Abstract
This paper investigates two equally important and strongly associated phenomena i.e. curriculum change
and teacher agency. Our interest in this paper revolved around the argument that curriculum change and
capacity building of teachers are integral to each other. This paper focused at exploring, how teacher agency
to implement change is strengthened or weakened by the challenges posed by the ecological conditions or
social settings (culture, structure and materials) in which they work and the extent to which teachers feel
empowered to reflect on and to improve their practices (reflexivity). The setting of this research was the
province of Punjab during the implementation period of the change introduced in the secondary school
National Curriculum for English (2006), (Government of Pakistan, 2006). To provide a richer illustration
of the variables under investigation, case studies of four schools were produced. Data was collected through
the technique of one to one interviews of the secondary school English teachers; head of schools; local
education authority officials and representatives of the provincial curriculum and professional development
bodies. The findings revealed that teachers were seldom consulted during the planning or design phase of
curriculum change 2006. No formal support was available to teachers at the district or school level to
prepare them to implement curriculum change. The absence of appropriate ecological conditions in schools
weakened teacher agency, which gave rise to many challenges for teachers in implementing the new
curriculum (2006) successfully. The findings lead to recommendations that the provincial and district
Governments should develop support mechanisms and professional development activities to enhance
teacher agency to ensure the successful implementation of curriculum change.
Muqaddas Butt, Abid Shahzad. (2019) The Agency of Secondary School English Teachers and National Curriculum Change (2006) in Pakistan: Challenges and Problems, Journal of Research and Reflections in Education, Volume 13, Issue 1.
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