With PQDT Open, you can read the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge.
About PQDT Open
Search
COMING SOON! PQDT Open is getting a new home!
ProQuest Open Access Dissertations & Theses will remain freely available as part of a new and enhanced search experience at www.proquest.com.
Questions? Please refer to this FAQ.
The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to understand how the four-day school week influenced a school district in Northern Arizona, over five years. Research Questions 1 through 3 addressed district performance including teacher/staff and student attendance, achievement on the state assessment in reading and math, and costs on utilities. Research Question 4 addressed stakeholder perception. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory and collective impact theory served as the foundation for this study. The purposive sample included 40 internal and external stakeholders. Data collected included archival documents, semistructured interviews, and a structured questionnaire. A quantitative trend analysis was conducted on archival documents. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on interview perception data and structured questionnaire data was recoded for frequency. Archival data revealed natural gas costs decreased, student attendance improved, teacher/staff attendance declined, math scores dropped, reading scores were flat, and water/electricity costs increased. Perception data revealed stakeholders felt a positive impact on student attendance; saving money on utilities; teacher PD time; part-time employment; family time; and morale and staff retention. Stakeholders felt negatively towards teacher collaboration time; student achievement; the longer school day; lack of structure, supervision, and nutritious meals on the off day; and the Monday federal holidays causing school to be in session only three days per week. Overall, data revealed that while perceptions varied, stakeholders preferred the four-day regardless of any negative impacts to the district. The implications for this study are a resource and lessons learned for district personnel seeking to eliminate a day of instruction for the purposes of saving money.
Advisor: | Lazo, Alex |
Commitee: | Griffith, Nathan, McNulty, Charles |
School: | Grand Canyon University |
Department: | Education |
School Location: | United States -- Arizona |
Source: | DAI-A 79/08(E), Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Educational leadership, Educational administration |
Keywords: | District performance, Four-day school week, Stakeholder perception |
Publication Number: | 10786336 |
ISBN: | 978-0-355-82962-4 |