Primary teachers’ curriculum making dilemmas: including and excluding children’s literature

Abstract Primary classrooms are dilemmatic spaces where teachers must continually navigate complex decisions. This study explores how nine Australian primary school teachers include or exclude children’s literature for classroom use, revealing the nuanced criteria that underpin their choices. Using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, the research identifies three key domains influencing teachers’ decisions: curriculum alignment, reader relevance, and literary characteristics. Teachers described balancing curriculum demands with students’ interests, cultural contexts, and the perceived appropriateness of texts. Notably, the same criteria were often used both to justify the inclusion and exclusion of literature. These findings highlight the ethical and pedagogical tensions teachers face when enacting curriculum and underscore the need for context-based professional autonomy, resources, and time in navigating these dilemmas. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how literature selection functions as a site of intense professional decision-making within broader educational, cultural, and institutional frameworks.