Curriculum and assessment reform as professional learning: in-service teachers’ experiences of policy enactment in Fiji

Curriculum and assessment reforms place new professional learning demands on teachers, particularly in systems undergoing rapid policy change. This qualitative study examines how in-service teachers experience curriculum and assessment reform as sites of professional learning and policy enactment. Data were generated from reflective written responses provided by 80 primary and secondary teachers enrolled in an education course within a Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme at a university in Fiji. Data collection occurred in May 2025, and participants worked in urban, rural, and maritime schools. Using reflexive thematic analysis, the study identified four themes: expanded professional learning demands; fragmented professional development; agency through adaptation and peer support; and mixed perceptions of effects on teaching and learning. Participants described gaps between introductory training and classroom application, as well as adaptations to assessment tasks, resources, and collegial exchanges. The study contributes to professional development scholarship by conceptualising curriculum and assessment reform as embedded professional learning processes interpreted through professional learning, teacher agency, policy enactment, and Pacific cultural perspectives. Implications include sustained, context-responsive professional development connecting initial guidance with opportunities to try out new classroom practices, collaborative reflection, and follow-up support.