The Impact of Curriculum Standard Interpretation Competence on Teaching Objectives Design among Primary School English Teachers

Abstract

The English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education (2022 Edition) require primary school English teachers to translate competency-oriented requirements into concrete, observable teaching objectives, yet classroom studies still report objectives that are vague, fragmented or mechanically mapped onto individual texts. This paper argues that such weaknesses are rooted in teachers’ curriculum standard interpretation competence (CSIC). Drawing on a narrative synthesis of 21 studies published between 2023 and 2026, it conceptualizes CSIC as four dimensions—concept cognition, content extraction, transformational application and reflective improvement—and proposes four criteria for the quality of teaching objectives: standard-based extraction, integration of the four core competencies, standardized formulation, and unit-lesson logical coherence. It then traces a three-stage mechanism whereby content extraction supplies the input, transformational application mediates the conversion, and reflection closes the feedback loop. Because each recurring design weakness maps onto a specific interpretive deficit rather than onto a general lack of teaching experience, improvement should target how teachers read the Standards rather than how they write objectives. Implications are drawn for classroom practice, school-based teaching research, teacher education and curriculum policy support.