In his book, The New Meaning of Educational Change, Michael Fullan (2001) captured the challenging nature of implementing meaningful educational reforms that will require the systemic transformation of the educational system. This deep-seated approach to reform will require not only structural changes in organizational processes, policies and rules, but also the culture of the systemùthe mentality of the key stakeholders that shape attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, the inter-connections between diverse components of the educational system including curricular reforms, instruction, professional development and support to students and families will need to be recognized.
Considering the organic nature of the process of reforming the educational system, as described by Fullan (2001), his perspectives can best be analyzed by utilizing gardening metaphors. By utilizing the different elements of gardening highlighted in McKenzie's (2001) workù"cultivating and fertilizing the soil, planting, pruning and weeding," Fullan's (2001) postulates about educational change will be analyzed and applied to the topic of curriculum reforms. Furthermore, this analysis will also be supported by the viewpoints of other educators and specialists in the field.
An integral part of the continuous effort to improve the quality of the educational system is curricular reforms. As described by English (2000), the public school curriculum is characterized by a lack of coherence and focus. Due to the decentralized nature of curriculum development, the public school curriculum is shaped by a plethora of influences at the different governmental levels. Essentially, the processes of curriculum development and implementation are shaped by textbook publishers, state guidelines and content standards, testing requirements, local boards, schools and the teachers. Consequently, the curriculum is filled with discrete and disconnected segments of information ...