Curriculum reform in China: student participation in classrooms using a reformed instructional model

•This study introduces how China is reforming teaching and learning.•The result shows that DJP model can increase student participation.•Teacher’s attitudes influence their implementation of curriculum reform.

This study examined how Chinese educators and teachers implement curriculum reform in mathematics classrooms, through an example of the reform in one district in China that is promoting a reformed instructional model called the DJP model. The data used in this study came from a project that followed teachers in this district for two years. By analyzing 64 classroom videos from 16 teachers, this study showed how students participated in classroom activities after using the reformed instructional model. Furthermore, the effect of teachers’ attitudes on implementation of the reformed model is discussed. The results show that the DJP model had a positive effect on increasing student participation, while teachers’ attitudes played a key role in this process. This study can contribute to a broaden context by suggesting an efficient way to increase student participation and highlighting the important role teachers play in implementing curriculum reform.