Implementation of a mandated senior high global curriculum in the Colchester-East Hants district of Nova Scotia

Abstract

This study was undertaken for a Nova Scotia School district during a sabbatical leave. Central to the study was the testing of seven hypotheses pertaining to Senior High School teachers in five schools in Central Nova Scotia. Their receptivity, endorsement, and preparedness to teach the impending provincial Department of Education mandated Global History and Global Geography courses was studied and analysed. Information about demography, general awareness of the new curriculum, degree of confidence in support systems, teacher academic preparedness, and the need for global education and what was needed in order to effectively implement it were also examined. The study also researched the general curriculum and global curriculum implementation literature. The study demonstrated that generally most of the teachers in the sample had very little Social Studies academic grounding outside of North America. This presents a real problem when implementing global courses that ought to have a "global perspective". The study suggested the need for teacher-centered in-servicing and study leaves. These High School Social Studies teachers studied also made a number of other suggestions to improve implementation, especially in-servicing, support materials, and time allocation for co-operative course development by teachers.