Abstract

Curriculum management is one of the main energizing processes in a school because it brings to reality the education policies that are being enforced in a nation. The Costa Rican education system is no exception, and although the head of every school is responsible for curriculum management, it is in the classroom, and by the teaching staff, that it is truly enforced. This study aims to analyze those aspects related to curriculum management from both the teachers and the head of the school’s perspective. The methodology is based on a mixed approach: the quantitative dimension through a transversal and ex post facto design, and qualitative dimension through a phenomenological method. Data collection was made by an ad hoc questionnaire applied to 192 teachers, and semi-structured interviews applied to six heads of public schools. The results show that, for the teaching staff and the heads of the schools, there is a clear bond between curricular management and in-classroom processes. In the same way, the main support networks that the schools have are linked to the Curricular Adaptations Committees, and this excludes the School Board and the Board of Education. On the other side, the teaching staff relates school failure with the lack of support from the student’s family, and on the contrary, the staff links student success and promotion with teaching effort.

Keywords: Curricular management; curricular policies; student promotion; school failure: education management