Tobephobia: Teachers- Ineptitude to Manage Curriculum Change
In this paper, Tobephobia (TBP) alludes to the fear of
failure experienced by teachers to manage curriculum change. TBP is
an emerging concept and it extends the boundaries of research in
terms of how we view achievement and failure in education.
Outcomes-based education (OBE) was introduced fifteen years ago
in South African schools without simultaneously upgrading teachers-
professional competencies. This exploratory research, therefore
examines a simple question: What is the impact of TBP and OBE on
teachers? Teacher ineptitude to cope with the OBE curriculum in the
classroom is a serious problem affecting large numbers of South
African teachers. This exploratory study sought to determine the
perceived negative impact of OBE and TBP on teachers. A survey
was conducted amongst 311 teachers in Port Elizabeth and Durban,
South Africa. The results confirm the very negative impact of TBP
and OBE on teachers. This exploratory study authenticates the
existence of TBP.
[1] Alderson A & Martin M 2007. Outcomes based education: Where has it
come from and where is it going? Issues in Educational Research,
17(2):161-182.
[2] Andrews HA 1995. Teachers can be fired! The quest for quality.
Chicago: Catfeet.
[3] Atkinson JW 1957. Motivational determinants of risk taking behaviour.
Psychological Review, 64:359-372.
[4] Atkinson JW 1964. An introduction to motivation. Princeton:
VanNostrand.
[5] Balt D 2008. Fixing a struggling system. The Teacher, 13(3):26.
[6] Barker P 2003. Fear. Available at:
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/fear Accessed 5 April 2008.
[7] Berlach RG & McNaught K 2007. Outcomes based education?
Rethinking the provision of compulsory education in Western Australia.
Issues in Educational Research, 17(1):1-14.
[8] Birney RC, Burdick H & Teevan RC. Fear of failure. New York:
VanNostrand.
[9] Collins Contemporary Dictionary 1977. London.
[10] Conley S & Glasman NS 2008. Fear, the school organization, and
teacher evaluation. Educational Policy, 22(1):63-85.
[11] Dawson TC & Billingsley KL 2000. Unsatisfactory performance: How
California-s K-12 education system protects mediocrity and how
teacher quality can be improved. San Francisco: Pacific Research
Institute for Public Policy.
[12] Department of Education (DoE) 2009. Report of the Task Team for the
review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement.
Pretoria.
[13] Donnelly K 2005. Benchmarking Australian primary school curricula.
Canberra:Department of Education, Science & Training. Accessed 14
August 2010.
http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources
/profiles/benchmarking_cui
[14] Donnelly K 2007. Australia-s adoption of outcomes based
education: A critique. Issues in Educational Research, 17(2):183-206.
[15] Engelbrecht P, Oswald M, Swart E, & Eloff I 2003. Including learners
with intellectual disabilities: Stressful for teachers? International
Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 50(3):293-308.
[16] Fossey R 1998. Expanding legal rights for education employees: Is the
institutional mission being threatened? Journal of Personnel Evaluation
in Education, 11:209-214.
[17] Frase LE & Streshly W 2000. Top ten myths in education. Lanham:
Scarecrow.
[18] Fullan M 2001. Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
[19] Fuhr DL 1993. Managing mediocrity in the classroom: School leaders
must rescue students from borderline teachers. The School
Administrator, 50(4):26-29.
[20] Gardner J & Bell Ah 2005. Phobias and how to overcome them:
understanding and beating your fears. New Jersey: New Page Books.
[21] Ginsberg R & Cooper BS 2008. Introduction. What-s fear got to do with
it? Educational Policy, 22(1):5-9.
[22] Ginsberg R & Lyche LF 2008. The culture of fear and the politics of
education. Educational Policy, 22(1):10-27.
[23] Grant N 2009. Schools of little thought: why change management hasn-t
worked. Improving Schools, 12(1):19-32.
[24] Greenberg J & Baron RA 2000. Behavior in organizations. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
[25] Henderson-Sparks JC, Ehrgott RH & Sparks RK 1995. Managing your
marginal teachers. Principal, 74(4):32-35.
[26] Jones R 1997. Showing bad teachers the door. American School Board
Journal,184(11):20-24.
[27] Kealey KA, Peterson AV, Gaul MA & Dinh KT 2000. Teacher training
as a behavior change process: principles and results from a longitudinal
study. Health Education & Behavior, 27(1):64-81.
[28] Khoabane P 2010. Get set for another 12 years of trial and error in
schools. Sunday Times, July 11.
[29] Kyriacou C 1998. Teacher stress: past and present. In: Dunham J &
Varma V (eds). Stress in teachers. London: Whurr.
[30] Masondo S, Mahlangu D & Mclea H 2010. Sacrificed: Millions of
young South Africans- futures have been destroyed for an ideological
concept - OBE. The Times, 7 July.
[31] McGrath MJ 1995. Effective evaluation. Thrust for Educational
Leadership, 24(6): 36-39.
[32] McMillan JH & Schumacher S 2001. Research in education: a
conceptual introduction. New York: Harper.
[33] Menuey BP 2005. Teachers- perceptions of professional incompetence
and barriers to the dismissal process. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education, 18: 309-325.
[34] Neill SB & Custis J 1978. Staff dismissal: Problems and solutions.
Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
[35] Newkirk T 2009. Holding on to good ideas in a time of bad ones.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
[36] Ornstein AC & Hunkins FP 2004. Curriculum: foundations, principles
and issues. New York: Pearson.
[37] Robson C 2002. Real world research: a resource for social scientists
and practitioner-researchers. Oxford: Blackwell.
[38] Sanders WL & Horn SP 1998. Research findings from the Tennessee
Value-Added Assessment System. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education, 12:247-256.
[39] Schoenfeld AH 2006. What doesn-t work: The challenge and failure of
the What Works Clearinghouse to conduct meaningful reviews of
studies of mathematics curricula. Educational Researcher, 35(2):13-21.
[40] Singh P 2006. Are you suffering from TBP? The Teacher, November.
[41] Singh P 2007. Research on the effects of Tobephobia on learning
outcomes. Paper presented at the Fifteenth World Conference on
Cooperative Education. Singapore: 26-29 June 2007.
[42] Singh P 2008. The effects of Tobephobia on learning outcomes in the
educational milieu. International Journal of Learning, 15(3):10-15.
[43] Singh P 2010. Innovative strategies to develop better schools. Sydney,
Australia:Common Ground.
[44] Singh P & Manser PG 2000. Effects of a shared vision on the attitudes
of teachers towards outcomes-based education. South African Journal of
Education, 20(2):108-114.
[45] Spitzer DR 1977. Achievement motivation and fear of failure in
teachers. Paper presented at the Association for Educational
Communications and Technology Annual Convention. State University
of Albany, New York.
[46] Sunday Times 2010. Some papers were harder, 10 January.
[47] Tedrow M 2010. Failure is inseparable from the joys of teaching.
Teacher Leadership Today. Accessed on: 26/01 20101. Available at:
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_leadership_today/2010/01/ind
ex.html
[48] Tucker PD 1997. Lake Wobegon: Where all teachers are competent.
Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11:103-126.
[49] VandenBos GR (ed.) 2007. APA Dictionary of Psychology. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
[50] Whitaker T 2002. Dealing with difficult teachers. Larchmont, New
York: Eye on Education.
[51] Wragg EC, Haynes GS, Wragg CM & Chamberlain RP 2000. Failing
teachers. London: Routledge.
[52] Wright SP, Horn SP & Sanders WL 1997. Teacher and classroom
context effects on student achievement: Implications for teacher
evaluation. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11:57-67.
[53] Zimmerman J 2006. Why some teachers resist change and what
principals can do about it. NASSP Bulletin, 90(3):238-249.
[1] Alderson A & Martin M 2007. Outcomes based education: Where has it
come from and where is it going? Issues in Educational Research,
17(2):161-182.
[2] Andrews HA 1995. Teachers can be fired! The quest for quality.
Chicago: Catfeet.
[3] Atkinson JW 1957. Motivational determinants of risk taking behaviour.
Psychological Review, 64:359-372.
[4] Atkinson JW 1964. An introduction to motivation. Princeton:
VanNostrand.
[5] Balt D 2008. Fixing a struggling system. The Teacher, 13(3):26.
[6] Barker P 2003. Fear. Available at:
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/fear Accessed 5 April 2008.
[7] Berlach RG & McNaught K 2007. Outcomes based education?
Rethinking the provision of compulsory education in Western Australia.
Issues in Educational Research, 17(1):1-14.
[8] Birney RC, Burdick H & Teevan RC. Fear of failure. New York:
VanNostrand.
[9] Collins Contemporary Dictionary 1977. London.
[10] Conley S & Glasman NS 2008. Fear, the school organization, and
teacher evaluation. Educational Policy, 22(1):63-85.
[11] Dawson TC & Billingsley KL 2000. Unsatisfactory performance: How
California-s K-12 education system protects mediocrity and how
teacher quality can be improved. San Francisco: Pacific Research
Institute for Public Policy.
[12] Department of Education (DoE) 2009. Report of the Task Team for the
review of the implementation of the National Curriculum Statement.
Pretoria.
[13] Donnelly K 2005. Benchmarking Australian primary school curricula.
Canberra:Department of Education, Science & Training. Accessed 14
August 2010.
http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/school_education/publications_resources
/profiles/benchmarking_cui
[14] Donnelly K 2007. Australia-s adoption of outcomes based
education: A critique. Issues in Educational Research, 17(2):183-206.
[15] Engelbrecht P, Oswald M, Swart E, & Eloff I 2003. Including learners
with intellectual disabilities: Stressful for teachers? International
Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 50(3):293-308.
[16] Fossey R 1998. Expanding legal rights for education employees: Is the
institutional mission being threatened? Journal of Personnel Evaluation
in Education, 11:209-214.
[17] Frase LE & Streshly W 2000. Top ten myths in education. Lanham:
Scarecrow.
[18] Fullan M 2001. Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
[19] Fuhr DL 1993. Managing mediocrity in the classroom: School leaders
must rescue students from borderline teachers. The School
Administrator, 50(4):26-29.
[20] Gardner J & Bell Ah 2005. Phobias and how to overcome them:
understanding and beating your fears. New Jersey: New Page Books.
[21] Ginsberg R & Cooper BS 2008. Introduction. What-s fear got to do with
it? Educational Policy, 22(1):5-9.
[22] Ginsberg R & Lyche LF 2008. The culture of fear and the politics of
education. Educational Policy, 22(1):10-27.
[23] Grant N 2009. Schools of little thought: why change management hasn-t
worked. Improving Schools, 12(1):19-32.
[24] Greenberg J & Baron RA 2000. Behavior in organizations. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
[25] Henderson-Sparks JC, Ehrgott RH & Sparks RK 1995. Managing your
marginal teachers. Principal, 74(4):32-35.
[26] Jones R 1997. Showing bad teachers the door. American School Board
Journal,184(11):20-24.
[27] Kealey KA, Peterson AV, Gaul MA & Dinh KT 2000. Teacher training
as a behavior change process: principles and results from a longitudinal
study. Health Education & Behavior, 27(1):64-81.
[28] Khoabane P 2010. Get set for another 12 years of trial and error in
schools. Sunday Times, July 11.
[29] Kyriacou C 1998. Teacher stress: past and present. In: Dunham J &
Varma V (eds). Stress in teachers. London: Whurr.
[30] Masondo S, Mahlangu D & Mclea H 2010. Sacrificed: Millions of
young South Africans- futures have been destroyed for an ideological
concept - OBE. The Times, 7 July.
[31] McGrath MJ 1995. Effective evaluation. Thrust for Educational
Leadership, 24(6): 36-39.
[32] McMillan JH & Schumacher S 2001. Research in education: a
conceptual introduction. New York: Harper.
[33] Menuey BP 2005. Teachers- perceptions of professional incompetence
and barriers to the dismissal process. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education, 18: 309-325.
[34] Neill SB & Custis J 1978. Staff dismissal: Problems and solutions.
Arlington, VA: American Association of School Administrators.
[35] Newkirk T 2009. Holding on to good ideas in a time of bad ones.
Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann.
[36] Ornstein AC & Hunkins FP 2004. Curriculum: foundations, principles
and issues. New York: Pearson.
[37] Robson C 2002. Real world research: a resource for social scientists
and practitioner-researchers. Oxford: Blackwell.
[38] Sanders WL & Horn SP 1998. Research findings from the Tennessee
Value-Added Assessment System. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in
Education, 12:247-256.
[39] Schoenfeld AH 2006. What doesn-t work: The challenge and failure of
the What Works Clearinghouse to conduct meaningful reviews of
studies of mathematics curricula. Educational Researcher, 35(2):13-21.
[40] Singh P 2006. Are you suffering from TBP? The Teacher, November.
[41] Singh P 2007. Research on the effects of Tobephobia on learning
outcomes. Paper presented at the Fifteenth World Conference on
Cooperative Education. Singapore: 26-29 June 2007.
[42] Singh P 2008. The effects of Tobephobia on learning outcomes in the
educational milieu. International Journal of Learning, 15(3):10-15.
[43] Singh P 2010. Innovative strategies to develop better schools. Sydney,
Australia:Common Ground.
[44] Singh P & Manser PG 2000. Effects of a shared vision on the attitudes
of teachers towards outcomes-based education. South African Journal of
Education, 20(2):108-114.
[45] Spitzer DR 1977. Achievement motivation and fear of failure in
teachers. Paper presented at the Association for Educational
Communications and Technology Annual Convention. State University
of Albany, New York.
[46] Sunday Times 2010. Some papers were harder, 10 January.
[47] Tedrow M 2010. Failure is inseparable from the joys of teaching.
Teacher Leadership Today. Accessed on: 26/01 20101. Available at:
http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_leadership_today/2010/01/ind
ex.html
[48] Tucker PD 1997. Lake Wobegon: Where all teachers are competent.
Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11:103-126.
[49] VandenBos GR (ed.) 2007. APA Dictionary of Psychology. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.
[50] Whitaker T 2002. Dealing with difficult teachers. Larchmont, New
York: Eye on Education.
[51] Wragg EC, Haynes GS, Wragg CM & Chamberlain RP 2000. Failing
teachers. London: Routledge.
[52] Wright SP, Horn SP & Sanders WL 1997. Teacher and classroom
context effects on student achievement: Implications for teacher
evaluation. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 11:57-67.
[53] Zimmerman J 2006. Why some teachers resist change and what
principals can do about it. NASSP Bulletin, 90(3):238-249.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:49632", author = "P. Singh", title = "Tobephobia: Teachers- Ineptitude to Manage Curriculum Change", abstract = "In this paper, Tobephobia (TBP) alludes to the fear of
failure experienced by teachers to manage curriculum change. TBP is
an emerging concept and it extends the boundaries of research in
terms of how we view achievement and failure in education.
Outcomes-based education (OBE) was introduced fifteen years ago
in South African schools without simultaneously upgrading teachers-
professional competencies. This exploratory research, therefore
examines a simple question: What is the impact of TBP and OBE on
teachers? Teacher ineptitude to cope with the OBE curriculum in the
classroom is a serious problem affecting large numbers of South
African teachers. This exploratory study sought to determine the
perceived negative impact of OBE and TBP on teachers. A survey
was conducted amongst 311 teachers in Port Elizabeth and Durban,
South Africa. The results confirm the very negative impact of TBP
and OBE on teachers. This exploratory study authenticates the
existence of TBP.", keywords = "Curriculum change, fear of failure in education,
outcomes-based education, Tobephobia.", volume = "6", number = "12", pages = "3402-8", }
