The purpose of this study was to examine school
administrators’ attitudes towards SCCCRS and their effects on the school level implementation of the South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards. The researcher’s goal has been to identify specific strategies and methods used by schools that are successfully implementing the
standards. In addition, the researcher has sought to identify the relationship between the school
administration’s attitudes regarding the standards and the effectiveness of the school’s implementation. In this
chapter, the results of the Principal Survey and the
results of the site interviews was reviewed and analyzed to address the research questions:
1. What are the attitudes of the school
leadership towards SCCCRS, and how do they affect the development and implementation of them?
2. What methods and strategies are schools
utilizing to effectively implement the South Carolina College & Career Ready Standards in their classrooms and to what degree is school leadership involved in this process?
3.What is the relationship between the attitudes and involvement of school administration
towards SCCCRS and the effectiveness of the implementation of SCCCRS in the school?
Analysis
The purpose of this study was to examine school
administrators’ attitudes towards SCCCRS and their effects on the school level implementation of the Common Core State Standards/South Carolina College and Career Ready
Standards. Specifically, the study examined: 1. What are the attitudes of the school
leadership towards SCCCRS, and how do they affect the development and implementation of them?
2. What methods and strategies are schools
utilizing to effectively implement the South Carolina College & Career Ready Standards in their classrooms and to what degree is school leadership involved in this process?
3. What is the relationship between the attitudes and involvement of school administration
towards SCCCRS and the effectiveness of the implementation of SCCCRS in the school?
The survey data was analyzed to identify school level administrators that know and understand the rationale
behind the SCCCRS standards, the significance of them in the academic process and their personal involvement in the implementation of the standards.
The survey data was analyzed by the researcher to identify schools where the administrators possess a high understanding and knowledge of SCCCRS and are actively involved in the implementation of SCCCRS. The researcher also identified administrators possessing low knowledge and understanding of SCCCRS and who were very hands off with the implementation within the school. The belief is that administrators with a high working knowledge and
involvement may lead to a more successful implementation. This analysis led the researcher to the second phase of the study.
Phase II of this study entailed the identification of two schools of the seventy with high administrator
understanding and involvement in the implementation SCCCRS and two schools of the seventy that have low administrator
involvement in the implementation. In addition, the
researcher identified one additional school that based on their survey data indicated a high understanding, yet appeared to be struggling with their implementation. The researcher contacted each site and interviewed the
principal and the school SCCCRS implementation team. The purpose of the interviews was to identify factors supporting or impeding successful implementation. In the successful schools, the researcher inquired and discussed the specific strategies that the administrators and school faculty are utilizing to promote the successful
implementation of the SCCCRS and its effects on their student performance.
Initial data analysis consisted of categorizing the survey responses from the forty returned principal surveys. The surveys were caegorized based upon the principal’s
responses to questions 5) “How long have you known about the Common Core Standards Initiative?” Question 6) “How strongly do you agree with the concepts and philosophies associated with the CCSS and SCCCRS initiatives?” Question 7) “How important to education are the CCSS initiative and SCCCR Standards?” Question 9) “How involved are you in the development of strategies for implementation of CCSS/SCCCRS
in your school?” And question 10) “How involved in CCSS/SCCCRS Professional Staff Development are you?”
These questions referenced the principal’s understanding of the CCSS/SCCCRS and the degree of
involvement in the planning of professional development. These survey questions enabled the researcher to develop an understanding of the principal’s understandings and
interactions with the SCCCRS. In addition, the responses provided initial information about the level of the
principal’s involvement in the development of
implementation strategies and school wide professional development planning. The data was sorted into two categories:
1. High administrator understanding of CCSS/SCCCRS and high involvement in professional development based on the
responses to questions 5) “How long have you known about the Common Core Standards
Initiative?” Question 6) “How strongly do you agree with the concepts and philosophies
associated with the CCSS and SCCCRS
initiatives?” Question 7) “How important to education are the CCSS initiative and SCCCR Standards?” Question 9) “How involved are you
in the development of strategies for
implementation of CCSS/SCCCRS in your school?” And question 10) “How involved in CCSS/SCCCRS Professional Staff Development are you?”
2. Low principal understanding of CCSS/SCCCRS and low involvement in staff development based on the responses to questions 5) “How long have you known about the Common Core Standards
Initiative?” Question 6) “How strongly do you agree with the concepts and philosophies
associated with the CCSS and SCCCRS
initiatives?” Question 7) “How important to education are the CCSS initiative and SCCCR Standards?” Question 9) “How involved are you in the development of strategies for
implementation of CCSS/SCCCRS in your school?” And question 10) “How involved in CCSS/SCCCRS Professional Staff Development are you?” Once the schools were categorized into their
respective categories, the researcher identified school teams to be interviewed based upon survey responses from school principals and information from each school’s state report card. State report card information consisted of the school’s overall achievement rating. The next step in
the process was to set appointments for the researcher to facilitate semi-structured interviews at the selected sites with school personnel consisting of the school principal and the school’s SCCCRS implementation team. The purpose of these interviews was to gather responses to the
following research questions:
1. What are the attitudes of the school
leadership towards SCCCRS, and how do they affect the development and implementation of them?
2.What methods and strategies are schools
utilizing to effectively implement the South Carolina College & Career Ready Standards in their classrooms and to what degree is school leadership involved in this process?
These research questions served as the basis for the semi-structured interviews about SCCCRS implementation with school’s SCCCRS implementation team.