In a recent study (Geirsdóttir, 2008), a conceptual approach proposed by Basil Bernstein (1990; 2000) was used to explore and understand the complexity of curriculum decision making and tensions within different disciplines in higher education. The aim of the study was to explore university teachers’ conceptions of the pedagogic discourse (or the disciplinary curriculum) of their discipline and to provide insight and understanding that captures the complexity and intricacies into the curriculum process in higher education. The study was carried out within a single university, the University of Iceland, and involved three academic disciplines. The study demonstrated the existence of a local pedagogic discourse of each discipline, most strongly shaped by teacher conceptions acquired during their own time of studying the discipline, their teaching experience, the discipline’s organisational culture and structure and the discipline’s saga. Although the research claims that teachers hold a central role within curriculum development, the local pedagogic discourse of the discipline is located in a social context within which different contesting ideologies arise and where they are influenced by internal as well as external forces. In this proposed paper the research findings will be discussed in the light of curriculum changes taking place within the local disciplinary pedagogic discourses and the forces influencing those changes and development. The main questions raised will be: 1) Which internal and external forces are influencing the curriculum development? 2) Do local disciplinary discourses lend themselves differently to those forces? and; 3) Do those forces change the experienced curriculum agency of teacher within the university?

Data was mainly collected through observations at staff meetings and in-depth interviews with university teaching within the departments of mechanical and industrial engineering, anthropology and physics at the University of Iceland. Data was analyzed through formal data structure and discourse analysis.

The research questions stated above will be addressed by using a framework provided by Becher and Barnett (1999) distinguishing between internal and external forces influencing subject – specific or cross-subject development as well as Bernstein’s theoretical concepts of different recontextualising fields. The two forms of framework will be used to explore and demonstrate the responsiveness of the disciplines towards identified change forces. The research analysis is expected to provide insight and understanding into the possibilities as well as barriers to curriculum development in higher education.