Comparing Professional Learning Practices of Missouri’s Four and Five Day Schools

Lewis, Michael E.

Comparing Professional Learning Practices of Missouri’s Four and Five Day Schools

上市 Deposited

分析

The role of quality professional learning for teachers has become a top priority due to legislative changes including the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Research has shown a lack of dedicated time is among the issues that hinder effective professional learning. While the four-day school week is typically used to address budget issues for rural schools, the schedule’s flexibility may be uniquely able to aid professional learning efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences between professional learning practices in Missouri’s four- and five-day schools. The Standards for Professional Learning, created by Learning Forward, served as the theoretical framework. The researcher obtained permission from Learning Forward to collect data using the organization’s Standards Assessment Inventory (SAI) survey instrument. Teachers from 18 Missouri four-day schools and 21 comparable five-day schools based on size, RPDC region, and free and reduced lunch population were included in the study. The teachers responded via online survey distributed by email. Statistical analysis included independent sample two-tailed t-tests adjusted for unequal sample sizes at the p < 0.05 level. Missouri four-day teachers rated the Learning Communities, Leadership, and Data standards significantly higher than their five-day counterparts did. The findings of this study add to the sparse body of literature related to the four-day school week and professional learning practices. The study concluded that the four-day school week may help schools improve professional learning practices due to the unique availability of professional development time on the off-day.

标题