The Micropolitics of Literacy Curricula Adoption: An Exploratory Actor Network Theory Analysis of Curricula Adoption

Abstract

In the realm of literacy education, curriculum is driven by politics, finances, standardization, and accountability. How specified curricular materials make their way into the classroom often baffles educators. The one thing they know is it is "isn't the one we voted for." This study includes a review of literature on how curricula were historically adopted and provides a current view of how literacy curricula are selected across multiple states. To make the adoption process more visible and discernable, participants provided visual diagrams combined with interviews. Actor Network Theory allowed us to examine not only the actors but the flow of decision making and the hierarchies within. Results in process and flow varied, but the one common finding is that classroom educators were not the most essential actors in this adoption network.