Ninth Grade Transitional Program in a Georgia Metro School District: Case Study

This study investigated and further documented current perceptions of teachers and the leadership team regarding the implementation of a ninth grade transitional program model from a traditional program model during the 2007-2008 school year. With the constraints under the No Child Left Behind Act, teachers, schools, and school systems are faced with the challenge of supporting students in meeting high academic standards. Further, teachers and administrators are expected to meet this challenge with declining resources. Over the past several years, the metro Georgia high school that is the subject of this study has changed from a small, isolated, suburban high school to a large, highly visible, urban high school. During this time, the high school has experienced substantive administrative, demographic, and physical changes. Prior to 1996, the school administrative team and faculty remained relatively stable. However, since 1996, frequent changes in leadership have occurred, resulting in ongoing, overall transformation and adjustments in school policies, environment, and activities. A qualitative case study was conducted at this high school. It is hoped that the results of this case study will contribute to a greater understanding of the transitional process from a traditional program model to a ninth grade transitional program model. Emphasis in this study was placed on learning about the substantial amount of personal and professional change on the part of the teachers. The researcher conducted a qualitative case study at a local metro Atlanta high school through the distribution of interviews and examinations of artifacts. Findings in the study revealed that teachers had lack of input in decision making, lack of proper training, scheduling conflicts, lack of planning time with teams, and lack of communication with administration team.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education in Education Administration (Ed.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation (open access)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Year dc:date.available

2008

Author dc:creator

• Wilder, Samuel David

Contributors dc:contributor

• Charles Reavis
• Charlotte Eady

• ETD
• Perceptions of teachers
• Transitional program model
• Traditional program model
• Professional change of teachers
• Urban schools

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/260

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1260