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Power, curriculum making and actor-network theory : the case of physics, technology and society curriculum in Bahrain Rafea, Ahmed Mohammed
Abstract
This study is an exploration of power and how it is manifested in curriculum making. More specifically, it examines the responses of actors in the physics curriculum network to a proposal to introduce a Physics, Technology and Society (PTS) version of physics in the secondary schools of Bahrain. The proposal to introduce PTS created a point of entry to explore issues of power in curriculum making and highlight some of the strategies that actors used to maintain or reconstruct power relations. Data collection consisted of three phases during which interviews were conducted with Ministry of Education personnel, university physicists and physics educators, physics teachers, university and secondary students, and industry representatives. Interviews focused on responses to: 1) an example of PTS materials (Phase One); 2) the views of other actors (Phase Two); and 3) the Ministry's decision to proceed with piloting of the PTS materials (Phase Three). From Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the responses of the various actors can be understood in terms of their efforts to maintain or reconstruct the school physics network. Furthermore, the study shows that curriculum making can be seen as a networking process in which the success of the various actors is linked to the size and strength of the networks they are able to mobilize to their position. From this point of view, the Ministry, drawing primarily on local networks, is seen to move cautiously in response to the extensive international network which university physicists maintain and which provides high status pathways for students. Power relations are network effects, and in exploring them one gains a better appreciation of the network that constructed them. Therefore, this study illuminates aspects of the school physics network, revealing its constituent actors, the strength of the links between some of its actors, and the establishment of the curriculum as an obligatory passage point. Conclusions pertaining to the nature of this network and the strategies employed by actors in constructing and maintaining power relations as they engaged in negotiating the physics curriculum are drawn. Finally, these conclusions have implications for policy in curriculum change and, more specifically, for addressing issues of power and problems that emerge when fundamental changes in secondary science are introduced.
Item Metadata
Title |
Power, curriculum making and actor-network theory : the case of physics, technology and society curriculum in Bahrain
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1999
|
Description |
This study is an exploration of power and how it is manifested in curriculum
making. More specifically, it examines the responses of actors in the physics
curriculum network to a proposal to introduce a Physics, Technology and Society
(PTS) version of physics in the secondary schools of Bahrain. The proposal to
introduce PTS created a point of entry to explore issues of power in curriculum
making and highlight some of the strategies that actors used to maintain or
reconstruct power relations. Data collection consisted of three phases during
which interviews were conducted with Ministry of Education personnel, university
physicists and physics educators, physics teachers, university and secondary
students, and industry representatives. Interviews focused on responses to: 1) an
example of PTS materials (Phase One); 2) the views of other actors (Phase Two);
and 3) the Ministry's decision to proceed with piloting of the PTS materials
(Phase Three). From Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the responses of the various
actors can be understood in terms of their efforts to maintain or reconstruct the
school physics network. Furthermore, the study shows that curriculum making can
be seen as a networking process in which the success of the various actors is
linked to the size and strength of the networks they are able to mobilize to their
position. From this point of view, the Ministry, drawing primarily on local
networks, is seen to move cautiously in response to the extensive international
network which university physicists maintain and which provides high status
pathways for students.
Power relations are network effects, and in exploring them one gains a better
appreciation of the network that constructed them. Therefore, this study
illuminates aspects of the school physics network, revealing its constituent
actors, the strength of the links between some of its actors, and the establishment
of the curriculum as an obligatory passage point. Conclusions pertaining to the
nature of this network and the strategies employed by actors in constructing and
maintaining power relations as they engaged in negotiating the physics
curriculum are drawn. Finally, these conclusions have implications for policy in
curriculum change and, more specifically, for addressing issues of power and
problems that emerge when fundamental changes in secondary science are
introduced.
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Extent |
14827653 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-07-03
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0054974
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1999-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.