Curriculum Change and Pedagogical Practices: An Analysis of the Implementation of the Post-1986 Curriculum Change in Bhutanese Schools

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess how teachers in Bhutan interpreted and implemented the post-1986 curriculum in the schools and within the given conditions in which they work. The development of modern or secular education in Bhutan has formally been operating for about forty years. Within this short period, the progress made has been remarkable. The system, however, has been grappling with a constant search for quality while at the same time struggling to cope with a burgeoning student population. Notwithstanding this dual challenge, an innovative curriculum at the lower primary level, the New Approach to Primary Education (NAPE) was introduced in the late 1980s. It required teachers to adapt to a new set of materials and a new approach to teaching that was oriented towards child centred learning. For teachers who had been generally operating in a traditional teacher talk and examination dominated system, which was oriented to a more traditional lecture method of teaching, the NAPE and its commensurate teaching method created a tension. This tension was further aggravated by lack of support and pressure from the central agencies. This study concluded that in the implementation phase of the NAPE, teachers in the lower primary schools (PP-III) were able to confront the challenges. However, as they moved from lower to upper primary levels, they retained the more traditional teaching methods. Teachers' low educational attainment and lack of adequate training combined with a lack of appropriate material and the shortage of teachers were the main factors responsible for the tensions that pervaded the system in the post-1986 period.