Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain insight into antecedents of school culture which should be in place before implementing a major school change, such as moving to standards-based grading. Identifying these antecedents could give valuable insight to school district leaders and administrators that are considering a major change in pedagogy. Common themes emerged from the qualitative case study clearly identifying opportunities for school leaders to enact prior to implementing change. Schools were chosen for the study based on score from a school culture survey. One school scoring at a high level and one school scoring at a low level were chosen as participants. Five teachers and the school principal were interviewed as individual participants during the two day visits at each school. Three themes emerged as common between the two sites and two themes were noted as differences. Trust among staff, collaboration, and teacher autonomy were common themes between both sites included in the study. Structured collaboration and shared ownership in programs and practices were differences noted between the school scoring highly on the culture survey and the school scoring at a low level on the survey. Recommendations of strategies and practices for school leaders to implement prior to beginning standards-based grading are included in Chapter 5. Further recommendations for the two schools studies are also included as well as recommendations for future research in the field.

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