An investigation into English teachers' curriculum adaptation skills in the classroom

Although centrally designed curricula are intended to be implemented uniformly across all classrooms nationwide, the literature reveals that teachers frequently make various adaptations based on the realities of their classrooms. This phenomenon becomes more apparent in subjects like English, where students' language proficiency levels, interests, and needs differ significantly. The aim of this study is to identify the adaptation patterns used by English teachers when tailoring the curriculum to their classrooms, to explore the reasons behind these adaptations, and to understand the outcomes of these adaptations from the teachers' perspectives. Using a mixed-methods design, the study was conducted with English teachers working in Antalya during the 2023–2024 academic year. Quantitative data were collected using the Curriculum Adaptation Patterns Scale (Yazıcılar Nalbantoğlu, Bümen & Uslu, 2021) to determine the teachers' adaptation patterns. Subsequently, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers to gather qualitative data. According to the findings, English teachers most frequently used the expansion pattern, followed by reorganization, and least frequently, the omission pattern. No significant differences were found in adaptation patterns based on gender, teaching experience, school type, or educational background. However, significant differences were observed in the omission pattern in relation to the school level at which they worked and the field from which they graduated. The teachers adapted the curriculum primarily due to students' readiness levels, interests, motivation, academic performance, individual learning needs, inadequacy of textbooks, parental expectations, instructional methods and techniques used, the desire to make lessons more effective and engaging, exam preparation, and limited class time. The reported outcomes of these adaptations included improved student motivation and attitudes toward the lesson, enhanced retention of learning, reduced confusion, clearer lesson content, easier student monitoring, and time efficiency.