Support or Restriction: Swedish Primary School Teachers’ Views on Mathematics Curriculum Reform

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a quantitative study on primary teachers' (n=253) views on the introduction of steering documents and national examinations for Grade 3. While the majority of the teachers experience the reform as empowering, some teachers feel the new curriculum and the national examination restrict their teacher professionalism. We found differences in how teachers viewed the reform depending on whether they had graduated before or after the reform in 1994. The differing views can be connected to teachers' beliefs about teacher professionalism and the relation between teaching, learning and maturing. We discuss our findings also in the light of curriculum development during the last four decades.