dc.contributor.author	Cole, David Lamar	en_US
dc.coverage.spatial	Valdosta, Georgia	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2002-2003 CE	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2010-09-22T15:36:02Z	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2011-03-02T17:29:01Z
dc.date.available	2010-09-22T15:36:02Z	en_US
dc.date.available	2011-03-02T17:29:01Z
dc.date.issued	2004-12	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10428/444	en_US
dc.description.abstract	During the second half of the 2002-2003 school year, the students and faculty at Valdosta Middle School moved from an old to new school building. The events leading to, during, and after the mid-year transfer presented a rare opportunity to observe the culture of a school in transition. If the themes that emerge provide insight into positive and negative aspects of the transitional process, a more appropriate protocol for the planning of, construction of, and transfer to new educational facilities could be established. The purpose of this study was to uncover the perceptions of students, teachers, and administrators who participated in the move from a fifty-year-old school to a new building. An ethnographic study was conducted at Valdosta Middle School (VMS) during the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 school years using researcher fieldnotes and journal reflections, student, teacher, and administrator focus group interviews, and an individual administrator interview. Issues, themes, and foci emerged as the researchers understanding of participant perceptions increased. The end product of the research is a reconstructed story of the transition from an old to new building as told by those who experienced the mid-year move. There were many findings associated with the study. Firstly, there exists at VMS a power struggle between students and faculty in which adult desires for control and order are in opposition to student needs for freedom and spontaneity. Secondly, all participants identified increased general tension, student/faculty conflicts, and student-initiated resistance following the transition. Finally, the move to the new building brought significant changes in school culture, instruction, achievement, and curriculum.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	vi I. CHAPTER ONE THE BEGINNING Introduction.................................................................................1 Conceptual Context .........................................................................5 Research Questions........................................................................8 Methodology................................................................................9 Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation. ..........................................14 Validity.....................................................................................17 Assumptions and Biases..................................................................19 Preliminary Observations............................................................... .19 Organization of the Dissertation.........................................................20 II. CHAPTER TWO BEFORE THE MOVE Introduction of Journal Notes ..........................................................23 Journal Notes August 1, 2002 February 14, 2003................................23 III. CHAPTER THREE AFTER THE MOVE Journal Notes February 18, 2003 May 6, 2003....................................39 May 6, 2003 Student Focus Group.....................................................47 May 9, 2003 Administrator Interview.................................................76 May 12, 2003 Teacher Focus Group...................................................86 May 13, 2003 Administrator Focus Group............................................96 May 19, 2003 Student Focus Group..................................................107 May 26, 2003 Teacher Focus Group..................................................137 IV. CHAPTER FOUR ONE YEAR LATER February 5, 2004 Student Focus Group.............................................154 February 10, 2004 Teacher Focus Group...........................................175 V. CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Introduction to Discussion and Conclusions.......................................189 Power, Control, and Order.............................................................193 Tension, Conflicts, and Resistance...................................................199 Instruction, Achievement, and the Hidden Curriculum...........................203 Culture, Space, and Time...............................................................211 Recommendations for Practice and Suggestions for Further Research .........217 VI. REFERENCES.........................................................................221 VII. APPENDICES..........................................................................225 Appendix A Institutional Research Board Approval..............................226 Appendix B Consent Forms...........................................................228 Appendix C Participant Demographics..............................................234	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.title	Perceptions of Moving from an Old to New Building: An Ethnographic Study of a School in Transition	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Cirriculum and Instruction of the College of Education	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Schmertzing, Richard W.	en_US
dc.description.committee	Clevenger-Schmertzing, A. Lorraine	en_US
dc.description.committee	Krotseng, Marsha V.	en_US
dc.description.committee	Ballard, Chet	en_US
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Education	en_US