Perceived Curriculum–Textbook Alignment and Curriculum Implementation Fidelity: The Serial Mediating Roles of Textbook Pedagogical Usability and Teacher Curriculum Self-Efficacy among Middle-School General Science Teachers in Gwadar, Balochistan

Abstract

Curriculum reform efforts often face obstacles in classrooms within education systems that are still developing, while theoretical explanations of how curriculum materials translate into classroom implementation remain underdeveloped in developing countries (Alvarado & Galigao, 2024; Dheivamani, 2022). Based on the theory of curriculum alignment, the perspective of participatory use of curriculum, and social cognitive theory, this research empirically investigates a serial mediation model in which perceived curriculum-textbook alignment (PCTA) affects curriculum implementation fidelity (CIF) through textbook pedagogical usability (TPU) and teacher curriculum self-efficacy (TCSE). Data on perceptions of curriculum alignment, textbook usability, teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing the curriculum and the degree of its classroom implementation fidelity were collected cross-sectionally through surveys administered to 200 middle school General Science teachers (Grades 6-8) in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan from both public (n=200) schools using the National Curriculum of Pakistan 2022-23 and textbooks of the Balochistan Textbook Board. Structural equation modelling with partial least squares in SmartPLS 4 was performed using 5,000 bootstrapping subsamples. The measurement model showed adequate reliability (α=.868-.887; ρc=.900-.914) and discriminant validity (HTMT≤.666). PCTA had significant effects on TPU (β=.402) and TCSE (β=.448); TPU affected TCSE (β=.361), and TCSE positively predicted CIF (β=.393); however, the direct effects of PCTA (β=-.044) and TPU (β=.021) on CIF were insignificant. Indirect-only (full) mediation analysis indicated that TCSE mediated the effects of both PCTA (β=.176) and TPU (β=.142) on CIF; the serial pathway PCTA → TPU → TCSE → CIF was significant (β=.057), while TPU alone mediated neither. The model accounted for 46.1% and 14.5% of the variances in TCSE and CIF (SRMR = .054), respectively. This indicates that the alignment and usability of pedagogically appropriate textbooks affect curriculum implementation fidelity via increasing teachers’ efficacy in implementing the specific curriculum. Thus, teachers’ psychology is shown to be the main mechanism enabling material-related reforms.