What curriculum materials do teachers use in the Natural and Social Sciences area? Teachers' typology

Abstract

The use of textbooks and other curriculum materials affects all groups involved in the educational process, constituting a controversial aspect of everyday classroom lifewhich requires further research. This study examines teachers' conceptions and teaching practices linked to this issue, in order to stablish teachers' typologies in terms of the progression of their ideas and practices in the Natural and Social Sciences area. The main research instrument has been a Likert scale of 51 items with a four-choice format. The study obtained quantitative and qualitative information from 863 teachers (94 schools and 81 Andalusian towns).Cluster analysis, triangulated with the qualitative data, presents four clusters with the following teachers' typologies: dependent, functional, eclectic and designer. Among the conclusions, a turnaround in the use of materials is observed, characterized by the questioning of the textbook and the increased production of teaching materials with the contribution of the new technologies. Finally, it is observed a correspondence between the level of professional development of teachers and their typology.