Blazing New Trails - Connexions

190 CRITICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
guidance from their teachers.” Qualitative follow-up was done with the assumptions in order
to verify that respondents had a clear understanding of the stated assumptions.
The results of the survey of multiage assumptions were very similar for the principals
and teachers with both groups in agreement with the assumptions of multiage education. The
researchers analyzed several measures of location. Those locations included the means,
trimmed means, and median. Trimmed means in SPSS as defined with the upper and lower
2.5% were values deleted. A Spearman RHO and Kendall’s Tau-b were run on the item
scores. The results revealed that the teachers’ and principals’ rating of the items were fairly
comparable with correlations ranging from close to .70 to .90. There was no statistical
significance found between the teachers’ assumptions and the principals’ assumptions.
Research Question 3 (Qualitative): How do teachers and principals vary in their
assumptions regarding multiage education?
The teachers and the principals supported the beliefs through their interviews. When
asked the open ended question: “How are students assessed in developing their own learning
goals?” during telephone interviews, both the principals and teachers supported that belief
(see Table 14). The majority of teachers and principals stated that data were used to set goals
between the teacher and the student on a quarterly basis. Both groups stated that the goals
could be for either academics or behavior. The teachers further explained that these goals
were monitored quarterly through the use of data and artifacts. As students grew older, they
were able to look at their data and set smart or stretch goals. This information was compiled
in a portfolio which the students shared with their parents at student-led conferences. The
teachers stated that students worked with their teachers, parents, or peers in developing their
goals. Teachers felt that empowering students in the goal setting process, having students
monitor their own progress, and revisiting the goals regularly were powerful. The qualitative
questioning produced a consistent emphasis on sound parental acceptance and participation in
the multiage classroom.
Table 14 represents the six emergent themes from the teachers and principals in
responses to the question: “How are students assessed in developing their own learning
goals?”
Table 14. Goal Setting with Teachers.
Factors Teachers (20) Principals (10)
Quarterly review 18 4
Student participation 18 6
Teacher participation 18 8
Parent participation 17 6
Artifacts 12 2
Behavior goals 10 4
This table indicated that principals and teachers agreed that students and teachers should work
together to develop learning and behavior goals.
When asked the interview open-ended question (without prompts): “How are
individual students’ needs addressed in your multiage classroom or school?” the teachers and
principals were in agreement with the assertion that individual needs were met through
multiage education (see Table 15). Pretests were given to discover the skill level of each child
and the child was placed in a group that addressed his or her needs. These groups were