Date of Award

5-1-1998

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Daniel U. Levine

Abstract

This study examines the effects of a restructuring effort: the implementation of block scheduling in an Urban Nebraska public high school. Scheduling is a valuable resource for school improvement. Scheduling is frequently overlooked, even though it is more often the structure of an organization than the inadequacies of the people who work within it that cause the problem (Bogdan, 1992). Despite research findings which indicate the traditional schedule may not be the most effective, most American schools are organized in the same pattern as they have been for the past seventy years (Carroll, 1990). Block scheduling is a relatively new concept in the state of Nebraska. In the fall of 1994, William Jennings Bryan High School in the Omaha Public School District implemented a block schedule. Block scheduling is not in itself a change in curriculum. It is a restructuring of the amount of time spent in the classroom. This study compares data on student academic performance and student behavior three academic years before block scheduling and three academic years on the block schedule. Statistical analyses include z-statistics, Cohen’s effect size estimates, and descriptive statistics on indicators of student academic performance and student behavior. Statistically significant changes with respect to student achievement after the adoption of the block scheduling include: the proportion of the students earning more Is and 2s increased in the curricular areas of English, social studies, math, and science; the proportion of students earning fewer 4s and Ss decreased in curricular areas of English, social studies, math and science; cumulative GPAs improved in all grade levels and the number of students earning honor roll status improved in all grade levels. Previous research indicates that student behavior improves on the block schedule. For the purpose of this study, student behaviors measured found little or no statistically significant differences before or after the implementation of the block.

Comments

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education. Copyright 1998 Margaret M. Naylon.

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