‘The New Curriculum is a New Baby’: Metaphors of Reform in History Pedagogy

Abstract

Teachers unconsciously, and at times intentionally, use metaphors to graphically image new reform policy. This qualitative multiple case-study explores how secondary school teachers employed metaphors to communicate excitement and/or frustrations with a new history curriculum they were implementing in Zimbabwe. Findings from semi-structured interviews and lesson observations indicate that, although teachers employed either reform friendly or reform antagonistic metaphors, their metaphoric representations were consistently evolving. The new history curriculum was viewed as a new baby whose habits everyone was trying to learn. Conversely, it was equated to a dictated peace treaty. The implications of these metaphors are interrogated.