Assessing the 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum Program in Upper Secondary Schools: An Application of the Change Model

Abstract Information: To nurture students' future-ready competencies, global curriculum reform has been initiated, with Taiwan implementing new curriculum guidelines for 12-year basic education in 2019. These guidelines prioritize student-centered learning and emphasize three key concepts: taking initiative, engaging in interaction, and seeking the common good. Empowering schools with autonomy over curriculum governance, the reform encourages collaborative teacher efforts in curriculum development. This study employed a change model evaluation approach, creating a program theory to elucidate how the program yields results, to assess the 12-year basic education curriculum program in Taiwanese upper secondary schools. We integrated insights from social science research and stakeholder input to develop causal assumptions of the change model. The model identified administrative support and emotional support as intervention factors, teacher collaboration and self-efficacy as mediating determinants, and school curriculum quality as the outcome variable. Our aim was to examine the causal linkage among interventions, determinants, and outcomes. Through a survey design employing stratified cluster sampling, 624 out of 640 teachers from upper secondary schools across various geographical regions and sizes in Taiwan responded to an online questionnaire. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that school administrative support was positively associated with school curriculum quality, and its effects on enhancing curriculum quality were also mediated by teacher collaboration and self-efficacy. Emotional support did not directly affect school curriculum quality; instead, its effects were contingent upon teacher efficacy. These findings underscore the significance of administrative support as a pivotal intervention, directly and indirectly linked to curriculum outcomes. Since emotional support did not directly contribute to substantial assistance in teachers' collaborative curriculum design efforts, its relationship with the outcome was indirect, emerging only when teacher efficacy was activated. Based on these findings, suggestions were provided for evaluation theory and educational practices.