Principals’ Perceptions of Departmentalization and Self-Contained Classrooms at the Elementary School Level
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Authors
Rogers, Richard H.
Issue Date
2012-08-03
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Richard H. Rogers , Elementary School , Principals , Education , No Child Left Behind , Federal Government and Education , Theory of Human Motivation , Curriculum Ideologies , Perceptions , Departmentalization , Self-Contained Classrooms , Mount Zion Elementary School , Hidden Valley Elementary School , Skyway Road Elementary School , Eastside Elementary School , Morris Road Elementary School , Whitewater Elementary School
Alternative Title
Abstract
Principals of elementary schools have the challenge of meeting the social,
emotional, and academic needs of the students in their building. The passing of the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) increased the federal government’s involvement
in education, which resulted in the requirement of student subpopulations achieving
adequate yearly progress (AYP). The purpose of this basic interpretive qualitative study
was to understand principals’ perceptions of departmentalization and self-contained
classrooms at the elementary school level. The conceptual frameworks of Maslow’s
(1943, 1971) Theory of Human Motivation and Schiro’s (2008) concept of curriculum
ideologies supported and informed the study’s focus on organizational structures.
A purposeful sampling technique provided six information-rich cases along a
continuum of organizational structure preferences, from departmentalized to selfcontained
classrooms. Interviews with six principals and document analysis of the
master schedules from each of their schools provided data related to the decisions
principals made regarding organizational structures at the elementary school level. The
constant comparative method for qualitative data analysis informed the development of
study findings from collected data.
The data from this study resulted in six major themes principals may consider
before making a decision on organizational structure at the elementary level. These
findings included what works, transitions, it’s all about the people, relationships are the
foundation, success with data, and stakeholders’ perceptions matter. An analysis of the
findings included how these themes fit within current literature on the topic, provided
limitations of the study, and discussed implications for future research and practice.