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PROJECTACTIVITIESANDPLANOFWORK
Wehaveprojectedafour-yearplanofworkandactivities . The
overallintentionofamulti-yearplan,withseveraldistinctinvestigative
thrusts,istwofold :itwillenablesubsequentyearsofinvestigationtobe
informedbytheworkofprioryears ;anditwillallowtheseveralmajor
thrustsoftheprojecttoretaininvestigativeautonomy,whileatthesame
timedeepeningandenrichingoneanotherasthestudyprogressesandcul-
minatesinthefourthyear -- oneofintensive,reflectivediscussionand
writing . Thecourseoftheprojectmovesfromalarge-scale,extensive
surveyofalternativeschools - astheprimaryandalreadyfundedactivity
ofthefirstyear -- tomoreintensiveandconvergentquantitativeand
qualitativeresearchandserviceactivitiesforthesecondandthirdyears .
body
of writings on
alternative
-34-
YEARONE
ThepurposeofYearOneistosurveytheextentandnatureofalterna-
tiveeducationinU . S
. schools,andtoanalyzeandsummarizeasubstantial
education,includingallpublishedanda
greatdealofrelevantunpublishedresearchandpractitioner-producedma-
terial
. YearOnealsopermitsfurtherplanning,instrumentdevelopment,
coordinationamongtheinvestigators,andsiteselectionfortheintensive
studiesofYearsTwoandThree
.
Extensive
Survey
Thepurposeoftheextensivesurveyistoprovideacomprehensivelist
ofalternativeschoolsandprogramsintheUnitedStates
. Thelistwill
enablemorereliableestimatesofthesizeandgrowthoftheuniverseof
schoolsthanhaveeverbeenpossible
. Thequestionsonthesurvey
ques-
tionnairewillbefewinnumber(perhaps30),concise,andwillelicit
responsesofsuchstraightforwardinformationasschoolsize,targetpopu-
lation,type,andgovernance
-- aswellasreportsofthephilosophical,
psychological,andeducationalassumptionsandenvironmentsgenerally
prevailingwithintheschool
. Thesurveywillnotonlyprovidevaluable
informationaboutalternativeeducationacrossthenationbutwillalso
serveasthebasisforselectingastratified,randomsampleofschoolsfor
moreintensivestudyinsubsequentyearsoftheproject
. Thestratifica-
tionwillincludesize,region,andtype .
Wewanttotakeadvantageoftheopportunitytoactuallylaunchour
inquiryin1981,withthisnationalsurveyofalternativesalreadyfunded
bytheNationalInstituteofEducation,andthe
National Education
Association
. NF-,khasagreedtocollaborateinthesurveybyhandlingthe
technicalaspectsforPAE,oncewehavemadefurtherdetaileddecisions
aboutthequestionstobeused,andtherespondentstobepolled
. Atthat
point,NEAwillaidinthefinalizingofthesurveyinstrument,distribute
it,andreceiveandtabulatereplies
. PAE,however,(namely,Raywidand
Walberg)willretainresponsibilityforspecifyingtheanalysisand
interpretationofresults .
- 3 5 -
We are
designing the survey
instrument
partly
in accord
withsug-
gestions
made at
aJanuary,1981,designmeeting
;andpartlyonthebasis
oftheschedulesusedinearlieralternativessurveys
(e . g . ,
bythe
NationalAlternativeSchoolsProgram,theNationalSchoolBoards
Association,theNewSchoolsExchange,andselectedStateEducation
Departments)
;existingknowledgeaboutthosedemographiccharacteristicsof
schools,theirpopulations,andcommunitieswhichappeartobeofeduca-
tionalsignificance
;andresearchtodateonwhatappeartobethecentral
aspectsofeducationalalternatives .
Completionofafirstdraftofthesurveyinstrumentwillbethe
primaryresponsibilityofthePAEDirector
;Walbergwilloffertechnical
adviceandconsultation
. KerryHomstead,oneoftheauthorsoftheNASP's
National Directory of Public
Alternative Schools,
publishedin1978has
agreedtoaidintheactualdesignwork,anditishopedthatherexperi-
encewillenableustoanticipateandavoidpitfallsinvolvedinearlier
surveys
. Tothispurpose,wewillalsoconsultintheearlystagesofour
preparationwithJimNecklenburgerwhodirectedtheNationalSchoolBoards
Associationsurveyreportedin1976
.
Wewillarriveatthemostcomprehensivesurveylistofalternative
schoolseverundertaken
. Contactsacrossthecountrywillbeofsignifi-
canthelpinassemblingthelist,andwewillworkinvariouswaysin
compilingit
. Forinstance,wehavejustbeeninformedofanewlycom-
pletedlistofallpublicschoolalternativesintheStateofWashington
--
which will
reduceourtaskconsiderablyinrelationtothatparticular
area .
Insomeareas,StateEducationDepartmentsmaybehelpful,in
others,differentcontactswillbeindicated
. NEAhasofferedassistance
withthislocation-identificationproblem,and,otherparticipantsponsors
--especiallytheNationalAssociationofSecondarySchoolPrincipals--
willbeinapositiontoassist,alongwithNIEandothergovernment
agencies .
Publicalternativeschoolshavebeenestimatedat10,000
. Sincewe
arepursuingthefrequentpracticeofrestrictingthe"alternatives"label
to schools ofchoice
(asdistinctfromassignment),thenthetotalmight
runabout9,000 . Withtheeliminationofelementaryschools,theeventual
universeislikelytobe7,000
. Itisimpossible,however,toestimate
surveysizeuntilthesearchandselectionproceduresarecompleted .

It
seems likely that we can survey all schools
and programs within
the
universe
selected
;
but arigorous randomized
sample
may
be necessary . NEA
has committeditself to
distributinga minimum of 35 00 surveys
and to a
maximum expense figure
of $10,000 . PAE willassume costs
in excess of
$10,000occasionedbyincreasingthenumberofrespondents
.
ContentAnalysis
Asmentionedearlier,PAEhasaccumulatedinexcessof600published
andunpublishedwritingsonalternativeeducation . Thiscorpusofmaterial
maybethelargestofitskindinthenation,andpartsofitservedasthe
materialforaproject-completed200-pagereviewoftheliteratureaswell
asa100-pagephilosophicalanalysisofthemesthatappearinalternative
schoolsandinthedocumentstheyhavegenerated .
Thiscollectionofdocumentswillalsobesubjectedtoathorough
contentanalysisalongthelinesofJohnbollard's
Criteria foraLife
History, Gordon Allport's
The Use of Personal Documents in Psychological
Science,
andLouisGottschalk'sTheUseof Personal Documents in History,
Anthropology,
and Sociology . However,followingtheWalberg-Thomaspro-
ceduresfor analvzing "open education"
(concerningelementary,mainly
infantandprimaryschools),theunitofanalysiswillbedocuments
describingschools,classes,andhumanrelationswithinthemratherthan
individuals(furtherdiscussedbelow)
.
TosupplementRaywid'sphilosophicalanalysisofnineconstructsof
alternativeeducation,Walbergwillwritea'psychologicalreviewofcon-
ceptualandempiricalresearchineducationandothersocialsettingson
thecentralconceptoftheeffectofsocialandpersonalchoicesamong
alternativesandtheireffectsonpsychological
andoutcomes
. Inadditiontopreviouswritings
theseandrelatedtopics,Janice
Helplessness :
workshows
- 3 6 -
Theory
and Application willbeuseful
. This
thatinawidediversityofenvironments,
passivity,depression,motivationaldeficits,anxiety,and
Garberand
environments,processes,
byWalbergandotherson
MartinSeligman's
Human
broadlybased
helplessness,
boredomoften
resultwhenhumansofvariousagesaredeniedatleastpartialcontrolof
theiractivitiesandcircumstances .
- 3 7 -
Each
of the writings
in the
collection will
be
analyzed
todetermine
the
degree_ to
which the
philosophical
and psychological
constructs are
represented and
emphasized .
Asmaller
sample will
be done
twice to gauge
the inter-coderreliability
. Theanalysis
is meant to
take seriously
those
thinkers and
alternativeschool
practitioners who
have taken time
to put
sometimes nearly
ineffable
ideas on paper .
The salience
of the features
will be
assessedacross the
writings
fromearlier and later
periods, dif-
ferent parts of the
country,
different typesof
schools, and insiders
and
outsiders .
Factor analyseswill
be employed to
characterize the
clustering
of the constructs as
well asthe writings
. Themes of
these writings will
be
incorporatedintosubsequent survey
instruments and
into the four major
parts of the project .
Theanalysis will
be carried out by Raywid
with
technical assistance
fromWalbergandconsultationwiththeotherinvesti-
gatorsandschoolpractitioners
.
Walbergwillalsoundertakeaparallelanalysisoftheliterature
relatedtothematchingofteachingandlearningstyles
. Aconsiderable
corpusofsuchmaterialhasnowbeendevelopedbytwogroups,working
almostcompletelyindependentlyofoneanother
:bypsychologistswhose
workhaslargelytakentheformofaptitude-treatmentinteractionanalysis
(e . g . ,
LeeCroon_ bach,RichardSnow,PenelopePeterson,DavidBerliner)
;and
byeducationalpractitionerswhoseeffortshaveundertakenthematchingof
instructionalstylesandenvironmentstolearnerneeds(e
. g . Ritaand
KennethDunn,JosephHill,RobertFizzell) .
Thisliteraturewillbe
reviewedasgroundsforformulatingthecurrentstudy'sapproachtothe
matchingpossibility .
Meta-Analysis of Previous Research
Scienceproceedsbyaccumulationofevidenceandreplication,inaddi-
tiontotheoryandhypothesisformulation
. Althoughtheprojectishighly
ambitious,itcannotaffordtoignorepreviousempiricalresearchonal-
ternativeschoolenvironmentsandoutcomes
. The200-pagereviewalready
producedbyPAE,aswellasthediscussionofpreviousfindingsoneffec-
tivenessinanearliersectionofthisdocument,arebasedonabout60
previousresearchstudies(asdistinctfromthemanyadditionalmaterials
thatarenon-researchbased) . Anadditionaltaskinthefirstyearwillbe
tion, by four independent teams
4
but higher
as well as
results across
scores on
- 3 8 -
a careful
critical assessment of
the research
designs,results,
and conclu-
sions,
using quantitativesynthesis
methods --
as developed
byGeneGlass,
RichardLight,andRobertRosenthal
--
whichpermitexplicitnumerical
summaryofresultsobtainedbydifferentinvestigatorsusingdifferent
methodologies .
Meta-analysesoflargecollectionsofempiricalstudiesofopeneduca-
ofquantitativereviewers
--Robert
HorowitzofYale,PenelopePetersonofWisconsin,DonnaHetzelandHerbert
WalbergofIllinois,andNateGage,Ingram0kin,andLarryHedgesof
Stanford--
areincloseagreementthatopeneducationonaverageproduces
achievementequaltoconventio
nal classes on
standardachievementtests,
persistence,creativity,andothercognitivetraits,
self-conceptenhancementandschoolsatisfaction
. Althoughthe
a
seriesofsmallandmiscellaneousstudiesarenotalways
significantorperfectlyconsistent,itappearsthatmore"authentic"open
classes
--thoseinwhich,byobservation,thereisgreaterteacher-student
jointplanningoflearninggoals,meansandevaluation--
producemore
positiveresultsonthelatteroutcomes .
TheseresultsaresuggestiveforPAEbecausetheconceptofalterna-
tiveeducationemployedinsecondaryschoolsoftenresemblesopeneducation
foundmostlyintheearlygrades
. Forthisandotherreasons,ameta-
analysisofpriorempiricalstudiesofalternativeeducationwillbe
conductedbyWalbergduringthefirstyearsothatsubsequentphasesof
inquirycanbebuiltuponpreviousfindings .
PolicyStudy
TheProject'sbroadpurposescallfortwofairlydistinctkindsof
policyinvestigation
. BothwillbegininYearOneandwillprobablyneed
tocontinuethroughouttheinquiry .
AlternativeschoolsaretakenwithintheProjectasaroutetodesir-
ableeducationalchange . Iftheventureistomakethepolicyimpact
intended,thenitmustconcernitselfwiththepolicyramificationsofes-
tablishingalternativesandoptionssystems . Thiscallsforamixtureof
analyticandhypothetically-orientedinquiry,examiningpro'sandcon'sin
principle,andanassortmentofprospectivescenarioswithrespecttothe
-3 9 -
national
sociopolitical
scene and to
public education'sfuture
. Thus,
systematic
policy inquiry ought
to be directed
at suchlogical
issuesas :
"Alternative
Educations
vs . the School's
Melting PotFunction"
;"State
Mandating of Alternative
Tracking and
Elitism" ; hool
rnat vs .
VouceAndwe
oughtalsotobeexploringsuchmorecontextually-orientedquestionsas
:
"UnderWhatConditionsAreOptionsSystemsLikelytoBeWidelyAdopted?"
"UnderWhatConditionsareOptionsSystemsPracticablewithinSchool
Districts?"
"WhatSociopoliticalConditionsWouldRenderEducational
AlternativesMoreorLessDesirableThanTheyCurrentlyAppear?"
Asecondandquitedifferentkindofpolicystudymustaddressthe
questionofeducationalvalues
. TheProject'sprimaryinquiryquestion --
"'Whichalternativeswellservewhichyoungsters,
in relation to which
educational values?"
--callsforinquiryintowhatkindsofalternative
schoolsandprogramsrespondtowhicheducationalpreferencesandpriori-
ties
. Attheconclusionoftheinquiry,wewanttobeabletosay,for
example,"Ifyouareinterestedinaprogramthatwillreflectandculti-
vateskillsrelatedtoindependence,self-reliance,andcriticalthinking,
thenalternativesA,B,andCappeargoodprospects
. Ifyouareinter-
ested,instead,inprogramscommittedtomanifestingandstimulating
obedient,responsible,rule-governedbehavior,thenalternativesD,E,and
Fappearbetterprospects
. "Tobeabletoarriveatsuchclaims,weneed
toassembletheeducationalvaluesliststowhichalternativeschoolssub-
scribe
. Theassemblingandorderingoftheselistswillbethetaskofthe
PolicyStudygroup .
Itmightbeappropriatetoconveyingthenatureofthetaskinvolved
tostatethatitgoesconsiderablybeyondtheadditivecompilationofthe
goalsstatementspromulgatedbyschools
. Alternativeschoolsarecommitted
to process valuesaswellas outcome
values . Andaccordingtosome,con-
ventionalschoolsalsomanifestvaluesnotrenderedexplicitintheirgoals
statements . (Thisclaimisaprominentfeatureofmanyofthestudiesof
the"HiddenCurriculum . ")Thus,anyattempttoarriveatalistofeduca-
tionalvaluesandprioritieswillneedtoinvolveextensiveanalysisof
alternativeschoolmaterials,andoftheliteratureofalternativeeduca-
tion . ThePolicyStudygroupwillundertakesuchanalysis
.
Schools"
;"Alternatives and the
Avoidanceof
4<
-4 0 -
Services
This-initialyearofthestudywilllargelylaythegroundworkfor
servicestocome
. Wewillbedoingsointwomajorwaysinconnectionwith
thesurveythatistoconstituteamainthrustoftheYearOneinquiry
.
First,thequestionnairegoingtoallsecondaryalternativeschoolsinthe
countrywillinquireaboutinterestinbeingpartofprojectactivitiesand
receivingnewsandmaterialsfromandaboutotheralternatives
. Alarge
affirmativeresponseisanticipatedandthiswillyieldourinitialmailing
listtoalternatives .
Aperiodicmailingtotheseschoolswillbeginshortlythereafter
.
Themailingswilloccurwithfairfrequency(everythreetosixweeks)
.
Theywillsometimesconsistofarticlescontributedonavolunteerbasis,
sometimesonaninvitationalbasis ;sometimesofquestionstobetackledby
otherreadersandbyprojectstaff
;sometimesofprogramreportsorde-
scriptionsorstatementsonparticularproblems
. Thepublicationwillbe
highlyflexibleincontent,then,ofvaryinglength(perhaps1-6pages)and
willprobablybereproducedfromtypedcopy
. Inadditiontogeneralopen
invitationstocontribute,invitationswillbeaddressedtospecific
programstoreportonactivitiesofwideprospectiveinterest,asexposed
initiallybyoursurvey . Therewillbefewturn-downsofsuchaninvita-
tion
. Thecommitmentofthoseinvolvedinalternativeprogramsiswidely
known
. Theirdedicationissuchthatanopportunityfortalkingaboutand
sharingwhattheydoenjoysenormousappeal
. Moreover,theperiodicalhere
describedcanaccomplishanumberofthingsofconsiderableinterestand
concerntoalternativeschoolpeople,andtreatanumberoftheproblems
thatplaguethem .
Thecomprehensivesurveyofalternativeschoolswillalsoaidinan-
otherkeywayinlayingthegroundworkforservicestocome . Thesurvey
willaskrespondentstosubmitavarietyofmaterialswiththeirreplies --
schoolorprogramdescriptions,curriculumplansandaccountsofactivi-
ties,instructionalmaterials,studentwork,evaluationinstrumentsand
reports
. Thecatalogingandmicrofilmingofthesematerialswillbeginso
thateventuallytheycanbemadeavailabletootheralternativesseeking
programinformation .
PAEisalreadyreceivinganumberofrequestsforinformationand
advicefromandaboutalternativeschools .

Thesortofclearinghouse
- 4
1 -
functions
involved in responding
will increaseduring
Year One of
the
inquiry and subsequently .
The project'sreform
interests render
highly
germane the
extensionofsuchservicestonon-alternativesinquirersalso
.
-4 2 -
YEARTWO
The
intent ofthesecondyeariscloser,moreintensivestudiesof
alternativeschools
. Thebroadsurveyofthefirstyearwillelicitthe
morestraightforwardfactsabouttheseschoolsandtheirvariations
. Years
TwoandThreewillseethemoreintensestudyofpsychologicalenviron-
ments,socialprocessesandeducationalactivities,andstudentaccomplish-
ments ;theinitiationofgovernance,organization,andfinanceinquiryat
schoolanddistrictlevels ;ethnographicstudies
;investigationof
alternativeschoolgraduates ;andthefurtherbuildingofschoolliaison
andaugmentingofserviceactivities .
Intensive Survey
Inarandomstratifiedsamplefromthecomprehensivelistofapproxi-
mately7,000schools,100willbechosenformoderatelyintensivesurvey
investigationusingconstructsfromthewritingsthatPAEhasalreadypro-
duced,thecontentanalysis,themeta-analysis,andtheadviceofalterna-
tiveschoolpeople . Thesampleislikelytobestratifiedbythefollowing
factors :per-studentexpenditures,size,typeofalternativeschool(froma
factoranalysis),rural-urban-suburbanlocation,andschoolsocio-economic
statusandprimaryethnicity ;andregionofthecountry
. Thesestratifica-
tionfactorsarelikelyselectioncriterianotonlytoinsurerepresenta-
tivenessofthesamplebutalsotoexaminetheirrelationtothedegreeand
typeofchoicesprovidedandtothequalityofstudent/staffexperiences
providedbytheschools
.
Dependinguponschoolsize(asrevealedinthefirst-yearsurvey),
samplesofapproximately100secondandthirdyearstudentsandstafffrom
eachschoolwillbegiven30-minutequestionnairesconcerningtheirschool
environmentandexperience,socialandpsychologicalprocessesintheir
educationwithinandoutsidetheschool,theirperceptionsofteachingand
learningactivities,andtheiraccomplishmentsduringthepastsixmonths
.
Inaddition,releasedachievementitemsinlanguage,mathematics,science,
andsocialstudiesfromtheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress
will be used on the
questionnaire . To afford the
maximum amount of
infor-
mation and simultaneously
reducetime required of
students, a common
core
plus differential combinations
of a universe of itemswill
be administered
simultaneously . During the
30-minute period, awritingsampleonthetopic
"WhatIThinkofMy
School"willbeobtainedfromarandomly-chosensetof
fiveyoungsters .
Thequestionnairewillbebasedontheliteraturereview,philo-
sophicalandpsychologicalpapers,contentanalysis,meta-analysis,and
panelsofalternativeschoolstaffandrelatedstudyquestionnaires
. In
addition,thequalitativeinvestigatorsandserviceworkerswillbeasked
tocompletethequestionnairesandessaytoprovideanindependentjudgment
oftheschoolenvironmentandothercharacteristics,onthebasisoftheir
fieldobservationsandserviceactivities
.
Theessaysandquestionnaireswillbescoredaccordingtothea priori
philosophical,psychological,andpractitionerconstructsformulatedduring
thefirstyear . Otherthemesandconstructsthatemergefromtheessays,
clusteringsoftheitems,qualitativestudies,andserviceactivities(dis-
cussedbelow)willbeconsideredandrepresentedbothinthesecondyear
analysisand,moreextensively,inthethirdyearinstrumentationand
analysis .
Themultivariatestatisticalanalyseswillserveatleastfivepur-
poses . Theywillassessthedegreetowhichhypothesizedalternative
schoolenvironments,processes,andoutcomesareactuallyfoundinthe
schools
;determinethedegreetowhichthesevariablesreflectsuch
stratificationfactorsassize,region,governancepattern,andstudent
characteristics ;determinethedegreethattheconstructs,includingpsy-
chologicalenvironmentsandprocessesareassociatedwithstudentachieve-
ment,morale,andaccomplishment ;determinethedegreetowhichthelast-
mentionedassociationappliestodifferentgroupsofstudents,forexample,
theartisticallyinclined,dropouts,ethnicgroups,andsocialclasses
;and
facilitatefurtherquantitativeandqualitativedevelopmentandrefinement
ofthequestionnaireandmethodsforthethird
year . Despitetheprocess
ofdevelopmentinthelastpointandthroughoutthecourseoftheproject,
theresultsandfindingsofthesecondyear< ,rillanswerwithafair
degreeofconfidencethecentralquestionofPAEandmanymajorrelated
- 4 3 -
- 4 4 -
questions --for example,
the degree
to
whichschools are
extremely
"alternative"
on
severaldimensions and
which
composites of
these are
associated with extreme
environments and
with
accomplishments
for which
students . The third
year, in which the
findingswillbe
tested again,
permits
areplication,extension,andintensificationofthemethodologies
.
Aparticularlycriticalquestionfortheoverallstudytobeaddressed
intheintensiveinvestigationisthenotionofthematchingofstudents
andeducationalenvironments
. Manyalternativeeducatorsfindthematching
ofinstructionormilieutostudentneedsascentraltoalternativeeduca-
tionasarethenotionsofdistinctivenessandchoice
. Asimilarnotion,
called"aptitude-treatmentinteraction,"hasnotprovenfruitfulscien-
tificallyoreducationallyin
. researchofthepastdecade
;butmuchofthe
workhasfocusedonnarrowcognitiveabilitiesundercontrivedorlabora-
toryconditions,ratherthanonclassroomsandothernaturalsettings
.
However,arecentsynthesisoftheresearchonDavidHunt'sconceptual
matchingmodels (Review of Educational Research,
Spring,1981)nowsuggests
groundsformoreoptimisticconclusions
. Moreover,notonlythediversity
ofeducationalmeansinalternativeschoolsbutalsotheinterestonthe
partofmanysuchschoolsindevelopingstudentuniquenessandindivid-
uality,makesuchconceptionsdeservingofthoroughinvestigationinthe
intensivestudy
. Thepsychologicalreview,contentanalysis,andmeta-
analysisofthefirstyearwillguidetheformulationandselectionof
specificstudentandenvironmentalvariablesformeasurementandanalysis
.
SchoolOrganization, Governance and Finance
Theschool-levelgovernance,organization,andfinancepartofthe
researchwillfocusonaselectedrepresentativesubsample
-- 20ofthe100
schools -- plus10conventionalschools
. Herethefocuswillbeonthe
schoolastheunitofanalysisratherthanonstudents,teachers, it
classrooms
. Thesubstantivethrustofthisresearchwillbesociological
andadministrative,anditwillcomplementtheinclusivesurveywhich
focusespsychologicallyandquantitativelyonteachingandlearning,and
thecasestudiesthatemployethnographicandotheranthropologicalmethods
inpursuingthelivedexperienceofalternativeschoolstudents,staff,and
- 4 5 -
parents
fromamorequalitativeperspective
.
Theorganizationpartsoftheresearchwillconcern
Max Weber's con-
`
structsofbureaucracy,collegiality,andcharismainrelationtoorganiza-
tionaleffectiveness
;problemsof,andsolutionsto,studentandstaff
stress,alienation,andauthority
;school-levelindicationsofconstructs
associatedwithstudent-levellearningeffectiveness,asindicatedbythe
researchofRonald
Edmonds
oftheNewYorkCityschools,andGeraldine
BrownleeofChicago
;andtheroleofchoiceanditsimpactattheschool
level
. ThispartoftheresearchwillalsoinvestigateKarlWeick's
notionsoftightlyandlooselycoupledorganizationalsystems
. Weick
maintainsthatschoolsarelooselycoupledinthesensethataschool's
membersarefreetodomanythingsnotconnectedwithoutcomes
.
Alternativeschools,itcar,
bemaintained,mayactuallybemoretightly
coupledthanregularschoolsinthesensethatgoalsandobjectivesare
intensivelydiscussedandagreeduponbystaffandstudents,andthat
organizationalandsocialpressureisbroughttobearonbothtoattain
them
. Certainlythesehypothesesarehighlyworthwhiletoinvestigate
sincethecommitmenttogoals,andthemeansofmaintainingitandbringing
themtofruition,areclosetoacentralpurposeofthestudy --
therole
ofchoiceineducationanditsimpactondifferentstudents .
Anotherpartoftheschool-levelresearchconcernstheroleofaltern-
ativeschoolprincipalsorprogramadministrators
. Howdotheyrelateto
thecentraldistrictofficers?Towhatextentdofederal,state,anddis-
trictbureaucracyimpingeupon,orlendauthorityto,theleadershipand
governanceofthealternativeschool?Doalternativesrelyondemocratic,
bureaucratic,professional,orcharismaticauthoritytogetthingsaccom-
plished?Musttheyformallianceswithschoolboardandcommunitymembers
toprosper?Aretheyisolatedfrom,orincompetitionwith,principals - of
otherschools,includingotheralternativeschools?Musttheymediateor
takesidesamongcliquesorsub-groupswithintheschool,suchas"scien-
tists"and"humanists"?Are important learnings omitted tokeepthe
C--ace?
Canprincipalshiretheirownstaffs,anddoteachers,students,andpar-
entsparticipateinrecruitingandselectingnewstaffandstudents?How
arenewmembersoftheschoolputintouchwithitsethosandoperating
methods?
-4 6 -
Lastly but importantly with respect to
school-level questions are the
matters of school
budget,cost per student, and authority
over expendi-
tures . One large-city
principal at one of our planning
conferences re-
ported that
ofhis$4millionannualbudget,schoolstaffhaddiscretionary
authorityoveronly$30thousand
--lessthan1% . School-sitebudgeting,
usedinsomeschools,ismuchmorecompatiblewiththenotionsofchoice
andautonomy
. Thedelegationofauthorityoversuchimportantdecisionsas
expendituresforgoodsandservicesseemsimportantlyrelatedtothe
simultaneousneedforaccountabilityforthewiseandeffectiveuseof
scarcepublicmoniesandstudenttime
. Towhatextentdoes(orcould)such
delegationofpolitical,educationalauthority -
impliedbyincreased
school-leveldecision-making --helporhinderalternativeandconventional
education?Iflittlesuchauthorityisfoundinsomealternativeschools,
howareextradiscretionaryfundsraised,andhowdotheproceduresdiffer
fromthoseinconventionalschools?
Andwhataretheoperatingcostsofalternativeschools?Someclaims
aremadethattheyareoftencheaperonaperstudentbasisthanordinary
schools ;butsuchclaimsappeartoignorethepossibilitythatsuchschools
haveyoungstaffthatarepaidless,andthatthesecostsarelikelyto
increaseasstaffmoveforwardinsalarylaneseachyear
. Acarefuland
comprehensivebudgetanalysisisrequiredtomakereasonablecomparisons
amongalternativeschools
. Arelatedissueconcernstheeffectsofcurrent
reductionsinstudent-agepopulationsonenrollments,spending,andother
factorsinalternativeprograms .
Issuesassociatedwiththeseseveraltopicsattheschoollevelwill
beinvestigatedbyacombinationofquestionnaire,anddirectandtelephone
interviewswithalternativeschooldirectors,teachers,students,andwith
relevantdistrictstaff . Questionnaireswillbedistributedtopeopleat
all30schools ;peopleat10schools
will bepersonallyinterviewed,and,
asacheckonresultsofdirectinterviewsandquestionnairefindings,
peopleattheremaining20schoolswillbeinterviewedbytelephone .
Therehasbeenforsometimeawidespreadinterestinmethodsofmaking
publicschoolsmoreresponsivetotheneedsoftheirparticipants
. Altern-
ative schools representonevisionof how
thismightbeaccomplished,and
therearethingstobelearnedfromthestudyofthegovernanceofalterna-
-
4 7
-
tive schoolswhich can be of help to people
whomanage public school
systems withandwithoutalternatives . Therearefourmajorareasinwhich
thispartofthestudycanmakeimportantcontributionstoour
understanding,andhenceourpractice
:
1
. Howonegoesaboutmanagingprofessionalswithinabureaucratic
organization .

Alternativeschoolsmayhavemadesignificant
improvementsovertraditionalpublicschoolsinthisarea .
2 . Howoneselectsandsocializesstaffmembersintoaschoolsite .
3 . Howonesetsaboutresourceallocationtoandwithinschools .
4 . Howonemightenhancethecareerdevelopmentofteachers .
Foralistofthespecifichypothesestobeinvestigated,seeAppendixB,
pages67-68 .
District-Level Organization
Almostallrelativelylargeschooldistricts(i . e . , 10,000+pupils)
nowreportoperatingalternativeschoolsorprograms
. Onlyamuchsmaller
set,however,haveadoptedalternativeeducationasanintentionalstrategy
fororganizationaldevelopmentandsystemrenewal,orforspecificproblem
resolution (e . g . ,
attainingdistrict-wideethnicbalance) . Thislatterset
ofoptionssystemsthatareemployingalternativeeducationasadevicefor
systemrenewalisthefocusofthisdistrict-levelstudy .
Thepurposeofthispartofthetotalstudyistwo-fold
:(1)tode-
scribethestructuralrelationshipsofalternativeeducationasitdevelops
inschooldistrictsto"conventionaleducation"andtheschooldistrict
organizationasawhole,and(2)totrackeffectswhichoccuratthelevel
ofthesystemasaconsequenceofemployingalternativeeducationasa
vehicleforsystemrenewal .
Asalternativeprogramsandtheconceptofchoicehavespreadrapidly
throughthenation'spublicschoolsystemsduringthelasthalfdecade,
therehasbeenanalmostequallyrapidshiftinthe way
organizational
theoristsproposethatwevieworganizationsandorganizing
. Theorthodox
viewoforganizationsasrational,goal-bound,bureaucraticsystemshas
-4 8 -
been challenged by avarietyofconceptualstructureswhichdepictthemin-
steadaslooselycoupledsystems,organizedanarchies,incentiveexchange
systems,collectives,clans,anddialecticalconstructions
.
Afortuitoustheoreticallinkseemstounitetheselessconventional
viewsoforganizationswiththeconceptofeducationalsystemrenewal
throughalternativeprogramsandschools . Alternativeeducationseemsto
emphasizealoosercouplingbetweenandamongsupervisorylevelsandacross
programsinschoolsystems . Organizedanarchiesemphasizeproblematic
preferences,uncleartechnology,andfluidparticipationaskeycharac-
teristicsofeducationalorganizations . Alternativeschoolsandprograms
seemtoexhibitthesecharacteristics . Theconceptofanorganizationas
anincentiveexchangesystemisbasedontheassumptionthatorganizational
purposesaresubordinatedtopersonaldemandsforsatisfaction -- thatit
isnotatallclearthatorganizationshavecomprehensivegoalsinany
normalsenseofthatterm . Thediversityofalternativeschools,andthe
emphasisonpersonalchoice,reflectstheseconcepts . Participantsin
alternativeschoolsandprogramsfrequentlyreporttheir-experiencesin
suchawaythatthelistenerisremindedmoreofaclanoracollective
thanofabureaucracy .
Weplantoexaminealternativeeducationinschoolsystemsemployinga
varietyofperspectives
-- including,ofcourse,thebureaucraticmodel --
toassesstheinteractiveeffectsofalternativeschoolsandthesystemsin
whichtheylive,ononeanother . Wehypothesizethattheremaybea
synergisticeffectbetweentheconceptofchoiceinpubliceducationand
someofthestructuralfeaturesofpublicschoolsystems ;aneffectwhich
hasbeenobfuscatedbythenearlyexclusiveuseofthebureaucratic
perspectiveinstudyingschoolsystemsandschools
.
Descriptivephase
:Twentyschoolsystemswillbechosentopartici-
pateintheinquiry
. Fivewillbeselectedfromamongthenation's23
districtswithstudentpopulationsof100,000ormore
. Asecondsetof
fivewillbeselectedfromthe37districtswith5 0,000-99,999pupils
. The
remainingtwogroupswillbeselectedfromthosedistrictswith25 ,000-
49,999pupils(124ina11)andthoseenrolling10,000-24,999(5 11) . Repre-
sentativesamplingofthesegroupsisoutofthequestionsinceacase
studyapproachisbeingsuggestedforthisandthesubsequentyearphaseof
thestudy . Twopurposiveintentsareobviousinthesampletobeemployed
:
- 4 9 -
(1) over-representation of the largest
schooldistricts
where the problems
of
system-level secondaryschool
renewal are most
aggravating, and (2)
selection
of_ districtswhichhavemadeobviousanintenttoemployalterna-
tiveschoolsasastrategyforsystemrenewal .
Inthedescriptivephase,thefocuswillbeonthestructuralrela-
tionshipofalternativeschoolsandprogramstothesystemasawhole
. How
arealternativesgenerated,planned,nurtured,sustained?Whatarethe
pointsofconflictandcomplementbetweenalternativesandtheirconven-
tionalcounterparts?
Howdoalternativesliveorganizationally
. ona
day-to-daybasis?Aretheredistinctiveorganizationalformsthatcanbe
usedtodescribetypesofalternativeschoolsorprograms?Howdoalterna-
tivesfitwithintheexpectationsheldforthesystemasabureaucracy
--
i . e . ,
aretheyviewedasexemptedfromcertainconstraintsofaccount-
abilityorauthority?Whoorwhatgroupsacceptorrejectalternativesof
differenttypes?
Toprovidearichdescriptionofalternativeschoolsvis-a-visthe
system,datagatherinfwillbeundertakenindependentlyfromseveralvan-
tagepoints,e . g . ,
thetop-down -- theboardofeducation,thesuperinten-
dentordistrictsuperintendent'sstaff,theprofessionaleducation
association ;up-close
-- teachers,pupils,parents,administratorsworking
inthealternatives ;next-door -- teachers,pupils,parents,administrators
workinginconventionalprogramsinthesameornear-bysites ;afterthe
fact --
thedocumentaryreconstructionofhowthealternativeemergedand
howitfits . Expliciteffortwillbemadetodiversifytheperspectivesas
wellasthevantagepoints --e . g . , respondentswillbequeriedaboutas-
pectsofcoupling,decision-making,incentivesandpower ;andprogrampar-
ticipantswillbeaskedtodevelopcausemapsdescribingtheirplaceinand
relationshiptotheschoolsystemasanorganization .
Ethnographic Investigation
DuringYearTwowewillproduceapproximately30capsulecasestudies
ofasampleofalternativeschoolsandprogramsrepresentativeofthefull
rangeandtypesfoundinYearOne . Theprimaryfocusofthesecasestudies
willbetheexperienceofbeingamemberofanalternativeschool,asthis
iselaboratedtousbythoseinvolvedinit -- bystudentsandteachers
- 5 0 -
primarily, but
also by parents and others associatedwithparticularal-
ternativeschools
. Explicitly,weshallbeinterestedin :
thesignificantcomponentsoftheschoolsettingandschoolday,as
perceivedbythosewholivethroughthem ;theimportanteventsthat
happentherein,atwhattimes,involvingwhichpeople,andmembers'
understandingsofwhyandhowtheyexistandoccur
;
theimpactonparticipantsofsuchcomponentsandevents,againas
perceivedbythosewhoexperiencethem,intermsofemotionaldevelop-
ment,academiclearning,senseofself,personalgoals,etc
. ;the
varyingimpactofsuchcomponentsandeventsonstudentsofdifferent
needsandbackgrounds,andtheextenttowhichtheschool's"routine"
adaptstotheneedsandbackgroundsofstudents
;
waysinwhichparticipantsintheschoolperceivethattheir
experiencesaredifferent,fromthoseofsimilarpeopleinconventional
schools,andtheirassessmentsofthesignificanceofsuchdifferences,
forthemselvesandfortheothers ;
changesovertimeintheperceptionsofschoolandselfbypartici-
pants,asrevealedthroughcontrastingstatementsofindividualswho
havebeenmembersoftheschoolforafewmonthsversusseveralyears,
forexample
;andcontrastsintheperceptionsofmembersas(andif)
theyvarybysex,ethnic/racialgroup,age,schoolrole,etc .
Inthefieldworkineachschool,then,wewilltrytounderstandand
tosummarize,initsfulldiversity,schoolmembers'construalsofthein-
stitutiontheypeople
. Wechosephenomenologicalgoalsforthisphaseof
theprojectforseveralreasons
. First,alternativeschoolsoftenexist
forstudentsforwhomtheexperienceofconventionaleducationhasbeen
unproductiveand/orunpalatable
. Formanyofthem,theexperienceofal-
ternativeschoolingisrefreshinglyotherwise
. Bothalternativeandtradi-
tionaleducatorsneedtoknowwhichaspectsofalternativeeducationare
especiallymeaningfulforwhichgroupsofstudents
. Often,wepredict,
aspectsthatareminortoorevenunintendedbyschoolplannersmayprove
centraltostudents,staff,parents,andeventomanyoutsidetheschool
.
Second,phenomenologicalinquiryseemsagoodchoiceforthisphaseof
thestudytosupplementorthodox,"objective"dataabouteachschooland
itsstudentsfromYearOnesurveys,recordsmadeavailablebytheschools
tothefieldworkers,andpsychologicalassessmentsfrominstrumentsusedin
otherpartsoftheprojectduringYearTwo
. Finally,wesuspectthatthe
membersofmostalternativeschoolswillbepleasedattheopportunityto
reflectuponandsharethemeaningoftheirexperienceswithus
.
-5 1 -
The scale of application
of essentially
qualitativeresearchtech-
niques contemplated for this
project is unusual,
we believe, in recent
social science . During a
school year that spans
42 weeks,
including
vacations, we will visit and
prepare case studies
of
approximately 30
schools, stratified according
to criteria
emerging from Year
One of the
study . Itis not practicable
to undertakeparticipantobservations
at the
usual pace
.
But we envision briefer
visits, involving
what would be a
full-time staff of
four program evaluators,
especially but not
exclusively
trained and experienced
in qualitative
researchtechniques, split
into two
field teams
of two members each . These
teams will be scheduled
for two-
week visits to
each of the 30 schools
participating inthis phase
of the
project . The full
team for each site will
be augmented by 2-3 teachers
from other
localalternative schools, supplemented
where feasible by a
student and/or
aparentfromoneoftheseothernearbyalternatives
. Where
possible,wewillobtainteachersfromotheralternativesalsoapartof
theproject --
and,ofcourse,acceptabletothehostschool
--tojoin
whatwillbea5 -6member"sitevisitcommittee"tostudy,analyze,and
writethereportforeachschool
.
Tofacilitatetheinterchangeor
teachersonvisitcommittees,andtoreduceexpenses,schoolsselectedfor
inclusionwillbesomewhatclusteredgeographically
.
Participantschoolswillbeaskedtomakeavailableasmuchdocumenta-
tionaspossibleforusebythesitecommittee,onsiteandlater
. Two
weeks will
besetasideforeachvisit,butonlytheequivalentofonewill
bespentonsite
. Duringtheother,sitecommitteememberswill
write up
theirfieldnotes,shareanddiscussobservationsandconclusions,and
completeatleastthefirstdraftoftheircasestudy .
Duringthe42-weekacademicyear,eachtwo-memberfieldworkerstaff
teamwillstudyandwriteupapproximately15 schools(oneweekonsite,
oneweekdiscussingandwriting),thusachievingthetargetof30
. The
directoroftheethnographicinquirywillrecruitandtrainthestaff
duringthesix-monthperiodprevioustothebeginningoftheactualfield
studies
. Severalthemeswillbeemphasizedduringthistraining,and
duringthefieldworkitself :
a
. theattainmentbyallstaffofshared,operationalizedunderstand-
ingsofthedimensionsofalternativeeducation,asthesehave
beenelaboratedinYearOne .
- 5 2 -
b . agreement on the
phenomenological topics
of special
interest in
the qualitative phase
of the research,
and the formal
and informal
techniques that will be used
to elicit information
;
c .
explicit training in the
mechanics of
fieldnote-takingandfiling
tobeusedinthestudy
;
d
. self-analysis,withinthesettingofthegroupoffieldstaff
members,aimedathelpingeachmemberidentifyhis/herbiasescon-
cerningalternativeandotherformsofeducation,andatdevising
personallyeffectivestrategiesforminimizingorneutralizing
suchbiasesindatacollectionandwriting ;
e
. familiarizationwiththenatureofthequantitativeand"objec-
tive"dataavailableoneachschool,sothatthisinformationcan
beincorporatedintothecasestudies
;
f
. developmentofstrategiesformaximizingthecontributionsofthe
teachers,studentsandparentsfromtheotheralternativeschools
whowillbesitecommitteecolleaguesduringeachvisit
.
Mostofthistrainingwillbeaccomplishedbymeansof'pilot'field
orsitevisitstocooperatingalternativeschoolsorprograms,withsubse-
quentperiodsofdiscussion,analysisoffieldnotes,andtrial-writingof
reports
. Weaimforasecureandimaginativefieldstaffatthebegining
ofYearTwo .
Thedownfallofmanyqualitativeresearchprojectsofconsiderably
lesserscopethantheoneproposedherehasoccurredinthepreparation
and/orlateruseoffieldnotes
. Twoormorefieldworkers,observingin
oneormoresettings,oftenseedifferentaspectsofthe"same"phenomena
andrecordthemdisparately --
usingdifferentorganizingprinciples,vo-
cabularies,criteriaforinclusion,etc
. Wehopetominimizethisproblem
inpartthroughthetrainingprogramjustoutlined,butmoreparticularly
viaanadaptationofthedailynote-writingandcodingschemeoutlinedand
usedbyHowardBeckeretal . inthebook Boys in White .
Duringeachsite
committeevisit,fieldworkerswillbeexpectedtowrite,code,andfile
theirnotesonadailyoasisandalsotojustifytheirchoicesoftopics
andcodingstofellowcommitteemembers
. Thus,inthemiddleofthesecond
week,allmembers'notes,topicallyarranged,
will beavailableforus,and
thefirstdraftofthecasewillnormallybecompletedbythetimethesite
committee
adjourns .
Each case studywill be similarly
organized, since all willbe based
onnotespreparedaccordingtoacommonstructure
. Thiscommonformatwill
inturnfacilitatecross-casecomparisons
. Manydifferenttechniquesfor
gatheringdatawillbeexploredduringthetraining/planningperiod
. For
example :
semi-structuredinterviewswithstudents,teachers,recentalumni,
parents,administratorsintheschoolandexternaltoitinthesystem,
electedofficials,andstudentsinassociatedconventionalschools
;
--contentanalysesofstudentpublications,schoolstatementsand
brochures,etc .
--observationsofvariousschool-relatedactivities,suchassocial
events,assemblies,plays,PTAmeetings,schoolmeetings
;
ethno-scientificinterviewswithalimitednumberofschoolmembersto
ascertaintheirunderstandingsofthe'domains'of"school,""teacher,"
"student,"aswellascorewordsintheargotoftheparticularschool
;
asitecommitteemember,perhapsoneofthosefromanotherschool,
occupyingtheroleof"student"foraweek,orapartthereof,and
keepingcarefulfieldnotesoftheexperience
;
"spotobservations"conductedatplannedintervalsduringeachdayby
allteammemberstodeterminewhoispresentwiththeobserver,inwhat
setting,whateachpersonisdoing,etc .

(Accumulationofsuch
observationscanproduceasurprisinglyrichsetofdataforlater
analysis') ;
--
wheneverpossibleandappropriate,participantobservationduly
recordedamongtheworker'sfieldnotes .
Service
ServiceactivitieswillbecomefullyoperationalinYearTwo . Wewill
continuetheperiodicmailingstointerestedalternativesandothergroups
asinitiatedinYearOne . Butthesemailingswillprobablybeincreased --
andtheywillcomeincreasinglytobemarkedbyanewdimension :Theywill
beusedfordisseminatingthepracticalimplicationsofProjectfindingsas
thesebecomeavailable . Wehopeeventuallytoproducematerialsintended
toimprovetheeffectivenessofvariouseducationalpractitionersand
decision-makers . Earlyversionsofsomeofthesematerialscaninitially
becirculatedintheperiodicmailingsunderdiscussion -- witharequest
- 5 3 -
- 5 4 -
for feedback and revision . Some of these
materials will, of course, be
ultimately targeted for
groupsother than the alternative
school staff who
will probably be the major
recipients of the Project's
periodic mailings
(e . g . , for
district adminstrators, parents, board members),
and it will be
desirable to seekotherwaystoreachsuchgroups
. Nevertheless,itmaybe
highlydesirabletosendevensuchmaterialstoourregularmailinglist
.
Inthisway,theycanbecomevaluable
consultants
onmaterialstargetedfor
othergroups
;andtheycanalsobecomedisseminatorsbyforwardingsuch
statementsandseekingreactionstothemastheydeemdesirable .
Wewillalsomakeavailabletoalloftheschoolswheresitevisits
aremade,theserviceofdocumentingschooleffectiveness
. Unlikewhathas
longbeenstandardpracticeinconventionalschools,mostalternativesare
requiredtosubmitregularevaluationmaterial,supplyingannualevidence
oftheireffectiveness .
Itwillconstituteasubstantialserviceto
participantschools--andaninducementtodistrictadministratorsaswell
--forPAEtoassumeresponsibilityfortheyear'sevaluationofeach
schoolwhereextendedsitevisitsaremade
.
Directon-siteassistancewillalsobeextendedtothosealternatives
wheresitevisitsareunderway
. Suchassistancewillprimarilytaketwo
forms :(1)directadviceandaidwithsuchmattersasmaterialsprepara-
tion, , organizationaldevelopment,andcurriculumandactivitiesselection
;
and(2)helpandinvolvementinenablingparticipantschoolstobecome
alternativescentersintheirownlocales . Althoughalternativespeople
arenotaslikelytodaytoseektheaidandadviceofoutsidersaswerethe
recipientsofsuchservicesfromtheEight-YearStudy,therelationships
essentialtothecriticalelementoftrustwillhavebeeninitiatedthrough
themailingsdescribedearlier . (Seepage40 . )Theaidinenablingpar-
ticipantschoolstobecomecentersfornearbyschoolsandprogramswill
alsocontributefurthertothedevelopmentoftrust
. Thisservicewill
placeparticipantschoolsinthepositionofbeingabletoserveothersas
centersofinformationandadvice
.
-
5 5 -
YEARTHREE
Thethirdyearisthemostintensivewithrespecttodatacollection .
Theseveralmajorthrustsoftheprojectwillbethoroughlyintertwinedand
mutuallyenriched,whileatthesametimepreservingtheautonomyand
authenticityofeach,aswellasthefreeandindependentinquiryofeach
investigatortogatherdataandreachconclusionswithinthescheduleand
budget .
ComparativeStudy
Fromtheextensiveandintensivesurveysandallotheraspectsofthe
researchmentionedabove,afinalsetofquestionnairesincludingsetsof
environment,process,accomplishment,andachievementitemswillbegiven
to30selectedalternativeand30matchedcontrolschools . Thematching,
althoughnotacompleterulingoutofallrivalcausalhypotheses,will
sampleacorrespondingconventionalor"regular"schoolthatisasalikeas
possibleinstudentbody,perstudentexpenditures,location,andother
relevantcharacteristicsbroughtoutinthesecondyear . Theschoolswill
alsobechosenwithinsuchimportantstratificationfactorsassizeand
type,asdiscussedinaprevioussection . (Seepage34 . )
Thethirdyearcomparativestudywillrepeattheworkofthesecond
year,usingarefinedmethodology . Inadditionitwillfocusonthecriti-
calcomparisonofalternativeandmatchedcontrolschools . Itwillbe
furtherenhancedbyagrowingtheoreticalandpracticalunderstandingof
fundamentalprocesseswithinalternativeschools . Thecomparisionsof
indicationsonalltheresearchconstructswillbecontrolledforschool
andindividualstudentcharacteristics ;andtheanalyseswillbecarried
outacrossallschoolsandstudents,andalsoonselectedsubgroupsofboys
andgirlsandothergroupingstoaddressthecentralquestionsofthein-
quiry . Bothtraditionalmultivariateproceduressuchasthegenerallinear
modelandcanonicalanalysis,aswellasfrontierstatisticaltechniquesof
econometricsandpsychometricssuchassystemsregressionsandanalysisof
covariancestructures,willbeemployedtocontroltheanalysisofthe
quasi-experimental data
.
-5 6 -
District-Level Organization
The second phase
of our study of alternative education
from a system-
level perspective will attempt to
answer the question "Does the
existence
of alternativeschools have
anysignificant impacton the
school system as
an organization?"
Here, the individualswithwhomweshallbedealingwill
bethedistrict-leveladministrators,memersoftheboardofeducation,
system-widecommunityandparentgroups,andteacherorganization
officials .
Whenoneconsiderstherelativenumbersofstudentsandteachersin-
volvedinsecondaryalternatives,itisnotself-evidentthatanysystem-
leveleffectscanbetracked . _ Doestheexistenceofchoiceforstudents
andparentsaffectthefeelingofcommunitysupportfortheschools?Or
thecommunity'sattitudetowardtheresponsivenessoftheschools?Do
alternativesimproveorexacerbaterelationshipsbetweentheorganized
teachingprofessionandtheschoolpolicymakersandadministrators?Or
havenoeffectonthisrelationship?Doalternativescreateasenseof
accomplishmentorefficacyamongdistrict-leveladministrators - makethem
moreopentoormorecautiousaboutchange?Doesitaffecttherelation-
shipbetweendistrictandschool-leveladministrators?
Aseffectswithinandamonggroupsaretracked,theresearchteamwill
bebuildingindicatorsofsystemeffectswhichdealdirectlywiththecon-
ceptofsystemrenewal,e . g . :
(1) Systemadaptability - Theextenttowhichthesystemisableto
takeonnewpracticesandslouchoffoutmodedones
.
(2) System responsiveness - Theextenttowhichthesystemcan
respondtonewdemandsfromdiversecommunityinterestgroups .
(3) System efficacy - Theextenttowhichsystemparticipantsfeel
thesystemiseffectiveinmeetingthedemandsplaceduponit .
(4)
Systemcompetitiveness - Theextenttowhichthesystemcanmeet
thechallengeofeducationaloptionsforstudents, i . e . , private
schoolsorotherpublicschoolsystems .
Althoughtheemphasesofthefirstandsecondphasesofthisinvesti-
gationarequitedifferent,thesametwentyschoolsystemswillbeinvolved
andthedatawillbesharedacrossthephases . Thefinalproductwillcon-
sistoftwentydiscreteandinterestingcasestudiesintheirownright .
- 5 7 -
However, the staff
willemploy an
adaptation of the
Rand Corporation com-
parative casestudy
analysistechnique to
trackvariablesacrossthetwenty
casessothatwecandealwithsuchissuesastheimpactofsizeofschool
districtonsystem-leveleffects
;varianceattributabletodifferentpat-
ternsofinitiatingororganizingalternativeschools
;apparentstrengthof
therelationshipbetweenalternativesanddiscreteeffects,e
. g . , system
competitiveness,acrosscases
. Overall,theteamhopestobeabletooffer
policymakerspracticalguidanceabouttheutilityofalternativeschools
asastrategyforschoolsystemrenewalinsecondaryeducation
.
Student Follow-UpStudy
Afollow-upstudyofalternativeandconventionalschoolgraduatesis
alsoscheduledforthethirdyearthatwilldrawontheconceptsandin-
strumentationofthefirsttwoyears
. Theinquirywilladdressthefollow-
ingkindsofquestions
:Whathappenstoyoungpeopleinbothgroupsatone
andfiveyearsaftertheirhighschoolcareersend?Dotheygoontocol-
legesanduniversities,tradeandvocationalschools,orintothemarket-
place?Howsuccessfularetheyintheirposthighschoolendeavors?Do
theycompletetheirprograms,findemployment,andcarryforwardideals
thataroseinschool?Howdotheyratetheiracademicandsocialskills?
Whatviewsdotheyholdabouttheirhighschoolexperience?Whatviewsdo
theyholdoncontemporarysocial,economic,andculturalissues?Towhat
extentaretheyinformedabout,anddotheyparticipatein,scientific,
political,artistic,andotheraffairsoftheircommunityandnation?
Dataforthefollow-upstudywillbederivedfromtwosources
:amail
surveyofallgraduatesoftheprioryearandoffiveyearspriortothe
follow-upstudy
. Forpurposesofroughestimation,assuminga70percent
returnontheprioryearsample,anda40percentreturnonthosegraduat-
ingfiveyearsearlier,andgraduatingclassesof5 0and15 0respectively
foralternativeandconventionalschools,theexpectedsamplesizesare
1,65 0and4,95 0forthetwotypesofschools
. Specialfollow-uptelephone
interviewswillbeconductedonsmaller10percentschoolsamples,includ-
ingboththosethatdidanddidnotreturnthequestionnairetocheckthe
- 5 8 -
possibility of sample bias in the return samples and replies to the ques-
tionnaire .
Service
The service activities described forYearTwowillcontinue,including
periodicmailingsandeffectivenessdocumentationanddirectassistancefor
schoolswheresitestudyiscontinuing . Itisanticipatedthatinquiries
fromandcorrespondencewithalternativesandothersnotdirectlyinvolved
intheprojectwillincreaseconsiderablyduringeachyear .
Workwillcontinueduringthethirdyeartowardbuilding,cataloging,
andduplicatingarepositoryofmaterialstobemadeavailabletothose
interestedindevelopingand/orstudyingalternativeeducation .
-
5 9 -
YEARFOUR
YearFourwillbedevotedtothreetasks
:completingandintegrating
thethreeyearsofeffortandthefourthrustsoftheproject
;writingand
editingaseriesofbook-lengthreportsforthemanyaudiencesforthe
study
;andestablishingthecenterorrepositoryofstudymaterialsfor
practitionersandfutureinvestigators
. Eachoftheseactivitiesdeserves
furtherdiscussionandcommenthere
.
Althoughaseriesofmeetingsoftheprincipalinvestigatorsarepro-
jectedduringthefirstthreeyearsoftheprojectandalthoughnearlyall
analyseswillbecompletebytheendofthethirdyear,itwillbeneces-
sarytomeetfortwomoreextendedsessionsduringthefourthyear
. The
firstofthesewilltakeplaceduringthebeginningofYearFour
. Itwill
involvenotonlytheprincipalinvestigatorsandselectedcolleaguesbut
alsomembersoftheSteeringCommitteeandrepresentativesoftheAdvisory
CouncilandtheResearchAdvisoryBoard,thusinvolvingpractitioners,
staffandpossiblystudentsfromparticipantschools,andrepresentatives
offundingagencies,andrelatedlarge-scalestudies(AppendixC)
. Eachof
theprincipalinvestigatorswillpresentherandhisresults,andfindings
willbediscussedandinterpretedbyall
. Thediscussions will betaped,
summarized,andpreserved
. Thepurposesofthesediscussionsaretosug-
gest
:furthermutualenrichmentsoftheseparatethrustsofthestudy(and
possibly,furtheranalysesofthemultiplesetsofdata) ;broaderanddeep-
ertheoreticalpolicyandpracticalimplicationsoftheresults ;andlikely
strategiesandvehiclesfordisseminationandimplementationofthefind-
ingswithinAmericaneducation
. Eachinvestigatorshouldbenefitgreatly
fromthesediscussionsandincorporatetheinsightsfromthediscussions
intoherandhiswritings .
RaywidandWalbergwilleditabooksummarizingtheplans,methods,
results,interpretations,andimplicationsoftheproject
. Thebookwill
containchapters,someco-authored,otherssingleauthored,onthepremises
andoverviewoftheproject,thephilosophical,psychological,andcontent
analysis ;thesynthesisofpreviousresearch ;thequantitativeanalyses ;
thequalitativefindings
;thegovernance,organization,,andeconomic
results ;andconclusionsandimplications .

Inaddition,theprincipal
- 6 0 -
investigators of each of the
major thrusts of the PAEstudywillwritemore
extensiveresearchandpractitionermonographsontheirpartsofthestudy,
andWalbergwillwriteseveralarticlesonthetechnicalaspectsofthe
quantitativeresearch . Co-authorswillbesoughtfromamongtheproject's
constituentgroups(SteeringCommittee,AdvisoryCouncil,participantspon-
sors,ResearchAdvisoryBoardandparticipatingschools)toworkwiththe
ProjectDirectoronapublicationsseriestobeaddressedtotheproject's
severalaudiences--i . e . , alternativeschoolstaff,schooladministrators,
schoolboards,parents,stateofficialswitheducation-relatedauthority
andresponsibilities .
Allroyaltiesfromthesewritingswillbeusedtosupportthereposi-
toryforalternativeeducationstudymaterials . Raywidwillcollectall
studymaterialsandberesponsibleforestablishingorchoosingareposi-
toryorcenterfortheirpermanentstorageandcontinueduse
. Indiana
University,theUniversityofMasschusetts,andHofstraUniversityare
currentcandidatesbyvirtueoftheirleadershipinalternativeeducation .
ButbecauseofthenationalandhistoricalsignificanceofPAE,larger
universityresearchlibraries,andtheLibraryofCongress,willreceive
primaryconsideration .
CONCLUSION
This completes the
story of our plans to
date for alandmarkinquiry
into secondary education
. It is not
amodestproposalbecause,aswehave
triedtoshow,amoremodestsolutioncouldhavelittlechanceagainstthe
oddsposedbythechallengesofourtime
. Wehavedoubtsastowhatmight
beexpectedinthewakeev&nofthefinestresearch
--
oroftherecom-
mendationsofthemostdistinguishedpanel
-- orofthedemonstration
effortsofthemostdedicatedandtalentedpractitioners
. Butaventure
thatcould combine
theseseveralkindsofeffort,andmore --
strengthening
eachwiththecoordinatedsupportofalltheothers --
gatheringlarge
numbersanddiversespecialtiesandinterestsintherestorationof
Americansecondaryeducation . .
. thatjustmightmatter .
Weurgeyourparticipationandsupport .
-6 2 -
APPENDIXA
ALTERNATIVESCHOOLRESEARCHHYPOTHESES
DRAWNFROMDATACOLLECTEDONFOUR
ALTERNATIVEEDUCATIONPROGRAMS*
JamesH . McElhinney
KennethSpringer
JayC . Thompson
ArleneZumbrum
Followingarestatementsofconclusionsthataregenerallytruebasedon
fourteenyearsofdatacollectedfromfouralternativeschoolprograms
overthepastfivecalendaryears . Thedatawerecollectedfrompupils,
teachers,parents,administrators,
parent interviews,questionnaires,
aminationofpupilproductsandothermeasures
.
supporteachofthesestatementsandmuchexists
forthose Theycansuggesthypotheses
aidesusing :systematicobservations,
reports,communitypersonreports,ex-
Someevidenceexiststo
tosupportmostofthem .
dofurtherresearch wishing to on
alternativeprograms .
I . AlternativeSchoolPrograms :
1
. Havegeneralobjectivesthataresimilartotheobjectivesofthe
programstowhichtheyarealternatives .
a . offeralternativemeanstoreachobjectives
b . adjustmethodandcontenttomeettheneedsofparticular
groupsofpupils
c . offerenrichmentexperiencesbeyondthoseavailableinregular
programs
2 . Produceextensiveconflictwithprogramstowhichtheyareanal-
ternative,includinginformaloppositionfromprofessionalsand
laypersons .
3 . Scheduletimeintermsoftasksandactivitieswhichoftenare
measuredindaysandweeksratherthanin5 5 minuteorshorter
periodsoftime . Therateoflearningisflexibleandnegotiable .
Timeisorganizedaccordingtotheamountneededtoproduceapro-
ductorprovideanexperienceratherthanforsynchronized
movementofotherindividuals .
*Reproducedwithpermissionofthefirstauthorfrom
Changing
Schools : An
Occasional Newsletter on Alternative Public Schools, 1976,
4,
(No . 4),
pp
. 3-6 .
-6 3 -
4 . Offer
teaching-learning modes which are markedly different from
regular
programs even though alternative programs
usuallymakeuse
oftextassignments,tests,carnegieunits,gradelevels,and
similarregularprogramdevices
. Theseareusedinwaysthatare
uniquetotheproductoftheexperiencethatthestudenthascon-
tractedfor
. Alternativeprogramsalsomakeuseoflibraries,
laboratories,andout-of-schoolfacilities .
5
. Alternativeprogramsplaceemphasisonpersonal-socialgrowthas
. ,~
wellasemphasisonintellectualachievement
.

Thisisaccom-
plishedthroughplanned
ap
rp E
ogwrams, familyorganizations,and
aplannedandevaluatedpersonal-socialsupportsystem
.
v
6
. Studentsandteacherswhoparticipateinalternativeprograms
electtobeincludedandareselectedbyasystematicprocess
.
7
. Personnelinvolvedinalternativeprogramshavehighmorale,have
lowdrop-outratesforpupils,butmayhavehigherdropoutrates
forfaculty .
8
. Arebetterevaluated,havebetterprogramwideplanning,have
giventheirgoalsmoreexaminationandemphasis .
9
. Includeparentsinmeaningfulwaysanddevelopstrongparental
commitmenttotheprogram .
10
. Areorganizedintosmallunitsoffrom10to15 0pupilsand6or8
adults .
II
. AlternativeSchoolPupils
:
1
. Areselectedandelectedintheprogramstructure .
2
. Havemoreresponsibilityforownconductandlearning
.
3
. Expecttolearnfrompeersandacceptresponsibilitytohelppeers
learn .
4
. Expressdissatisfactionwithtraditionalschoolprogramor
organization .
5
. Programsare
individualized .
6
. Areinvolvedinaprogramwhichhasenrichmentor
therapeutic
components .
7
. Arelikelytobeinvolvedina
community project .

v
8
. Contactswithteachersareonetooneorinasmallgroup
.
9
. Arecloselyscrutinizedby"regular"teachers,administrators,and
thecommunity,especiallyifthealternativeschoolprogramis
housedwithaconventionalschoolprogram
.
-6 4 -
10 . Participate inplanning of
learning, establishment and enforce-
ment of rules, and evaluation of
cognitive and personal-social
-learning .
11 . Are a major
source of data to the evaluator .
If education is
what students perceive as
happening to them, the students' re-
ports of their perceptions provide
valuabledata .
12 . Have much parent support due to
theirparents involvement in the
alternative program .
13 .
Arehighlyloyaltothealternativeprogram .
14 . Judgetheyandthealternativeprogramare"special
. "
15 . Aremoreapttofocusoneducationratherthanschooling
.
III . AlternativeSchoolTeachers :
1 . Havedirectlyappliedtoparticipateandareselectedbyproject
administratorsaloneorareselectedbya combination of
administratorsandexistingprojectteachers
.
2 . Areextensivelyinvolvedinjointplanningandevaluationofthe
contentofinstruction,theteaching-learningmethods,theover-
allprogram,individualpupils,andotherteachers
. Theyare
usually not
involvedinformalorganizedevaluationof
administrators .
3 . Havelongrangegoalsandexpectations :fortheprogram,forthe
contentoftheirinstruction,forthecontributiontheyaremak-
ingtotheentireprogram,forpupils,butnotnecessarilyfor
themselves .
4 . Placemuchemphasisonimmediateobjectives,andonthepupil
behaviorsandactivitiesnecessarytoaccomplishthegoalsand
objectives .
5 . Areinvolvedinawidevarietyofteachingandlearningexperi-
ences .
6 . Disciplinestudentsthroughconferencing,obtainingcommitments,
holdingpupilsaccountable,expectingself-disciplineofpupils .
7 . Usecomplexrecordkeepingsystemstorecordpupils'behaviorsin
bothpersonal-socialandacademicareas .
8 . Havemuchemotionalinvolvementwithpupilsandwithother
teachers . Teacherschangeemotionallyasaresultoftheirpar-
ticipationinalternativeprograms .
9 . Areinvolvedinhigh-riskactivitiesconcerning :thecontentof
instruction,theenvironmentsinwhichtheteaching-learning
i
-6 5 -
occurs, the emotional conditions that surround
learning .
10 . Providestrongpeersupportasanongoingpartoftheprogram .
11 . Areinvolvedinlong,irregularhoursextendingto60to80hours
ofwork .
IV . Administrators ofAlternativeSchoolPrograms :
1
. Areadominantandcrucialforceintheprogram
.
2 . Insistonheavyself-evaluationandprogramevaluationanduse
theresultstostrengthenandshapetheprogram .
3 . Becomeincreasinglyskilledandcreativeatstructuring,atcon-
structivepupilaccountingandpersonnelaccounting,andatall
othercomponentsofsupportiveandfacilitatingadministrative
skillsandeducationalaccountability .
4
. Interactintensivelywithteachers,pupils,parents,community
persons,outsideteachersandadministratorsconcerningsignifi-
canteducationalissues .
5 . Becomevividlyawareoftheimportanceofandinterrelationships
betweencognitiveandaffectiveeducation,andthecontributions
andlimitationsofeach .
6
. Workextendedhours,atanextendedrangeofadministrativeand
leadershiptasks,withindividualsandgroupsfromalargenumber
. of , populations .
7 . Fromtheirimmersioninvitalactivities,misstheadvantagesof
selectivememoryandawarenessthatmaybeavailabletoan
"office"administrator .
8 . Areforcedtoreexamineacceptedinstitutionalregulations,tra-
ditions,powergroupinfluences,andadministrativeandinstruc-
tionalpractices .
9 . Maybecomeanattractivescapegoatfordissidentswhoarenor-
mallyattackingadministrators .
10
. Buildcomplimentaryrelationshipsbetweenflexibilityandorgani-
zation .
11 . Mediatebetweentheprogramandotherforcestopromotean
environmentofcreativityandresponsibilityforalternative
teachersandpupils .
12
. Succeedmoreexcessivelyandfailmoremiserablythanother
administrators .
theteachingand
V
- 6 6 -
V .

ParentsofPupilsInvolvedinAlternativeSchoolPrograms
:
1
. Areextensivelyinvolvedinalternativeprograms
.
2
. Wherepupilsareselectedbecausetheprogramisbuilttoprovide
uniqueservices,parentsareofteninvolvedinthescreeningof
studentsandareusuallyaskedtomakeacommitmenttosupport
andparticipateintheprogram .
3
. Parentsoftenvolunteertheirservicesandmakepersonalandma-
terialcontributionstothesuccessoftheprogram
.
4
. Parentparticipationinactivitiesconnectedwiththealternative
programusuallyleadstotheinfluencingandthereceivingsup-
portiveofthealternativeprogram
.
VI
. CommunityPersonsInvolvedinAlternativeSchoolPrograms
:
1
. Judgethemselvestobeanimportantpartoftheschoolprogram
becausetheycontributedirectlytoinstruction,dialoguewith
teachersandpupilsonimportantissues,andparticipatein
evaluationandanalysis
.
2
. Extendcurricularpossibilitiessometimesfurtherthanthepro-
gramdesign
.
3
. Createdirectlearningexperienceswhichstimulateintellectual
andsocialdevelopment,helppupilstobecomeawareofcareer
opportunitiesandrequirements
.
4
. Usuallybecomemembersofthealternativeprogram'ssupportteam,
haveincreasedownershipintheprogram
.
5
. Haveincreasedopportunitiestodirectlyexperiencetheschool
program
.
6
. Teachtheprogramparticipantsincreasedwaystoutilizeso

V
agencie

andmayreducefuturesocialburdens
.
7
. Mayresistextensivedemandsofpersonalresourcesortime .
8 . Haveincreasedopportunitiesforin-putongoals,objectives,and
learningactivitieswheretheseinfluencethecommunity
.
-6 7 -
APPENDIXB
HYPOTHESES
REGARDING
ALTERNATIVE . SCHOOLGOVERNANCE,
ORGANIZATION,
ANDFINANCE
1
. Alternativeprogramsaremorelikelythantraditionalschoolsinthe
sameschoolsystemstotreattheirstaffasmembersof"professional
bureaucracies,"inthesensedescribedbyMintzberg
:Professional
bureaucraciesaredesignedtoacknowledgethecomplexityoftheprofes-
sional'swork,andrelyonmonitoringofinputs
(e . g . , instruction)and
outputs (e . g . ,
studentachievement)asmethodsororganizationalcon-
trolorcoupling
. Itisourbeliefthatincontrast,traditionallarge
cityschoolsystemstendtotreattheirstaffaspartsofa"technical
bureaucracy"andhavedevelopedextensivesetsofrulesforgoverning
theirconduct
. Thesetechnicalbureaucraciesdonotrecognizethe
interpersonalcomplexityofteaching,donotaccountforlegitimate
waysofavoidingthespiritofrules,andtendtoproducealienated
staffmembersuninterestedindevelopingprofessionalrelationships
withstudents
. ThePAEresearcheffortwillallowustoadducequite
usefuldataontheoperationofprofessionalbureaucracies
.
2
. Staffandstudentmoralewillbehigherinalternativeschoolsthanin
traditionalschoolsinthesameschooldistricts
. Inaddition, ' both
staffandstudentswillhaveagreatersenseofcontrolovertheir
destinythanisthecaseintraditionalschools
. Morale,whilerarely
showingasanimportantpredictorofstudentorstaffsuccess,isan
importantvariableinitsownright
. Students'controlovertheirfate
hasbeenshowntobeassociatedwithachievementinseveralstudies
.
Weexpectthatinboththecaseofstudentsandfacultymembersthis
willbeanimportantvariable
.
3,Studentsandfacultywillbelessalienatedfromthealternativepro-
gramsthanisthecaseintraditionalschoolswithinthesamedistrict
.
Alienationhastodonotonlywithfeelingsofpower,butalsowith
involvementinschoolactivities,acknowledgementoftheschool's
normativesystem,involvementwithotherpeopleintheschool(thereby
contributingtothedevelopmentofaschoolcommunity),andthedevel-
opmentofasenseofmeaningaroundschoolactivities
. Thisconcept
willproveusefulforinvestigatingbothstudentsandfaculty,and
therearewellvalidatedinstrumentsavailableforusewitheach .
4
. Therewillbelessspecializationbyfunctioninalternativeasopposed
totraditionalschools
. Facultyandstudentsalikewillapproachthe
teaching-learningprocessinawaywhichismoreintegrated
. There
willbefewerpeoplesaying"that'snotmyjob"andfewersignsofat-
temptstobreakcurricularandotherresponsibilitiesintosmall
components .
5
. Alternativeschoolswillbeviewedashealthierplacestoworkthanare
traditionalschoolsinthesameschoolsystems
.
- 6 8 -
6 .
Therewillbeagreatersenseofinstitutionaljeopardyinthealterna-
tiveasopposedtothetraditionalschoolsinthesameschooldistrict
.
Theschoolwillbeseenashavingtojustifyitsexistenceatevery
budgetsession
. Theconsequencewillbeheightenedcommitmentonthe
partofstaff,students,andparents
. EricksonandNaulthavedocu-
mentedthissortofphenomenoninprivateschools,andhavesuggested
thatthesenseofjeopardymaybeakeyingredientinenablingprivate
schoolstoelicitparentalinvolvementandassistance
.
7
. The"organizationalmetabolism"ofalternativeschoolswilldifferfrom
thatoftraditionalschoolsinthesameschoolsystem
. Bymetabolism,
wemeantheinductionandtransmissionoffacultymembersthroughthe
school
. Alternativeschools,forexample,areapttohaveamuch
higherdegreeofcontrolovertheselectionofnewfacultymembersthan
aretraditionalschoolsinthesamedistrict
. Staffmembersaremore
likelytobeinvolvedintheselectionprocess
. Staff,ontheother
hand,appeartolastashorterperiodoftimeinalternativeschools
thanisthecaseintraditionalschoolsinthesamedistrict
.
Moreover,ourearlyhunchisthatthealternativeschoolsareselecting
adifferenttypeofteacher
. Forthemostpart,weseetheseschools
asselectingyounger,differentlytrainedfacultymembersthando
traditionalschools
.
8
. Alternativeprogramsarefinanceddifferentlythanaretraditional
schools
. Forthemostpart,webelievethatwewillfindalternative
schoolshavingmorecontrolovertheirbudgetsandhencegivingthe
schoolmanagergreaterdiscretionoverhowfundsarespent
.
Thereissomedisputeastowhetheralternativeschoolscostmoreor
lessthantraditionalschools
. Inourpreliminaryinvestigationthis
question
appearstobeaverydifficultonetoanswer,especiallyfor
publicalternatives . Thereasonforthedifficultyisthatthereis
tremendousdiversityinthemannerinwhichcostsareassignedtounits
likeschools
. Somesystemsallocatefixedchargeslikecentraloffice
support,depreciation,maintenancetoseparatebuildings
;othersdo
not
. Someconsideraverageteachersalarieswhenconsideringthecost
ofoperatingaschool,othersonlythecostofthepersonnelassigned
totheschoolsite
. Allthesevariablesmakeestimationofthecostof
alternativeeducationdifficult,butwewillattempttoobtaincompara-
tivecostdata .
9 . Parentsofstudentsinalternativeschoolswillfeelthattheyhave
morecontrolovertheeducationoftheirchildrenthandoparentsof
childrenintraditionalschoolsinthesameschooldistrict . Iftrue,
thiswouldhaveobviousconsequencesforthesupportofpublicschools
andalsoforthepossibilityofinvolvingparentsintheoperationof
theschools .
- 6 9 -
APPENDIXC
MAJORSTUDIESOFAMERICANSECONDARYEDUCATIONCURRENTLYUNDERWAY
--
Thebase-yeardatahaverecentlybeencompletedonalongitudinalstudy
oftheimpactofsecondaryeducationonstudents
. Thestudy,"High
SchoolandBeyond,"conductedbyJamesColeman,involvesstudentsfrom
1116highschools,including30alternativeschools
. Eventually75 ,000
studentsaretobeinvolvedinthestudywhichsurveysandwillperi-
odicallyfollowupsophomoresandseniorsontheirattitudesandaspira-
tions--
aswellastestthemoncognitiveachievementandabilities
.
AlthoughProfessorColeman'scontractwiththefundingagency(National
CenterforEducationStatistics)specifiesthathisdataarenottobe
released,hefeelsthatsincePAEisfundedbyNIE(whichisbureau-
craticallyrelatedtoNCES),accessibilitymightbeobtained
.
TheCarnegieFoundatiohfortheAdvancementofTeachinglastSeptember
launcheda"comprehensivestudyoftheAmericanhighschool"titled
"ExcellenceinEducation
. "Astaffofuptosevenresearcherswillbe
visitingschoolstostudythem,theircurricula,andtheirteachers
.
Theprojectwillalsoreviewtheexistingliteratureonsecondaryeduca-
tionandseektofillinthegapsinearlierresearchviasurveys,docu-
mentreview,andvisits
. Thestudywillissuereformproposalsanda
setofgrantswillbeawardedtopilotprojectsinschoolsreflecting
orimplementingtheseproposals
. WehavetalkedwithPaulHouts,the
directorofthestudy,whoseemsreceptivetothepossibilityofcol-
laborationandmightgiveseriousconsiderationtoaproposalforan
appropriatemodeofcooperation .
TheNationalAcademyofEducationisconductingastudyof"TheValue
AssumptionsUnderlyingAmericanEducationalPolicyandPractice
. "They
arelookingfor"valuepremises,implications,andcontradictions--
particularlythoserelatedtoissuesofequity,quality,andplural-
ism
. "Thepanelconductingthestudywillrecommendanewcurricular
coreformiddleschoolsandsecondaryschools,growingoutoftheir
study . Althoughthestudywillnotundertakefreshempiricalinquiry,
itisconcernedtofindoutwhatweprofesswithrelationtosecondary
education,whatweactuallydo,andwhatweoughttoprofessanddo
.
Dr
. StephenBailey,PresidentofNAE,hasbeenthemajorspokesmanfor
thestudywhichisnowinthedata-gatheringstage
. SincePAEhasa
specialinterestinthepluralismquestion,Projectfilesonrelated
mattersareextensive,andwe
have offeredtomaketheseavailableto
thevaluesstudystaffintheProjectoffice .
TheNationalAssociationofSecondarySchoolPrincipalsandtheNational
AssociationofIndependentSchoolsareco-sponsoringastudyannounced
asthemostthoroughexaminationofthehighschoolsincetheConant
Report
. Thestudywillcombineextensivereviewoftheexistingevi-
dencewithvisits,observations,andinterviews,inordertodetermine
:
(1)thepurposesofAmericansecondaryeducation,includingtheircon-
flicts,andtheeffectsoftheseonschools,students,andteachers
;
- 7 0 -
(2) The adequacy of
prevalent assumptions regardingadolescents and how
they learn ; (3)
The high school
curriculum, and its
relation
to
educational purposes on the one hand, and to students on the other ; and
(4) Modifications
needed in the high school in light of both the
foregoing and the school's institutionalhistory . Thisstudy is just
beingorganized,underthedirection ofTedSizer
.