Before starting the discussion on empirical studies which are intended to expose different approaches to curriculum development, there will be a brief description of curriculum development in Oman. In his study which utilized the method of document analysis Al Jardani (2012) stated that curriculum reform initiatives in ELT in Oman were started by the Ministry of Education which was concerned with the implementation of changes through the creation of a new curriculum and revising the existing curriculum. The main issue with most of these initiatives is that they were restricted to one aspect of curriculum rather than viewing curriculum in its entirety. Al Jardani (2012, p. 43) alluded to another issue explaining, ‘As the principles underlying the approach represented in any textbook or other educational reform initiative may be novel to the end users (classroom teachers and learners), problems can arise if there is a lack of explanation, orientation or a lack of effective curriculum evaluation process.’ An important inference which can be retrieved from this discussion is that ELT reform initiatives intended by the Ministry of Education to renovate and develop the curriculum are characterized by their limitation to textbooks and materials and are being based on a top-down model under which teachers are isolated from producing professional input in this unsystematic process.
There is a strong argument based on the belief of how teachers can make great contributions to curriculum and that their role must not be limited to the implementation of curriculum. One of the pertinent empirical studies conducted by Li (2010) focused on interviewing EFL teachers to further examine their awareness on existing language policies in various primary and secondary schools in a province in China. Li (2010) explores the perceived relationship between the
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English language policy and its implementation at the local level in Chinese schools according to the perceptions of in-service EFL teachers. The language planning process in China involves curriculum polices which are marked by their top-down approach in which teachers are only envisaged as implementers of the stipulated language policies. Based on the study, the results revealed that the teachers who participated in this research wanted to be involved in the policy making process in relation to curriculum design, constructing and selecting teaching materials and methodology. Li’s study suggests that similar empirical studies could be undertaken in other EFL/ESL contexts under which teachers are exposed to similar circumstances to explore their attitudes regarding the roles they want to play in the process of curriculum development. Considering the context of the current research in which a top-down approach to curriculum is adopted, involving teachers in the decision-making process concerning curriculum planning and design can maximize the effectiveness of their contribution in any initiative intended for curriculum innovation and development.
Another study conducted by Troudi, Combe & Al-Hamly (2009) delineated the effects of the top-down approach in a different EFL language teaching context concerning teachers’ roles in student assessment in the UAE and Kuwait. The study which was based on teachers’ oriented open-ended questionnaire discovered that EAP programmes adopt a structural and hierarchal approach with regards to assessment planning and implementation. This study pointed out that the duties of developing testing tools and assessment decisions are handled by level-coordinators because teachers are perceived as lacking experience in this particular area. This issue of excluding EAP teachers from assessment related decision-making processes hinders any initiative aimed at curriculum development. This is because a curriculum should be ‘open to the professional judgment of teachers and support the development of their capacities for judgement’ (Elliott, 1994, p. 67).
EL-Okda (2005, p. 33) proposes a model which allows for more EFL teacher involvement in on-going curriculum development in the Omani educational context.
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He indicates that curriculum development in almost all Arab countries is based on a top-down model in which teachers’ contribution is restricted to the ‘implementation of pre-designed packages of teaching materials.’ Based on his knowledge of the Omani context in which employing a top-down model to curriculum development has been the norm, he proposes a model in which top-down and bottom-up strategies are allowed to coexist. El-Okda (2005) stressed the significance of the School-Based Curriculum Development (SBCD) because it is based on the rationale that ‘curriculum development and teacher professional growth are inseparable’ which is a central theme in the current study (El-Okda, 2005, p. 37). Though the model proposed by El-Okda seems to be relevant to the current research investigation, there are a number of aspects which must be considered. However, the emergence of a parallel bottom-up model which can co-exist with the dominant top-down model in the colleges can give rise to some unexpected issues. This is because even the School-Based curriculum development activities which may be initiated by the collaborative efforts of teachers will need to be encouraged and allowed to survive under the dominant existing top-down approach.
The professional growth which is expected to be revived with the model proposed by El-Okda (2005, p. 39) requires the emergence of collaborative and multi-faceted initiatives through what he referred to as ‘professional growth networks’. These professional networks can be encouraged by heads of English departments among EAP teachers across the colleges which can allow teachers’ engagement in curriculum development. It is important to mention that the implementation of this model calls for a process of re-defining the existing roles of HODs and level- coordinators at the colleges to promote the understanding of teachers’ valuable contribution in curriculum development. It is through this stage to which the concept of re-defining roles that ‘professional growth’ intended by El-Okda can be successfully facilitated.
Shawer (2009) conducted a qualitative case study as an idiographic research strategy at Washington State University which was aimed at exploring teacher curriculum approaches which were believed to have a direct influence on class-
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room level curriculum development. Through the use of a multi-methods research which involved semi-structured interviews and participant observations, the study revealed that EFL teachers who participated in the study can be categorized to represent three various approaches to curriculum. The first category of (the curriculum-developers) was largely involved in macro and micro-curriculum development strategies. This group of teachers depended on supplementation and adaptation strategies through ‘thinking about students on planning lessons and the materials and activities that can suit the students’ (Shawer, 2009, p. 177). The second category represented (the curriculum-makers) who started their teaching with a needs assessment process to search for suitable curriculum topics in consultation with their students and were allowed more freedom in comparison to the first category. This is because, in addition to the adaptation and supplementation procedures in which they were involved, the groups of teachers ‘were actively involving their students in the emerging curriculum’ (Shawer, 2009, p. 180). The last category represented the teachers who were categorized as (the curriculum-transmitters) since they adhered to the content of the textbooks in their teaching and they relied heavily on the pedagogic instructions of the teacher’s guide. Shawer (2009) concluded that curriculum-developers and curriculum- makers were actively involved in an ongoing process of adapting the prescribed curriculum to their contexts.
The discussion regarding these three curriculum typologies provided by Shawer (2009) is very relevant to the current research. Understanding the current approaches adopted by EAP teachers at the CAS colleges is central to our understanding about the existing curriculum issues. Although Shawer’s discussion focused much attention on the methodological approaches of teachers, this particular element can have a great influence on the process of teaching and learning. Despite that the prevailing methodology of most teachers falls within ‘the curriculum-transmitters’ which conforms to the overall educational orientation of the colleges, a number of teachers continue to explore the merits of other curriculum approaches which can contribute in guiding the practitioners’ efforts to deal with the current curriculum challenges.
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The intention of this section is to highlight some of the current approaches implemented by various educational institutions with respect to curriculum development in English language teaching. The following section will be devoted to the discussion about English for Academic Purposes focusing on central issues and debates that characterize the EAP context. The section will also consider the discussion about empirical studies conducted in the context of EAP to provide a comprehensive critical analysis about issues as they relate to the current EAP practices around the world.