Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Hare, R. Dwight
Committee Member
Lindley, Cindy
Committee Member
Brocato, Donna
Committee Member
Davis, James
Committee Member
Watson, Joshua
Date of Degree
5-12-2012
Original embargo terms
MSU Only Indefinitely
Document Type
Dissertation - Campus Access Only
Major
Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Education Administration
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
College
College of Education
Department
Department of Leadership and Foundations
Abstract
The call for reform to raise student achievement has required educators, school leaders, and researchers to look for new methods to improve the learning process. One method used increasingly is block scheduling. Block scheduling is the restructuring of the school day into classes much longer than the traditional 50-55 minute class period. The purpose of this study was to determine high school principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of block scheduling in Mississippi high schools in three areas: achievement, attendance, and discipline. Many theorists believe that a person’s perceptions form the basis of reality for that person. If a teacher believes that block scheduling is effective, then for them, it is effective. Because some theorists believe that there is little to be gained from general studies that compare the objective results of block scheduling with the objective results of traditional scheduling since these comparisons have shown mixed results, this study addressed the social validity of block scheduling which is the extent to which participants perceive the worthiness of block scheduling. The research design used in this study was a cross sectional survey design. A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to collect data from teachers and principals in Mississippi high schools that had implemented block scheduling in the last 5 years. A total of 22 schools were used for the study. A 5 point Likert-type scale was used to measure respondents’ perceptions of the effectiveness of block scheduling on the three areas. While both principals and teachers appeared to have positive perceptions of the impact block scheduling has on student achievement, discipline, and attendance, principals had a more positive perception than teachers in all three areas. Both groups appeared to believe that student discipline was the most positively affected area, while attendance was the least positively affected. Recommendations based upon the findings of this study included conducting: (a) studies that include a larger sample of principals, (b) studies that identify student perceptions of block scheduling, and (c) studies to determine how important staff development is when implementing block scheduling.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/18000
Recommended Citation
Rush, Debra Ann, "Perceptions of Teachers and Administrators of the Effectiveness of Block Scheduling in Mississippi High Schools" (2012). Theses and Dissertations. 3489.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/3489
Comments
block scheduling||perceptions