the influence of the examina- tion. This was then followed up by an explanation which cited pupils' expec- tations as an influence. Similarly, when pupils' expectations were given as a 'primary explanation', this was combined, in the majority of cases, with a secondary explanation concerning the influence of the public examina- tion. In these cases the two explanations were not usually independent of each other. An interviewee would say that the need to cover the examination syllabus influenced her teaching. She would then elaborate to explain that if she was not to cover the syllabus, then the pupils would complain. Simi- larly, when the expectations of pupils, principals, and peers were the pri- mary explanation, this was elaborated on to explain that their expectations utilized criteria directly related to the public examination.

A central distinction, therefore, arises between the nature of the influence and the channel from which it is transmitted. The main influence on the teaching approach used was clearly the public examination. This influence was, however, transmitted to teachers through a variety of channels.

Teachers' perceptions of how these influences operated and the channels through which they were transmitted, are summarized in Figure 1. Below, they are illustrated by some of the typical comments made by the teachers in the interviews.

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The Need to Cover the Examinations Syllabus in the Time Available

Teacher A best summarized the main factor which teachers perceived as in- fluencing their teaching: 'Well, you know why we teach that way, lecturing all the time, it's pressure from the public examination, isn't it?'. This pres- sure resulted in two distinct teaching strategies. To a minority of teachers it meant that they ' . . . have to prepare students for answering the questions on the Hong Kong Certificate of Education examination.' However, the vast majority of teachers said that their main objective was to cover the ex- amination syllabus. But there was insufficient time available for that pur- pose, so they primarily lectured, because that was the most efficient way to transmit the necessary information. As Teacher B explained: 'It's the time constraint, isn't it? I've got to cover the exanubatuib syllabus. There's not enough time to cover it. If I use games and films and those modern ap- proaches, then I won't be able to cover the syllabus.'

The need to 'cover the syllabus' and the need to prepare pupils for the examination are conceptually distinct insofar as the one does not necessarily entail the other. However, for these teachers these influences in practice amounted to the same thing. If pupils were to be prepared for the examina- tion, then the teachers were required to cover all the topics on the examina- tion syllabus. This requirement was seen to curtail the possibility of using strategies consistent with the new approach. As a teacher elaborated:

These new modern techniques take a lot of time. There is a lot of examination pres- sure. I can't waste time discussing with them, developing my points logically, having group discussions, and things like that. Instead I have to give them points, informa- tion, notes, so that they've got lots of information to prepare for the external exami- nation. The examination is the important limitation - you've got to cover the sylla- bus.

Throughout the interviews, this view of knowledge as information, which necessitated that the teacher supply the pupils with notes and points, was reiterated. This is clearly contrary to the syllabus's emphasis on knowledge as a process and on a heuristic learning style.

As in the initial interviews, the main reason used to explain both why an essentially traditional approach was used and, conversely, why the new ap- proach was not used, centred on the influence of the examination. Varia- tions on the points raised by teacher A were constantly reiterated.

The decision not to use the new approach was therefore explained as a ra- tional choice between alternatives. Teachers claimed that they used a tradi- tional approach because it was more efficient for transmitting all of the in- formation specified by the examination syllabus than the new approach. A teacher's perceptions of this own role, implicit in the above comments, is one which emphasizes the transmission of information.

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When asked about the consequences if they did not cover the syllabus, they answered with reference to the expectations of the pupils.

Pupils" Expectations of Teachers

I f the teacher did not cover the syllabus, then two consequences were en- visaged by the interviewees. Firstly, if the pupils were to fail the examina- tion, then they could blame this on the teacher. As teacher L commented: ' I f we cover the syllabus and the pupils fail, then they can't blame the teach- er for not giving enough information.' Covering the syllabus was therefore a safeguard which minimized the blame which could be attached to the teacher if the pupils failed. Secondly, failing to cover the syllabus could re- sult in more immediate consequences - for the pupils constantly monitor the teacher's performance. Teacher M explained: 'They check that you cov- er all the points on the syllabus - if you don't, and they fail, then they don't cooperate with you.' Teacher H summarized the nature of these influences:

If we don't get good results or if the pupils think that we have not taught them cough, then they will lack confidence and in that case they will blame the teacher, as they have not been given enough information.

It could also result in a withdrawal of cooperation by pupils. For example, a teacher who claimed to have tried modern methods explained:

9 the response of the pupils was indifferent. So I adopted traditional methods and they were happier - at least I covered the syllabus. Whatever you do, you still re- ceive the same salary, don't you?

The teachers also claimed that the pupils' concern with the coverage of the syllabus also produced a pressure for them to provide notes and handouts. Teacher J stated that:

The students will discuss amongst themselves - it will get back to the principal [if the syllabus is not being covered]. Sometimes when I teach them, they complain that they don't get enough notes. They always want more notes and handouts; just talk- ing is not enough.

He admitted that the pupils had complained to the principal about his teach- ing:

Yes, they sent him a letter. They all signed it. It said that I wasn't covering the sylla- bus and that I didn't give enough notes9 The principal won't stand up for the teach- ers. He told me to do what they wanted, so I did it. It's always like that. Last term,

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when the traids were making trouble, he wouldn't do anything - he's scared of the pupils and of bad publicity.

The view expressed by the teachers concerning pupils' expectations con- tained two distinct but related elements. One relates to the extent to which the approach they use is congruent with pupils' expectations (e.g., covering the syllabus, obtaining good results, providing information). The second re- lates to the perceived consequences of not satisfying those expectations (e.g., blame for pupils' failure, complaints about performance/efficiency). Together these elements were viewed by the teachers as necessitating a tradi- tional teaching approach which was congruent with pupils' expectations and thus minimized the risk of undesirable consequences.

Principals" Expectations of Teachers

As with the other sources of influence, this factor was also related to the public examination. While the teachers thought that their pupils primarily expected them to 'cover the syllabus', their principals were perceived to ex- pect good or improved examination results. This influence seemed to be of greater concern to teachers in the more prestigious schools. Teacher R ela- borated as to how this influence was manifested:

In my school we have a special system (maybe it's not special, maybe it's common), as follows: We've got lots of statistics and whenever we have a general staff meeting, then the principal will read out, for example, 'form la, English pass percentage is So much, and form lb English pass percentage is so much,' and so on. Different teachers teach different classes - this causes pressure. I teach form la and someone else teaches form lb, so there are grounds for comparison. If my class has a lower pass percentage or a low mean score, it means that I am an inefficient teacher.

The summary statistics concerning examination marks of different classes were constantly referred to as the basis of the principal's influence. A teach- er's effectiveness at his job was, by implication, a function of his ability to obtain satisfactory examination results, as the following typical quotation illustrates:

My principal has worked out a complete statistical summary of the examination re- sults. He has noted all the results from last year and compares them to this year. He's also done the same for the internal school examination. He won't scold you openly, but you know you're not getting your job done - you feel it inside. After you've seen the statistics on the pass percentages for the public examination, the principal gives you a form. It asks you to rate the performance of your class, and then you have to give reasons why the pupils are performing well or badly on the fo rm. . . A lot of reasons are given, for example, low academic standard of pupils, language

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problems, etc. You just tick the ones that apply to your c lass, . . , yes, they're listed on the form. That form is sent to the panel chairman [equivalent to the head of de- partment] when it's completed.

The influence of the principal contains the same elements as the influence of the pupils but their nature is different. Teachers saw the principal's ex- pectations as emphasizing examination results and a traditional approach was perceived as congruent with that expectation. Failure to satisfy that ex- pectation could result in undesirable consequences insofar as a teacher's self esteem and prestige would suffer if he/she obtained unsatisfactory results.

Discussion

The comments of the teachers can be interpreted in terms of three main cri- teria. Firstly, the new approach was perceived as being inefficient for achieving those ends which teachers viewed as important, especially cover- age of the examination syllabus. Secondly, the new approach was perceived as having a number of undesirable consequences - especially insofar as the failure to cover the syllabus could result in teachers being blamed for pupil failure. Thirdly, the new approach was not congruent with existing teaching and learning styles and with the criteria by which colleagues and principals assessed the teacher's task. Doyle and Ponder (1977) as well as Hurst (1978) refer to the criteria of congruence and consequences, although Doyle and Ponder refer to the latter as an aspect of the anticipated costs of using an innovation. Hurst describes a category which relates to the perceived effi- ciency of an innovation.

Hurst distinguishes between factors which influence the way in which a teacher implements an innovation, and those which influence the decision as to whether or not a teacher will attempt to implement an innovation. Clearly teachers in Hong Kong are affected by the latter. Teachers view the demands of the syllabus, of students, of principals, and of colleagues as pre- venting the use of an innovation which was intrinsically desirable. This di- chotomy vividly illustrates the importance of Guba and Lincoln's (1981) distinction between the merit (based on intrinsic criteria) and worth (based on extrinsic criteria) of curriculum innovations.

The selection and promotion of curricular innovations by policy makers in Hong Kong's highly centralized educational system is undertaken primar- ily with regard to the perceived merit of an innovation. In contrast, teachers' decisions as to whether they would attempt to use the innovation were deter- mined by criteria relating to the perceived worth of the innovation.

In the interviews reported it was also evident that teachers perceived the

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teaching approach they used as being determined primarily by external con- straints to which they reacted. They thought of themselves as only marginal- ly able to influence the approach they used.

These findings are in marked contrast to those of Doyle and Ponder, and Hurst. In both these studies influences related to the public examination were not identified as very important. Furthermore, their research, as well as that of Taylor (1975), McConnelogue (1975), and the Schools Council (I 981), found that teachers perceived themselves to be the main determinant of the teaching approach they used. Their ability to apply a given approach was only marginally affected by external factors. Thus, with reference to teachers in Northern Ireland, McConnelogue concluded that:

The class teacher has the greatest power to influence the classroom curriculum. The remainder of those [factors] exerting a marked influence on the classroom are drawn from within school influences (esp. principals, pupils and colleagues).

The main criteria for evaluating teacher performance were pass percen- tages and syllabus coverage. These criteria were not only used by principals and pupils but they also served as the basis for teachers' judgment of their own performance and that of colleagues. Therefore, whilst the source of constraint was the public examination, the interviews indicated that teachers did not view examinations as a wholly alien phenomenon. They were viewed as a normal and natural part of their work, which gave a purpose and a framework to the task of teaching and to the functioning of schools. Clear- ly, if teachers do not think they can influence the teaching approach they use, if they think they are judged by others and judge themselves and others in terms of such instrumental criteria, then they are not likely to attempt to use an approach which is perceived to be wholly dysfunctional for meeting those criteria.

Insofar as all the teachers interviewed felt the need to meet the same crite- ria related to the public examination, this cannot be attributed to the climate in a specific institution. It does indicate that the social climate in Hong Kong stresses the selective function of education and that this is manifested in the importance attached to the public examination. Therefore, the findings sup- port the assertion of McDonald and Rudduck (1971), that the context which influences teacher's decisions must be defined to include social and institu- tional influences as well as the 'distinctive ecology of the classroom' (Doyle and Ponder, 1977).

These findings underline the importance of viewing both the teaching ap- proach used and planned pedagogic innovations with regard to the social context in which they are used. Hong Kong is a society with a very unequal distribution of income and a person's life chances are primarily determined

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by his/her educational qualifications. At the initial stage of his educational career, the pre-primary school in which a pupil is placed is carefully chosen, as the more prestigious ones act as a feeder to certain primary schools. These primary schools also have a feeder link to the more prestigious secondary schools. At each stage a pupil's academic performance is the main determi- nant of the type of school which he enters. This is critical, especially when the pupil goes on to secondary school, as there are wide variations in the facilities of the different types of schools. A few schools are run by the gov- ernment, some are funded by the government, and the remainder are privately run. The vast majority of pupils who enter the two local universi- ties have attended one of the few long-established and prestigious secondary schools.

Academic performance, as measured by examinations, is also the most important ingredient which determines eligibility for well-paid employment and the opportunity to pursue further education. The extent of selection within the system is reflected by the enrolment data for the cohort which en- tered primary school in 1968 and graduated from university in 1983. Of the 164,000 pupils who entered primary school in 1968, only 90,000 went on to secondary school, 60,000 went on to form IV, 20,000 entered the sixth form, and less than 2,000 entered university.

Whilst this study focused on teachers of a publicly examined course, evi- dence exists to indicate that the influence of selection on the curriculum per- meates throughout all levels of the educational system (Morris, 1983; Ching and Sweeting, 1979; Llewellyn, 1982). As the Llewellyn report (1982) ex- plained:

In the course of his or her school career, a child may go through as many as eight sets of examinations which go beyond diagnostic classroom assessment and which are all significant in opening up or closing off options for the student not only in education but ultimately in life. In many cases, there is an interview and some kind of appraisal to be gone through before being accepted into a kindergarten of the par- ents' choice. The same, with a stronger element of formal testing, may occur for ad- mission to a preferred primary school though official policy discourages the prac- tice. Towards the end of primary school, there is a combination of internal assess- ment and academic aptitude testing (to scale the school assessment) as the basis for the all-important allocation to secondary school places. Form III - the last year of compulsory education - leads up to the Junior Secondary Education Assessment which runs from November to the following May. In form V, students sit for the HK Certificate of Education Examination on which admission to form VI or other advanced and/or technical education alternatives depends. In form VI, the HK Higher Level Examination is taken mainly by those who aim for a place at CUHK. Finally, in form VII there is the HK Advanced Level Examination whose main func- tion is to establish entry qualifications to HKU. In addition, many students take the English GCE (A and O levels) at ~he appropriate stages.

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Thus, all teachers and pupils are influenced by constraints and pressures arising from the effects of selection, which is manifested in the frequency of and importance attached to examinations.

The financial and status benefits which accrue to the individual from completing each level of education are substantial. Using the Government Master Pay Scale (which is based on pay differentials in the private sector) as a measure of earnings differences in Hong Kong, the ratio between the earnings of an unskilled engineering labourer and a qualified engineer on the mid-point of their respective pay scale is larger than 10:1. This compares to Routh's (1980) estimate of a differential in the UK between unskilled la- bour and qualified employees of about 2/3:1. At the macro level this pattern of income distribution is also reflected in a comparison of income distribu- tion data between Hong Kong and other countries: The Gini coefficient I is estimated to be about 0.5 (Cheng, 1979), which compares with a coefficient of 0.38 in the UK, 0.23 in Australia, and 0.34 for the USA. This indicates that the income distribution conforms to the pattern prevailing in develop- ing countries.

The link between earnings and educational qualifications is also reflected by the Master Pay Scale. The scale is made up of 51 points. Entry to each point of the scale after point ten and progression on the scale is determined by reference to a person's qualifications. Thus, for example, a teacher with a non-graduate teaching certificate will be on points 17-26, whilst a grad- uate without a teaching qualification will be on points 20-37 of the scale.

In brief, parents are faced with a choice. They can encourage their chil- dren to do well at school. This means that they should succeed at the public examinations. Success will ensure a well-paid job. Alternatively they can al- low their child to obtain paid employment at the earliest opportunity. The educational route provides the most realistic chance of achieving social mo- bility and financial well-being for their children. Accordingly, people view education instrumentally, as the predominant function performed by the educational system is a selective one and this is manifested in the pre-emi- nent influence and importance of the public examination.

The context within which teachers work, both reflects and serves to rein- force the importance of the examination and this does not facilitate the use of the new approach to teaching. Despite expressing attitudes which were favourable to the innovation, teachers did not attempt to use it, for its oper- ational results were judged to be in contradiction with the realities of the context within which teachers worked. These perceived 'barriers' were therefore neither of a temporary nor of a technical nature. They were a manifestation of the paramount importance of the selective function of the educational system in the Hong Kong society. Teachers perceived the new approach to be wholly dysfunctional, because it necessitated them to ignore

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the expectations of their pupils, principals, and colleagues. The situation de- scribed in Hong Kong parallels that reported in a variety of developing countries (Dore, 1976; Oxenham, 1984), in which the primary function of education is one of selection.

The implications of these findings for curriculum policy relate to the ne- cessity of developing or selecting innovations with regard to the character- istics of the context of use and of the prospective users. Three specific policy issues are identified:

Firstly, the present context is one in which the public examination and its relevant syllabus critically influence classroom processes. Change will not occur unless teachers perceive it to be necessary for the pupils to pass the public examination. The examination must therefore be used to promote curriculum reform. As Lewin (1984) comments with reference to Malaysia and Sri Lanka:

Decisions on teaching methods, content objectives, and the use of the curriculum, are clearly not wholly circumscribed by public examinations. None the less, in situa- tions where a primary motive in going to school is to be selected for more schooling and acquiring qualifications, examinations are likely to exert considerable influence on the curriculum at both design and implementation stages; more than, for ex- ample, exhortation, rhetoric and prescription contained in texts and guidebooks.

In Keyna, Somerset (1982) has shown how a gradual change in the nature of examination questions has had a positive effect on teaching methods.

Secondly, teachers' comments indicated that they had a limited under- standing of what the 'new' approach entailed in practice. If teachers were to attempt to use the new approach, this would serve as a major barrier to successful implementation. Support for teachers is required if new curricula are to be used. This could involve the provision of in-service and initial training courses and the provision of classroom resources.

Thirdly, decisions relating to the selection of curricular changes should be influenced by the realities of the classroom and the constraints with which teachers and pupils operate. Innovations should be selected by refer- ence to the probability of their successful implementation as well as by refer- ence to their desirability. A more modest, rather than a radical proposal for change, might allow a gradual movement towards a desired long-term goal.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Dr. H.O. Brown and Mr. A.E. Sweeting for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

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Footnote

1 This is a measure of income distribution in an economy. The coefficient is equal to zero when incomes are distributed equally. It is equal to one when all income is earned by one household.

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Zusammenfassung - Dieser Bericht faBt die Ergebnisse einer Studie usammen, de- ren Sinn es war, herauszufinden, warum ein von Curriculumplannern entworfenes Lehrprogramm von den Lehrern nicht benutzt wurde. Die Studie ergab, dab die Lehrer die Innovation hinsichtlich ihrer Wirksamkeit bewerteten, den Lehrplan voll- st~indig zu behandeln, ihrer Clbereinstimmung mit den Erwartungen von anderen maBgeblichen Seiten und ob ihre Anwendung irgendwelche unerwfinschte Folgen mit sich brachte. Jedes dieser Kriterien wurde unmittelbar beeinfluBt dutch das all- gemeine Bediirfnis, in Hong Kong Schiiler auszuw/ihlen, was sich aus der Bedeu- tung, die 6ffentlichen Priifungen beigemessen wurde, ergeben hatte. Diese Befunde wurden in Hinblick auf verfiigbare Modelle diskutiert. Diese sollten der Kl~irung der Frage dienen, wie Lehrer auf Innovationen und auf Strategien der Curriculument- wicklung in Hong Kong reagieren.

R~sum~ - Cet article pr6sente les r6sultats d'une 6tude men6e pour savoir pourquoi les enseignants n'ont pas fait usage d'une approche d'enseignement recommand6e par les planificateurs du curriculum. L'6tude a r6v616 que les enseignants ont 6valu6 l'innovation par rapport ~t son efficacit6 ~ respecter le programme, sa conformit6 aux attentes des autres, et au fait de savoir si non usage entratnait des consdquences inattendues. Chacun de ces crit~res a 6t6 directement influenc6 par le besoin g~n6ral de s61ectionner des 61~ves/l Hong Kong, besoin qui se manifestait dans l'importance

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attach6e/~ l'examen du public. Ces r~sultats sont examin6s en vue de trouver des mo- d61es valables permettant d'expliquer pourquoi les enseignants ont teUr ou telle r6ac- tion envers les innovations r par rapport ~ la strat6gie de d6veloppement du curricu- lum mise en place/~ Hong Kong.