reseach proposal paper

Research Proposal 1

Running head: YEAR ROUND EDUCATION

The Familial Impact of Year Round Education on Kindergarten Students and Parents of a

Kentucky Primary School

Michael Parent

Cohort XI

Seton Hall University

ELMP 8891

Research Proposal 2

CHAPTER I

Introduction

In 1984 the National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE) released A

Nation At Risk. This scathing report on the condition of American schools startled

Americans and triggered the modern movements in education policy. A Nation At Risk

deemed the current state of education as in need of serious reform. Subsequently, the

NCEE made a litany of proposals and recommendations for changes to the American

educational system. One proposed change was to increase the time students spend in

school; the NCEE recommended that the actual school year be extended from 180 days to

near 220. However, many schools instead opted to amend their traditional 180 calendars,

rather than face the exponential costs of extending the school year.

Modifications to the traditional school calendar typically take the form of either

year-round school or extended school year programs. In most cases, year-round

education (YRE) does not actually increase the amount of structured learning

opportunities available to students. Rather, students attend schools for the same number

of days as they did with the traditional calendar; however, vacations are distributed

equally throughout the calendar year every six or nine weeks. Between 1985 and 1992,

the number of YRE schools grew from 336 to 2,017 (Worthen & Zsiray, 1994).

However, this expansion of YRE has not occurred without much debate.

Proponents of YRE will say that the modified school calendar enhances learning,

sustains student learning, and assists low-achieving students (Glines, 1997). Dissidents

of the twelve month school calendar claim that school systems cannot afford the demands

Research Proposal 3

that will be required, such as potential increases on schools’ infrastructural costs and

increases on fuel and transportation costs (Johnson and Spradlin, 2007). Furthermore,

opponents say that a twelve-month school calendar would cause disruption to the family

environment and have a negative impact on economies that rely on summer season

tourism and travel. Despite the criticisms and warnings, many school districts across the

nation have experimented with YRE. Research on the effectiveness of this intervention is

emerging and suggestive of generally positive effects. (Cooper, 2002). Some school

districts, particularly those that are large and urban, have found success with YRE and

others, smaller and more rural, have encountered great difficulty (Johnson and Spradlin,

2007).

Statement of the Problem

Bardstown City School District, located in western Kentucky, adopted a YRE

calendar in 1995. Since then, the school district reports a steady rise in student’s

achievement scores (as measured by the Kentucky Core Content Test) and improvement

in other areas, such as attendance and discipline. However, no data exists on the impact

of YRE in regards to parent perceptions, particularly in the primary grades, in the area of

YRE’s impact on quality of family life. What type of impact does Bardstown Primary

year-round schedule have on families? Also, what are the perceptions of the quality of

learning taking place at Bardstown Primary as a result of YRE?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to determine parental perceptions of YRE in relation

to quality of family leisure time and their child’s learning.

Significance of the Study

Research Proposal 4

In this study, I will present an empirical analysis of the impact that YRE has on

Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents in relation to family leisure time and

their child’s learning. This data can assist districts or schools who are considering

implementing YRE in the primary grades and will bring to light the impact and likely

consequences of implementing a YRE model.

Research Questions

1. What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ preconceived

perceptions of YRE as related to quality of learning?

2. What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ preconceived

perceptions of YRE as related to quality of family life?

3. What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ perceptions of YRE as

related to quality of learning after one year’s experience?

4. What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ perceptions of YRE as

related to quality of family life after one year of experience?

Limitations

1. The number of surveys returned by parents may limit the data obtained for use.

2. The results obtained from this study may not be generalized to other school

populations.

Delimitations

1. This study will be limited to 50 of Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents.

The subjects will be randomly selected from the Bardstown Primary School’s

enrollment listing.

Definitions

Research Proposal 5

Year-Round-Education (YRE) – A modification of the traditional nine month, 180

day school calendar. The year-round calendar is organized into instructional periods and

vacation weeks that are more evenly balanced across 12 months.

Outline of Study

1. Randomly select parents from Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten student

enrollment roster. Fifty randomly selected Kindergarten parents will be asked to

participate in this study.

2. The group will be asked to complete pre and post questionnaires.

3. The selected Kindergarten parents will complete a survey based on their attitudes

about YRE, prior to the beginning of the school year, and a second survey that

measures their attitudes about YRE after 40 weeks of experiences with the YRE

calendar.

Conceptual Framework

YRE

Family Life

Quality of Learning

Research Proposal 6

CHAPTER II

Literature Review

The birth of YRE

The 180-day school calendar is a recent development in the life of American

education. Most writings and research on the subject of school calendars indicate that the

now familiar, indeed “normal”, 180-day schedule has only been widely practiced in

American educational systems since World War I. Prior to this time, many of America’s

largest school districts (i.e. New York, Chicago, Boston) constructed school calendars

that neared 210 instructional days (Rakoff, 1999). However, after World War I, the

lifestyle of the American family changed drastically.

In the 1920’s, American legislatures stressed the importance of compulsory

education. States across the nation began to adopt legislation that required children from

ages 7 to 14 to attend local public schools on a regular basis – something that had not

been part of American educational design prior to World War I. These compulsory

education laws were often enacted with child labor laws. Thus, school became the work

for children, rather than the factory.

But why a calendar that excludes learning during the summer months? Rakoff

(1999) indicates that this norm is quite likely a result of economics. What is the public

willing to pay for an extended school year? What are the costs of operating large school

facilities during the summer months? What would it cost taxpayers to pay for the

continuous use of local school facilities? The answers to these questions will likely give

us the reason for the widely accepted, indeed almost universal (in America), “normal”

calendar.

Research Proposal 7

Does this “learning-less summer” calendar reflect the needs of modern America? Many

think not. Those who aim to improve or change the “normal” calendar argue that our

current practices are of extreme detriment to our students and that alternatives must be

sought and adopted.

One alternative to the normal calendar is the concept of year-round-education

(YRE). Modifications to the traditional school calendar typically take the form of either

year-round school or extended school year programs. In most cases, year-round

schooling does not actually increase the amount of structured learning opportunities

available to students. Rather, students attend schools for the same number of days as

they did with the traditional calendar; however, vacations are distributed equally

throughout the calendar year every six or nine weeks. Research on the effectiveness of

this intervention is emerging and suggestive of generally positive effects (Cooper, 2002).

YRE’s cost effective appeal launched various programs in the early part of the 20th

century. The population boom after World War II caused programming initiatives to

shift to accommodating the increase of students to public education (Glines, 1997).

However YRE remains an viable option to address the modern day needs of the

American family and accountability system measures imposed by NCLB.

Researchers in the 1994 report, Prisoners of Time, from the National Education

Commission on Time and Learning suggested that public education leaders must re-

examine time issues and the real “limitations…imposed” by the clock. Their

recommendations included more innovative program initiatives to “accommodate the

learning needs of American students.” Further conclusions cited the wasteful approach to

Research Proposal 8

educating students where buildings remain closed and families are not supported by

school programming throughout the year to affect student achievement.

Summer Learning Loss

There are few issues facing education policymakers today that are as well

documented by social scientists as summer learning loss. Since 1906, researchers have

studied the effects of summer vacation on student learning. Cooper (1996) and others

identified 39 studies involving a wide range of experimental designs and methods that

demonstrate what social scientists describe as “summer effect,” “summer learning loss,”

or “summer setback.” The common finding across all of these studies is that students

generally score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer than they do on the

same tests at the beginning of the summer. Recent studies estimate that summer loss for

all students equals about one month on a grade-level equivalent scale (Cooper, 1996). All

students experience significant learning loss in mathematical computation as a result of

summer vacation.

For far too many young people, summer vacation results in a three-month holiday

from constructive learning activities and valuable opportunities to practice the skills they

need to be successful in school and in life. Research demonstrates that all students

experience significant learning losses in procedural and factual knowledge during the

summer months. Studies also show that the magnitude of summer learning loss varies

significantly by grade level, subject matter, and family income. Most importantly,

research identifies the cumulative effect of summer learning differences as a primary

cause of widening in-school achievement gaps between students by family income.

Research Proposal 9

On average, all students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level

equivalency in mathematical computation over the summer months (Cooper, 1996).

Studies reveal that the greatest areas of loss for all students, regardless of socio-economic

status, lie in factual or procedural knowledge during the summer months. Cooper (2000)

estimates that such summer school programs, which focus on lessening or removing

learning deficiencies, do have a significant positive impact on the knowledge and skills of

participants.

While remedial programs generally do produce single-summer results in the form

of improved test scores and promotion rates, they are not designed to serve as long-range

preventative approaches to summer learning loss. YRE programs have been adopted as

the viable and most logical remedy to overcome summer learning loss.

The YRE Problem

While YRE has become a popular alternative to the normal school calendar in order

to combat summer learning loss, there are questions about the impact of YRE on families

and children. Rakoff (1999) notes that some districts who ponder changing to a YRE

system face opposition by parents and community groups because of the unknown effects

that YRE has on family time and child development.

Traditionally, families spend the summer months vacationing and reconnecting.

Parents often use their allotted vacation times during the summer months so that they can

spend great quantities of time with their children. Many families also use the summer

months to send their children to camps, volunteer projects, or social-educational

programs. Research indicates that these are viable learning opportunities for children,

although not academic. Athletic programs, camps, and summer programs offer children

Research Proposal 10

and families the chance to learn what cannot be taught in schools; community building,

volunteerism, and religious exploration. Thus, YRE hinders the American family from

necessary and crucial bonding opportunities.

Some research also indicates that YRE does not dramatically improve the quality or

quantity of learning. McMillen (2001) notes that while YRE does seem to offer a remedy

to summer learning loss, no conclusive research exists to deem YRE as a panacea to

overall improvement of learning or knowledge retention.


CHAPTER III

Methodology

This descriptive study will utilize a quantitative methodology: pre and post school-

year surveys designed to compare parents’ preconceptions of YRE with their actual

experiences with the YRE calendar.

Sampling

Bardstown Primary School has approximately 385 students in grades K-2. The

school has been on an alternative YRE calendar for the past eleven years with short

breaks, or intercessions. During the 2007-2008 school year, Bardstown Primary will hold

177 instructional days over 12 months.

Because the Kindergarten students (totaling 124) and parents are new to the school

and the district, their experience with YRE has been non-existent. A random sample of

fifty Kindergarten parents will be asked to participate in this study.

Instrumentation

The YRE perceptions process will consist pre and post school-year questionnaires

comparing parents’ preconceptions of YRE and their actual experiences with YRE. The

surveys will attempt to gauge the participant’s attitudes and perception about the quality

of learning and the impact on family leisure time as a result of the school’s YRE

calendar. Pre-existing valid and reliable instruments used in previous studies will be

obtained and utilized for this study.

Data Collection

The fifty Kindergarten parents will complete two surveys on August 1 (the

beginning of the school calendar year) regarding their preconceived attitudes toward


YRE with respect to (1) anticipated quality of learning and (2) anticipated difficulties

with quality of family life. After the surveys are collected, this researcher will

summarize the results and prepare a report for the participating parents.

At the conclusion of the school year (July 1), this researcher will again survey the

selected parents to measure their attitudes toward YRE with respect to (1) actual quality

of learning and (2) actual difficulties with quality of family life after they have had

experienced the full calendar cycle. After the parent surveys are collected, this researcher

will summarize the results and prepare a report for the school district.

Data Collection

Evaluation Questions Data Sources Data Collection TechniquesWhat are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ preconceived perceptions of YRE as related to quality of learning?

Randomly selected parents of Kindergarten students

Quality of learning questionnaire.

What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ preconceived perceptions of YRE as related to quality of family life?


Family-life questionnaire

What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ perceptions of YRE as related to quality of learning after one year’s experience?


Quality of learning questionnaire.

What are Bardstown Primary School’s Kindergarten parents’ perceptions of YRE as related to quality of family life after one year of experience?


Family-life questionnaire

Data Analysis


The null hypothesis (Ho): Bardstown Primary’s YRE calendar will not have a

significantly negative or positive effect on family life and will not significantly impact

the perceived quality of learning in Kindergarten. A comparison of the pre-school year

surveys and the post-school year surveys will be made conducting a frequency

distribution to determine the number of times parents responded agree or disagree on

their questionnaires. A paired t-test might be conducted to summarize the data. Since the

population sample size will be small, a Wilcoxon T-Test may be used to determine the

difference between the pre-school year survey and post-school year survey scores: T =

the smaller of R+ or R-.

Hypothesis (H1): The YRE calendar will have a significantly negative or positive

impact on family leisure time and will have a significant positive or negative impact on

the quality of learning as evaluated by parents. The researcher will consult with a

statistical authority to determine the appropriateness of these tests and the possibility of

including additional and or alternative testing methods.


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