Lindenwood University Digital Commons@Lindenwood University Dissertations Theses & Dissertations Spring 5-2017 Interpreting the Impact of the Four-Day School Week: An Examination of Performance Before and After Switching to the Four-Day School Week Matthew Lee Gower Lindenwood University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/dissertations Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons Recommended Citation Gower, Matthew Lee, "Interpreting the Impact of the Four-Day School Week: An Examination of Performance Before and After Switching to the Four-Day School Week" (2017).edu/dissertations/205 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses & Dissertations at Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. For more information, please contact phuffman@lindenwood. Interpreting the Impact of the Four-Day School Week: An Examination of Performance Before and After Switching to the Four-Day School Week by Matthew Lee Gower May 2017 A Dissertation submitted to the Education Faculty of Lindenwood University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education School of Education Interpreting the Impact of the Four-Day School Week: An Examination of Performance Before and After Switching to the Four-Day School Week by Matthew Lee Gower This Dissertation has been approved as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Lindenwood University, School of Education Dr.
Brian Wilson, Committee Member Declaration of Originality I do hereby declare and attest to the fact that this is an original study based solely upon my own scholarly work at Lindenwood University and that I have not submitted it for any other college or university course or degree. Full Legal Name: Matthew Lee Gower Acknowledgements I would to thank Dr. Shelly Fransen, my dissertation chair and adviser, as she provided a significant amount of guidance throughout this process. She continuously added clarity by answering my questions and assisting me on a number of challenges as they arose.
I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Sherry DeVore and Dr. Brian Wilson, whose input and advice was vital in developing this project. I especially want to thank my wife, Callie, for her constant support during this process; her patience, understanding, and reassurance helped me make it to the end.
In my absence, she dedicated countless hours to our family, making sure everything ran as smoothly as possible. Finally, I want to thank my children, Ansley, Alianna, Hailey, Holly, Matthew, and Marc, for their daily love and encouragement which provided me inspiration to see this through. ii Abstract As four-day school weeks continue to gain popularity among school districts across the United States, determining the potential impact associated with the unconventional school week has become increasingly important (Johnson, 2013). The four-day school week has been credited with producing a number of potential benefits and consequences, but there is currently a limited amount of research available to determine the overall worth of the practice compared to the five-day school week.
Some purported impacts of the four-day school week include shifts in teacher and student attendance, changes in achievement, financial adjustments, decreases in dropout rates, and improvement in morale (Plucker, Cierniak, & Chamberlin, 2012). This study involved investigating the system-wide impact of the four-day school week by examining attendance, ACT scores, and dropout rates before and after implementation in participating school districts across Missouri. Additionally, the school climate perceptions of Missouri administrators and teachers who work within the four-day school week were collected. Interview responses were then analyzed using coding methods to identify common phrases, key words, and themes, while the quantitative data were treated to examine pre- and post-implementation patterns.
The findings of this study revealed the four-day school week produced a statistically positive significant impact on attendance, whereas ACT scores and dropout rates were not influenced. Furthermore, the perceptions of administrators and teachers indicated the four-day school week was beneficial to the school culture. iii Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………….iii List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………….viii List of Figures ……………………………………………………………………………ix Chapter One: Introduction ……………………………………………………………….1 Background of the Study ……………………………………………………….5 Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………6 Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………….7 Research Questions and Hypotheses…………………………………….8 Significance of the Study …………………………………………………………9 Definition of Key Terms ……………………………………….………10 Limitations and Assumptions ………………………………………………….………………11 Chapter Two: Review of Literature …………………………………………………. ………………………14 Background on Conventional School Calendars ……….
………………………16 Background on the Four-Day School Week……………….18 Formats of the Four-Day School Week ………………….20 Time Requirements of the Four-Day School Week ………………….26 Decreased Student Achievement …………………….27 iv Increased Student Achievement …………………….37 Transportation……………………………………………………………37 Personnel and Associated Costs………………………………………….39 Energy……………………………………………………………………40 Qualifying Factors……………………………………………………….48 Summary…………………………………………………………………………48 Chapter Three: Methodology ……………………………………………………………51 Problem and Purpose Overview …………………………………………………52 Research Questions and Hypotheses…………………………………….52 Research Design …………………………………………………………………53 Population and Sample ………………………………………………….61 Chapter Four: Analysis of Data ………………………………………………….130 Chapter Five: Summary and Conclusions …………………………………………….145 Implications for Practice …………………………………………………….152 Recommendations for Future Research ………………………………….181 vii List of Tables Table 1. Three-Year Average Attendance Prior to and Post-Implementation of the Four- Day School Week……………………………………………………………………. Three-Year Average ACT Composite Prior to and Post-Implementation of the Four-Day School Week………………………………………………………. Three-Year Average Dropouts Prior to and Post-Implementation of the Four- Day School Week .………70 viii List of Figures Figure 1.
Three-year average attendance rates before and after four-day school week for nine Missouri school districts………………………………………. ACT composite score three-year average before and after four-day school week for seven Missouri school districts………………………………………………………69 Figure 3. Dropout three-year average before and after four-day school week for seven Missouri school districts …………………….71 ix Chapter One: Introduction Facing rising costs and limited revenue, many school districts across the United States have considered switching from the conventional five-day school week to the less orthodox four-day week (Johnson, 2013). Although the four-day week is controversial for a number of reasons, it is not a new concept by any means (Hewitt & Denny, 2011).
A historical review by Dixon (2011) indicated this adjusted calendar has its roots in the1930s in South Dakota. Dixon (2011) mentioned the four-day school week saw its largest growth during the 1970s due to the energy crisis and during the late 2000s as a result of the economic collapse. Sheehy (2012) stated that nationwide, nearly 300 districts operated on a four-day school week in 2012, and several additional districts were contemplating the move for 2013. This number was expected to continue to grow as more schools face decreases in state funding, increasing costs, and diminishing resources (Sauter, Allen, Hess, & Nelson, 2012).
This study included examination of attendance and performance data of four-day Missouri schools before and after the transition from a traditional calendar. Archival data associated with attendance, dropout rates, and American College Test (ACT) performance were disaggregated, and statistical analyses were performed to determine whether a difference exists. Data were also collected through a series of interviews to determine perceptions of school personnel about student learning, teacher attendance, morale, cognitive fatigue, discipline, and finance in relation to a four-day week. These perceptions were analyzed to reveal patterns and relationships about schools that have undergone the transition to a four-day school week.
2 Background of the Study Currently, less than 1% of school districts in the United States utilize the four-day school week (Hedtke, 2014). Four-day schools often resemble one another in name alone, as each school schedule is tailored to meet the needs of the district (Donis-Keller & Silvernail, 2009). One of the most significant differences can be observed in the philosophy of how the nonattendance day is positioned (Hewitt & Denny, 2011). Giger (2012) stated districts typically choose four consecutive days in session with the break occurring on Mondays or Fridays.
These decisions are based on several factors ranging from holidays to extra-curricular calendars (Plucker et al. Another key difference in scheduling is how schools provide for state-required instructional hours (Rowland, 2014b). This is often accomplished by adding between 60 to 90 minutes each day to provide the same number of instructional hours per year as five-day schools (Plucker et al. The motivations behind implementing a four-day school week over the traditional five-day schedule can vary from district to district (Donis-Keller & Silvernail, 2009).
Supporters of the four-day school week often refer to perceived benefits such as increased attendance; increased planning time; and savings on utilities, transportation, and food (Plucker et al. Further cited benefits include the following: additional professional development time, higher graduation rates, reduction in discipline referrals, increase in teacher morale, and improved attitudes toward school (Thomason, 2013). Critics of the four-day school week often voice concern over whether or not the practice is educationally sound (Plucker et al. Much of this apprehension is the result of lengthened days that accompany the four-day practice which students must 3 endure in order to meet requirements for minimal student contact hours (Blakesley, 2013).
Many argue longer school days cause younger students to experience fatigue, which will ultimately affect their retention and learning (Thomason, 2013). A similar argument against the four-day school week revolves around the idea “by moving to a four-day school week students lose twenty percent of their contact days with teachers each year” (Hedtke, 2014, p. This makes the impact of every student absence more significant (Kordosky, 2013). Another criticism of the four-day school week was provided by Fischer and Argyle (2016), who suggested an increased level of juvenile crime due to the lack of student supervision.
Other critics of the four-day week point to daycare costs and potentially unfair compensation for hourly employees (Thomason, 2013). As support for the four-day school week continues to grow, it is necessary to analyze student achievement under the practice; an examination of recent literature on four-day schools yields a wide range of educational outcomes (Hedtke, 2014). Plucker et al. (2012) cited inconsistencies and noted: Existing data on the effect of the four-day week on student achievement have been inconclusive.
Some districts report student academic gains after moving to a four-day schedule, while others report only slight increases or no change at all. 5) Existing literature on the topic provides little consensus and indicates there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to the shortened school week (Tharp, Matt, & O’Reilly, 2016). 4 Despite lack of consensus on the efficacy of four-day schools, the National Conference of State Legislatures (2013) found there were 21 states offering a four-day school week. Since the participating schools in this study were all located within Missouri, historical background on Missouri’s involvement with the four-day school week is provided.
According to Johnson (2013), Missouri first allowed schools to adopt a four-day school week in 2009. As a condition to this allowance, the legislature required school districts that failed to meet two or more performance standards on two successive annual performance reports to revert to a minimal 174-day school calendar the following year (Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education [MODESE], 2013). As of 2013, Bradley stated that none of the participating Missouri schools have had to transition back to the traditional five-day school week due to test scores (2013). Nationwide, public school system calendars are based on state-mandated minimum instructional time measured in days and/or hours, depending on the state (Farbman, Davis, Goldberg, & Rowland, 2015).
Minimum instructional time requirements are provided to all districts, whether they operate on a traditional or alternative calendar (Dixon, 2011). These minimum calendar standards are outlined by statutes provided by the Missouri General Assembly (Missouri School Calendar Act, 2016). Missouri requires a “minimum term of one hundred forty-two days and one thousand forty-four hours of actual pupil attendance” (Missouri School Calendar Act, 2016, para. Despite the minimal 174-day and 142-day calendar for five-day and four- day schools, respectively, the Missouri legislature provides the same standard in terms of 1,044 hours of attendance (Rowland, 2014b).
5 Theoretical Framework Yanow and Schwartz-Shea (2015) stated an interpretivist approach to research involves an uncritical exploration wherein cultural meaning through participants’ views, backgrounds, and experiences is discovered. According to Antwi and Hamza (2015), this construct provides a viewpoint for research where the “interpretive paradigm is concerned with understanding the world as it is from subjective experiences of individuals” (p.