Toward Power-sharing

As one of the results of the curriculum reform, the three-level curriculumdecision-making system has changed the highly centralized system, and shared the rightof decision-making among the central government, the local government and the school.Teachers, who are the subjects of the educational activities, naturally participate in thecurriculum decision-making. But for most of them, it is a challenge rather than anopportunity. So how could they face the challenge? This paper will try to answer thequestion. At first, it explores the historical evolution of teachers'participation in thecurriculum decision-making in China, and also investigates its recent development inforeign countries. Then it defines the conditions and the viable ways of teachers'participation in the curriculum decision-making.the three-level curriculum decision-making system is unique. Every level isrelatively independent but also has some connections with other levels. So teachers, thesubjects of the curriculum decision-making, need to recognize the following questionsbefore the participation: how to effectively use the rights and resources in the differentlevels to fulfill their responsibilities. At the same time, they need to renew their mindsetsand improve themselves in knowledge and skills.Teachers'participation in the curriculum decision-making is very useful for theirprofessional development, because in the process of participation teachers need to learn,reflect and cooperate to strengthen their abilities of curriculum decision-making.