Date of Award
Fall 11-22-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Kevin Winslow
Second Advisor
Dr. Robyne Elder
Third Advisor
Dr. Kelly Mantz
Abstract
In order to explore various issues with the four-day school week in rural, Missouri school districts, the researcher conducted a mixed-methods study which utilized both quantitative and qualitative research techniques. The researcher was primarily interested in the ability of the four-day model to attract and retain teaching staff, although he was also interested in the impact on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible effects of the four-day school week model on teacher attraction and retention in a rural school district in Missouri. The researcher conducted interviews with seven principals of schools that had adopted the model. He also deployed a survey consisting of closed- and open-ended questions to collect the opinions of respondents working at those seven schools. Additionally, he retrieved assessment data from the state’s public education website. First, the researcher collected data from the human resources department about teacher retention rates and the number of applicants who applied for teaching positions in the district for a period of three year prior to becoming a four-day school week district. Second, the researcher sent out anonymous surveys to all teachers in the school district to collect information from open-ended questions about the reasons they either joined or stayed with a four-day school district. Lastly, the researcher collected data from the human resources department about teacher retention rates and the number of applicants who applied for teaching positions in the district for each school year since implementing the four-day school week. Secondary data was analyzed to determine if MAP scores were affected by the four-day school week. The researcher suggests rural, Missouri schools struggling with retaining and attracting teaching staff to iii implement the four-day school week in order to increase teacher retention and teacher candidates for open positions.
Recommended Citation
Fay, Peter Damian, "The Four-Day School Week: Teacher Retention and Recruitment, Perceptions, and Achievement" (2019). Dissertations. 76.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/dissertations/76
Rights
Copyright 2019