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Change In The Basic Structure Of The Public School Schedule

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As a middle school teachers for nearly twenty years, I have seen very little change in the basic structure of the public school schedule. The days of the year, hours of the school day and number of periods have remained relatively unchanged, regardless of the district or building. It was very early on in my career when I fully realized that regardless of the lesson or task at hand, the clock was not to be challenged. American public schools have a long history of maintaining this basic core structure and as much as research continues to support its change, there has been very little movement in this arena. No matter how complex or simple the school subject—literature, shop, physics, gym, or algebra—the schedule assigns each an impartial …show more content…

The methodology was quantitative using comparative cross-sectional design. The survey contains five categories of questions the covering: 1) how the schedule helps teachers 2) helps students, 3) affects climate, 4) helps student performance, and 5) how it affect teaching methods. The survey that was used provided a substantial amount of data that I was able examine to find areas which will be significant to both the teachers and administration. The school and town in which the context of this research took place was in the state of Connecticut located in Fairfield County. This public school is in a “A” DRG and has a population of 26,391 (as of 2010). There is one high school, two middle schools, and five elementary schools. The middle school included in this study has a population of approximately 860 students. The survey was given to the entire teaching staff. Of the 70 teachers in the building, the results of 55 teachers were included in the findings.
Research …show more content…

However, surrounding schools in similar DRGs may be able to find the information useful for preliminary discussions and to at least provide some starting points for schools looking to target specific areas for improvement. However, the framework and the survey may be transferable to other schools looking to examine the perceptions of their staff regarding the school schedule. Additionally, the outcomes of this survey provided patterns in the data that are worth noting, but as they are quantitative in nature, the survey provides correlations but not causation. The school, and any school that chooses to use this framework would be encouraged to follow up on areas of concern. The purpose in this study was to provide a thorough examination and starting point for the school. More teacher involvement such as teacher-based discussion groups or interviews would be highly

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