RESEARCH PROPOSAL

TOPIC

Accountability in the Schools: Developing Better Student

Discipline and Management

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DEDICATIONS

This work is dedicated to my Parents. They have genuinely encouraged and supported my

educational endeavors, and for that I will be eternally grateful.

I also dedicate this work to my grandparents.

Additionally, I dedicate this work to my mother, who always encouraged me to do my best and

follow my dreams. She was my inspiration and role model.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge my teachers for their guidance and love through this

challenging endeavor.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am truly grateful to many special individuals for their concern, support, and love given

to me during this educational endeavor. I will forever be grateful and indebted to my friend,

encourager, and “cheerleader.” She is the most caring and intelligent editor one could

ever have. I will forever be grateful to my dearest friend, who never stopped

believing in me and always encouraged me.

In addition, I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Louise MacKay, my committee

chairperson. I am also thankful for the dedication of the remainder of my committee members--

Dr. Cecil Blankenship, Dr. Nancy Dishner, Dr. Ron Lindahl, and Dr. Russell Mays.

A special thanks goes to the teachers, administrators, and parents who made this study

possible. I appreciate their time, cooperation, and courtesy to me.

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ABSTRACTMany educators and parents are gravely concerned about disorder and danger in school

environments. In addition to school discipline issues, American classrooms are frequently

plagued by minor infractions of misbehavior that disrupt the flow of classroom activities and

interfere with learning.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate common threads of effective school

discipline practices as perceived by administrators, tenured teachers. I also attempted to

determine if the views of administrators, tenured teachers, and parents are consistent with

published research on school discipline practices. Data were collected from administrators,

tenured teachers, and parents through an open-ended interview form that I designed.

The study offers a number of recommendations regarding components of effective school

discipline practices. An effective school discipline practice involves all stakeholders in its

design. The principal and the teachers are responsible for carrying out the school discipline

practices to foster appropriate behavior from the students. However, parents, students, and

community members should be equally represented in the design of discipline procedures.

Administrators and teachers need to have quality professional development opportunities to

acquire strategies for classroom and school discipline practices. Rewarding students for good

behavior and positive contributions to the school community is important. Effective discipline

practices are built through consistency and teamwork. Evaluation of school discipline practices

should be ongoing, and strategies for reducing school disruptions should be continuously

assessed for improvements.

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Contents: Page#

Introduction……………………………………………………………………….…….1

Assumption and Delimitations………………………………………………….….…..1

Literature Review…………………………………………………………….………...2

Research Objectives………………………………………………………….………....3

Research Questions……………………………………………………….…………….4

Significance of Study…………………………………………………….……………...4

Statement of Problem ………………………………………………………...……….. 4

Research Methodology …………………………………………………………………5

Sample Area and Population…………………………………………………………...5

Tools of data Collection…………………………………………………………………5

Study Design……………………………………………………………………………..5

Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………………..5

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….………… 6

References………………………………………………………………………………..6

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Introduction

Accountability measures and guidelines in the school level rest on two crucial factors: the function of the teacher and the school personnel in affecting change in the students’ discipline management; and response of the students on these accountability measures as indicated by their academic performances. This concern has been given ample attention with the passage of the NO Child Left Behind Act. However, schools and teachers are still in the process of inculcating these changes in their systems. The prospect of integrating this policy in the school system is met with optimistic responses.

The American public, the education profession, researchers, legal advocates, and policy makers all seem to agree that quality of teaching makes an important difference in students' learning, their achievement, and their life chances.

Teaching involves much more than transmitting information. It includes representing complex knowledge in accessible ways, asking good questions, forming relationships with students and parents, collaborating with other professionals, interpreting multiple data sources, meeting the needs of students with widely varying abilities and backgrounds, and both posing and solving problems of practice.

In short, despite different assumptions about the purposes of schooling, the nature of teaching as an enterprise, and appropriate ways to measure teaching effectiveness, there is enormous consensus that teaching quality makes a significant difference in learning and school effectiveness. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) cemented this conclusion into law with its guarantee that all schoolchildren must have "highly qualified teachers’’

This paper shall investigate the accountability system in a given school by identifying the role of the teachers and the school personnel. These measures are intended on the premise that it will eventually affect change on the students’ discipline and manageability. These variables will be evaluated with the assumption that effective implementation of these measures would eventually enhance student academic performance. Furthermore, the No Child Left Behind will be examined in lieu with the quality of guidelines in the school and as a framework of analysis in analyzing the quality of the accountability measures instituted.

Assumptions and Delimitation:

The discussion suggests a framework for analyzing the potential impact of accountability-

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based interventions on school improvement. School accountability mechanisms will be

successful in improving the functioning of school organizations to the extent that those interventions are able to (O’Day, 2000)

Generate and focus attention on information relevant to teaching and learning and to changes in that information as it is continually fed back into and through the system.

Motivate educators and others to attend to relevant information and to expend the effort necessary to augment or change strategies in response to this information. Central here is the problematic relationship of collective accountability and individual action. Motivation must ultimately occur at the individual level, but it is likely to be dependent in part on the normative structures of the school as well as on individual characteristics of educators and students.

Develop the knowledge and skills to promote valid interpretation of information and appropriate attribution of causality at both the individual and system levels.

Allocate resources where they are most needed. Information at all levels can promote the allocation of resources — human and material — to where they are most needed. A classroom teacher might reallocate resources by spending more of her time and attention on a student she sees is having trouble understanding a new concept. 

Review of Related LiteratureSchool administrators accountable for student progress are openly assumed. For instance

since 1987, New Jersey has had an alternative certification system that shifts the professional training of teachers from education school credits to customized on-the-job programs designed by the school to meet the particular needs of the new teacher. The quality measures are high-all new teachers, whether they come through alternate or traditional routes must meet high GPA requirements and pass the licensure exams before entering the classroom.

There are at least four areas that merit attention when considering NCLB. These areas include standards, assessment, accountability and parental choice.

The frequency of citations by researchers and policy makers of all stripes to William Sanders's conclusion that individual teachers are the single largest factor that adds value to student learning (Sanders & Horn, 1998) makes this point persuasively. Finally, legal advocates in several pending cases across the country have consistently asserted that access to highly qualified teachers is a birthright of all children.

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The expectation is that states and school districts will make wise decisions suited to their particular teacher quality and teacher supply needs. Although the total amount of federal funding represents only 7 percent of the annual expenditure on the nation's public schools, the new law provides direction, encouragement and focus for effective teacher quality initiatives that have been appearing in recent years around the country (U.S. Department of Education, 2002). 

Most public charter schools give principals more latitude over personnel and compensation policies than district public schools allow. Many charter school administrators identify the ability to recruit uncertified teachers as an important source of recruitment flexibility. Teachers in public charter schools rarely have tenure, or participate in collective bargaining agreements. They tend to work longer days and more days each school year. In a recent survey, nearly half of the schools that responded used merit or performance pay, typically 5-10 percent of base pay. An important quality indicator: they tend to hire teachers with stronger subject preparation, especially in math and science.

In the absence of adequate yearly progress over two years, schools will be required to develop corrective action plans. If these plans do not bring about desired changes, more radical measures may be required including a complete change of school staffing, comprehensive curriculum renewal, school-wide restructuring or state takeover.

The Act insists that these federal dollars be spent to raise student achievement within designated time frames. The accountability mechanisms have sufficient strength to put all schools and districts on notice that achievement must be in evidence. Additional consequences for low performance will involve expanding parental choice.

As more schools are identified as requiring corrective action, the costs involved in eliminating deficiencies surely will raise concerns. Consequences for low-performing schools may prove difficult to enforce, as resources for restructuring, staff changes or state takeovers become strained.

Research Aims:This proposed research attempts to achieve the following objectives:

1.    To determine the factors, requirements and principles of Accountability in the school setting vis a vis the No Child Left Behind Act

2.    To identify the role of the teachers and the school administrators in the implementation of the school’s accountability policy

3.    To determine the advantages and disadvantages utilizing school and teacher accountability measures in student discipline and management

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4.    To analyze the impact of the accountability measures and procedures employed by a specific school in thestudent discipline and management using academic performance as the determining factor

5.    To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of employing the accountability

strategy in the student academic performance

Research Questions:In accordance with the research aims of this proposed study, the following will be asked:

1.    What are the strategies employed by school administrations in implementing accountability among teachers and the school?

2.    What are the roles of the teachers and the school personnel in the accountability policy by the school?

3.    What are the guidelines prescribed by the No Child Left behind Act?

4.    What are the advantages and disadvantages of adopting the No Child Left behind Act in the development of the accountability rules employed by the school?

5.    What are the effects of the accountability strategy in student discipline and management as evidenced by their academic performance?

6.    How effective is the utilization of the accountability measure employed by the teachers and school in the academic performance of the students?

Significance of the StudyThis proposed study seeks to contribute on the literature on the effectiveness of the accountability guidelines by school administrations in the management and discipline of students as measured by their academic performance. Moreover, the role of the teachers and the school personnel will also be analyzed and evaluated with the assumption that they are the most vital components in the learning process. In addition, this proposed paper shall evaluate the necessity and the effectivity of developing accountability measures among teachers and school personnel in enhancing student academic performance. From these findings, this proposal shall develop suggestions in further improving the present accountability system utilized by schools and in improving teacher and school personnel training and orientation that is lined with the accountability framework.

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Research Methodology:

Sample Area and Population

This proposed study will use the descriptive approach- utilization of interview, observation and questionnaires in the study. The purpose is to describe the situation as observed by the researcher.

The study will determine whether accountability techniques can resolve problems posed by disciplinary and management dilemmas in the classroom and how effective school administrators and teachers are in employing the accountability measures in managing these concerns and in enhancing the performance of the students.

            The primary source of data will come from the research-conducted questionnaire. Secondary data will consist of interviews, published articles from journals, theses and related studies on teaching and learning English as a second language.

           

Tools of Data Collection:

Questionnaire Form, Interview:

For this research design, the researcher will gather data, collate published studies from different local and foreign universities and articles from social science journals, distribute sampling questionnaires; arrange interviews; and make a content analysis of the collected documentary and verbal material.

Study Design:

The researcher will summarize all the information, make a conclusion based on the null hypotheses posited and provide insightful recommendations on accountability measures posited by teachers and school personnel.

Data Analysis:

The key seems to be having an experienced, trained, and supported Exemplary Educator working with a low-performing. Exemplary Educators and state NCLB field serviceconsultants in the designing and approval process of applications for school improvement funds. Larger allocations of funds will be provided to high priority schools identified as High Risk than Low Risk. Tennessee does not plan on exercising the transferability provision under section

6123. The State plans to improve its statewide system of support by targeting the services of Exemplary Educators to High Priority High Risk schools, which are in greater need.In addition, the State has begun to build the capacity of its districts to assist its low-performing

5schools through multiple initiatives. First, the state requires each district to develop and revise annually a district improvement plan, the TCSPP. State staff provide technical assistance in the development of the TCSPP and annually review for approval these plans. Second, for districts struggling with providing support to its low-performing schools.

ConclusionsThis proposed study will work on the hypothesis that: the higher the competency of teachers and school personnel in implementing the accountability guidelines, the better they can manage and discipline students. In addition, this development would necessitate an enhancement on the student’s academic performance. 

REFERENCES:Chaney-Cullen, Tammy and Duffy, Thomas, Strategic Teaching Framework: Multimedia to Support Teacher Change, Journal of the Learning Sciences, Vol. 8, 1999

Cochran-Smith, Marilyn, Reporting on teacher quality: the politics of politics, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, 2002

Cochran-Smith, Marilyn, Teaching quality matters, Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 54, 2003

Darling-Hammond, L. (2000a). Reforming teacher preparation and licensing: Debating the evidence. Teachers College Record, 102(1), 28-56.

Darling-Hammond, L. (2001, October). The research and rhetoric on teacher certification: A response to "Teacher certification reconsidered." New York:

National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. Available fromhttp://www.nctaf.org

Donlevy, Jim. Teachers, technology and training: No Child Left Behind in search of equity for all children, International Journal of Instructional Media, Vol. 29, 2002

Hart, P. D., & Teeter, R. M. (2002). A national priority: Americans speak on teacher quality. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.  

National Council on Teacher Quality, A Consumer's Guide to Teacher Quality. Opportunity and Challenge in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ed. Anne

Sanders, W., & Horn, S. (1998). Research findings from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) database: Implications for educational evaluation and research. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 12(3), 247-256. Sybouts, Ward, Planning in School Administration : A Handbook, Greenwood Press, 1992

U.S. Department of Education. Office of Postsecondary Education, Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge. The Secretary's Annual Report on Teacher Quality, Washington, D.C (2002)

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