Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Karen Kimball
Committee Member
Lucille Beisner
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic performance, administrators, attitude, average, baseline testing, behavior, behavior infractions, California Test of Basic Skills, caring, character development, character education, community involvement, courage, discipline program, elementary education, frequency, Grades 1-12, honesty, implementation strategies, learning, mandatory summer school, mentoring, MSDWT, National Percentiles, parental involvement, physical violence, policy violations, population growth, responsibility, respect for others, Saturday School Program, school policy, self-discipline, severity, social issues, standardized testing, student behavior, student achievement, students, study results, third grade students, township administrators, tutoring, violations of character development policy
Abstract
The problem under investigation is the frequency and severity of behavior related infractions. Township administrators are concerned because growing populations of students were violating the district’s policy on character education. Administrators were also concerned because a majority of these students academically lagged behind their peers.
The Saturday School Program was established for students who demonstrated a lack of respect for others. Students have threatened administrators with physical violence. Such behavior was a violation of the school policy on character development, which states that students should exhibit an attitude of caring, courage, honesty, responsibility and self-discipline. Although the lack of character development among students was a problem, it became apparent that low academic performance was the main issue.
The Saturday School Program was developed to address these issues. It is a five-step discipline program for students in Grades 1-12 who violate the MSDWT policy on character development.
During the 1999-2000 school year, 11 third grade students were repeatedly referred to the Saturday School Program. Baseline standardized testing of these 11 students, using the California Test of Basic Skills, revealed that many students scored below average in terms of National Percentiles. To address these concerns, the township developed programs to assist students in learning as well as required mandatory summer school attendance for students who were not functioning at grade level capacity.
The results of this study suggest that the implementation strategies were successful. The 11 target students showed improvements in academic and behavior; however, they still lag behind their peers. The study further indicates that this population of students has complex social issues that impede learning.