This is a study of the curriculum identity of Icelandic craft teachers. The study is based on
life history interviews with 42 teachers born between 1913 and 1960. The interviews traced a
life long relationship with the subject they chose to teach. Particular attention was paid to
how the teachers define their subject and how they identify with it. The information gathered
was analyzed with reference to the development of crafts as school subjects in Iceland.
The study describes in context the relationship that teachers have with their subjects and
attempts to explain it in terms of gender and class. The curriculum identity of the teacher of
these subjects is crucial as the subjects are not defined by external means such as a
prescriptive formal curriculum or centralized assessment. Each teacher is therefore able to
construct a personal curriculum.
The curriculum identity of craft teachers is defined by gender and class. The Icelandic school
system includes two craft subjects; textiles formerly know as girls' craft, and wood and
metalwork, formerly known as boys' craft. In the late seventies the gender segregation was
abolished by a policy of equal access to education. Still the subjects retain a gendered
definition. This study details the strength of gendered traditions and the complex effects of
gender equity policies.
Class refers here to the hierarchy of academic and vocational, or intellectual/manual pursuits.
Western school systems operate on a dichotomy between mind and matter, where association
with matter and the manual is less prestigious. The life histories of craft teachers manifest the
effects, as the teachers perceive themselves as a low status group within the school system.
The composite life histories of this group of craft teachers outline the history of the school
subjects in Iceland, a history that has not been documented. The main contribution of the
study is to the definition of curriculum identity, the way in which teachers define themselves
and are defined by the subjects they teach. The evidence given by these teachers suggests that
teachers tend to see their curriculum identity as deeply rooted in their personal history, even
in their family history. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/6694 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Helgadóttir, Guðrún |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 17138822 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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