Preschool teachers’ identity, emotions and appraisal of curriculum reform in Sweden : An exploratory case study

Abstract: The paper examines teachers’ emotions and sense-making of an educational reform with ICTat focus. It takes on a cognitive lense, giving insight into teachers thoughts, emotions,experience with and appraisal of change, with purpose of aiding search for a good way tointroduce ICT. It is a case-study conducted in one school which accounted for organisationaland political dimensions change entails, showing a great extent to which cultural andstructural working condition interfere with and determine teachers’ emotional and practicaldealings with reform demands. Environment rich in communication, support and team-spiritmixed with trusted, open and cautious leadership resulted in successful implementation ofcurriculum changes and aided personal growth with no threat to professional identity ofteachers. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews of eight informants.Burnard’s multi-stage analysis process was employed, yielding proposition that focusing onpersonal change rather than on change itself in context of a reform has greater successpotential. Positive effects of merging psychology of personal and organisational change arediscussed.