Towards a theory of curriculum implementation with particular reference to science education in developing countries

Improving science education is often regarded as a priority for developing countries in order to promote long-term economic development. Thus initiatives, both government and foreign-aid sponsored, aimed at improving science education in developing countries abound. However, all too often the focus of such initiatives is limited to the development of science curricula, while the details of how the curricula will be implemented at school level are often neglected. This paper represents an effort to lay the groundwork for a theory of curriculum implementation with particular reference to developing countries. We have drawn on school development, educational change, and science education literature in order to develop three constructs that could form the heart of such a theory, namely, Profile of Implementation, Capacity to Innovate, and Outside Support. Six propositions are offered to suggest how the constructs may inter-relate as a basis for the development of the theory. The implementation of the natural sciences learning area of the South African Curriculum 2005 is used to illustrate the emerging theory.