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The author describes how case study methods were used to understand the intricacies of curriculum adoption in one school district and the context in which an adoption decision was made. As data collection and interpretation commenced, understanding of the perceptions of the district stakeholders of their process of curriculum adoption became an emerging concern.
What is the process a school district uses to choose an elementary science curriculum? The process as stated on paper seems straightforward and objective. For example, agreed-upon criteria are used to evaluate textbook series. Many resources are available to assist in such a process: The National Academy of Sciences and National Science Foundation both offer resources to aid in the selection of curriculum materials, nottomentionthe National Science Education Standards and Project 2061 Benchmarks. However, many schools continue to choose curriculum materials that are considered dubious?
Tyson and Woodword (1989) report that "textbooks structure 75-90 percent of classroom instruction," (p. 14) yet few studies describe elementary science adoption processes by schools. Kelly and Staver (2005) assert that "there exists a dearth of curriculum adoption and implementation studies in the literature; consequently, far too little is known about what happens as science programs are implemented in schools" (p.27). Ball & Cohen (1996) described curriculum materials as "the stuff of lessons and units, of what teachers and students do" and describe curriculum materials as "part of the routine of schools" and "at the local level, textbook adoptions are the primary routine in most districts for updating curriculum," yet "the relationship between textbooks and teachers has rarely been taken up with much care or imagination" (p.6). Stein, Stuen, Camine & Long (2001) examined statewide adoption practices and found that most research about the adoption process was published in the 1980s. Studies do exist which examine the quality of textbooks (e.g., Kesidou & Roseman, 2002), but recent research in elementary science adoption processes is limited, focusing instead on the implementation of new curricula (Cannon & Crowther, 1997; Kelly & Staver, 2005). This case study set out to examine one school district's elementary science curriculum adoption process and the context in which an adoption decision was made.
Methods
Case study methods were used to understand the intricacies of curriculum adoption in one school district. This...