A case study of systemic curricular reform: A forty-year history.

dc.contributor.advisorMarek, Edmund A.,en_US
dc.contributor.advisorPedersen, Jon E.,en_US
dc.contributor.authorLaubach, Timothy Alan.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-08-16T12:19:57Z
dc.date.available2013-08-16T12:19:57Z
dc.date.issued2005en_US
dc.description.abstractWhat follows is a description of the development of a particular inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum program and how its theoretical underpinnings positively influenced a school district's (K-12) science program and also impacted district- and state-wide curriculum reform initiatives. The district's science program has evolved since the inception of the inquiry-based elementary school science curriculum reform forty years ago. Therefore, a historical case study, which incorporated grounded theory methodology, was used to convey the forty-year development of a science curriculum reform effort and its systemic influences. Data for this study were collected primarily through artifacts, such as technical and non-technical documents, and supported and augmented with interviews. Fifteen people comprised the interview consortium with professional responsibilities including (a) administrative roles, such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals, and curriculum consultants/coordinators; (b) classroom roles, such as elementary and secondary school teachers who taught science; (c) partnership roles, such as university faculty who collaborated with those in administrative and classroom positions within the district; and (d) the co-director of SCIS who worked with the SCIS trial center director. Data were analyzed and coded using the constant comparative method. The analysis of data uncovered five categories or levels in which the curriculum reform evolved throughout its duration. These themes are Initiation, Education, Implementation, Confirmation, and Continuation. These five categories lead to several working hypotheses that supported the sustaining and continuing of a K-12 science curriculum reform effort. These components are a committed visionary; a theory base of education; forums promoting the education of the theory base components; shared-decision making; a university-school partnership; a core group of committed educators and teachers; evidences of success; national and state reform initiatives; a core group of administrators; longevity of the science program; district support (philosophical, financial, and emotional); and community support all contributed to the initiation, education, implementation, confirmation, and the continuation of the systemic curricular reform. The underlying component, or grounded theory generated by the study, that ties these experiences together is the "theory base" that concurrently evolved in the local school district and in a nearby university.en_US
dc.format.extentviii, 150 leaves :en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11244/937
dc.noteSource: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 66-12, Section: A, page: 4285.en_US
dc.noteAdvisers: Edmund A. Marek; Jon E. Pedersen.en_US
dc.subjectCurriculum change Case studies.en_US
dc.subjectEducation, Sciences.en_US
dc.subjectCurriculum change Oklahoma.en_US
dc.subjectEducation, Curriculum and Instruction.en_US
dc.subjectScience Study and teaching Case Studies.en_US
dc.subjectScience Study and teaching Oklahoma.en_US
dc.thesis.degreePh.D.en_US
dc.thesis.degreeDisciplineDepartment of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculumen_US
dc.titleA case study of systemic curricular reform: A forty-year history.en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
ou.groupJeannine Rainbolt College of Education::Department of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum
ou.identifier(UMI)AAI3203297en_US

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