Chasing Reforms: A Case Study of the Effectiveness of Small Learning Communities as Educational Reforms 公开

Abstract

This case study provides insight into the foundational ideas of six stakeholders concerning the purposes of public education and school reform. It uses these foundational ideas to interrogate and assess one educational reform, the small learning communities model, as it was implemented at Smith High School. As well, it uses these foundational ideas as a basis for an assessment of the history of education reform more broadly. Interviews with six stakeholders and a review of extent literature concerning small learning community implementation are used as data sources for the case study. The findings show that these foundational ideas are inherently linked to the transformation that took place at Smith and, in fact, these foundational ideas can be extrapolated when discussing education reform at-large. The findings suggest that education reforms could benefit from the incorporation of these foundational ideas into future reforms.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I 1
The Research Problem 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Background 3
Theoretical Rationale 6
Research Questions 8
Research Goals 9
Educational Significance 9
Definition of Terms 11
CHAPTER II 12
Review of the Literature 12
Introduction 12
Reforms from the Start: Bureaucracy in Schools 13
The Failure of Reforms 15
Small Learning Communities: Restructuring, Not Reform? 17
Conclusion 21
CHAPTER III 23
Methodology 23
Restatement of Purpose 23
Research Design 23
Data Collection and Analysis 25
Research Setting 27
Profile of Participants 29
Profile of the Researcher 30
Protection of Human Subjects 33
CHAPTER IV 35
Findings 35
Introduction 35
Research Question 1: 35
Research Question 2: 41
Research Question 3: 46
CHAPTER V 54
Discussion, Recommendations, and Conclusion 54
Introduction 54
Discussion 54
Recommendations 61
Conclusion 61
REFERENCES 63
APPENDIX A: Internal Review Board Determination 65
APPENDIX B: Letter of Initial Contact 66
APPENDIX C: Sample Question Guide 67
APPENDIX D: Sample Transcription 68
APPENDIX E: Smith Magnet Program Racial Breakdown 69
APPENDIX F: The Foundational Ideas 70

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Educational Studies
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Education, General
关键词	education reform Small learning communities small schools
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Downey, Charles A, Emory University
Committee Members	Moore, Judy Raggi, Emory University Jensen, Robert J, Emory University Siddle Walker, Vanessa, Emory University

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