Behind the closed doors of curriculum change at faculties of education: practices and problems of faculty members

Curricular change gains meaning and momentum only through the agency of faculty members, whose expertise and active engagement in designing, implementing, and evaluating curricula ultimately determine whether such changes achieve genuine and lasting impact. Yet, curriculum change in faculties of education has received little systematic study, leaving many processes and tensions concealed “behind closed doors.” This study aims to illuminate the essence of faculty members’ lived experiences with curriculum change in pre-service teacher education in Türkiye, with a particular focus on the skills and knowledge they perceive as essential, as well as the challenges they encounter in engaging with curriculum design, implementation, and evaluation. Grounded in Fullan’s theory of educational change and Schwab’s concept of practical deliberation, which highlights context-sensitive, judgment-driven decision-making in curriculum development, this study examines how faculty members navigate the complexities of curriculum change, exercising professional judgment and active engagement to develop and implement curriculum changes in pre-service teacher education. Affiliated with 13 different departments at the Faculty of Education, 41 faculty members participated in the study as key informants, having lived experiences with curriculum changes in pre-service teacher education. The qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured individual interviews, and the steps of content analysis were followed using MAXQDA 2022. The findings indicated that although some faculty members resisted change, some faculty members had already initiated bottom-up curriculum change studies at their faculties, made mostly course-level adjustments, planned to implement the new curricula without piloting, and demonstrated individual autonomy in implementation, especially after top-down curricula changes. Most faculty members openly admitted to lacking professional expertise and having difficulties in curriculum development, notions and principles, curriculum evaluation, and instructional planning and assessment. This study reflects inner curricular practices at faculties and reflects faculty members’ professional needs in pre-service teacher education.