EASTSIDE DETROIT WHOLE SCHOOLING
RESEARCH PROGRAM
A Study of Urban School Reform
Linking Instructional Innovation,
Inclusive Education, and Parent/Community Involvement
December 20, 1999
A Collaborative Effort of the Eastside Detroit Whole Schooling Cluster (Bellevue, Howe, and Hutchinson Elementary Schools), the Whole Schooling Consortium, Wayne State University, the Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), Michigan State University.
Faculty include but may not be limited to the following:
Whole Schooling Consortium
& Wayne State University:
Michael Peterson, Ph.D. Professor, Teacher Education. Wayne
State University, 217 Education, Detroit, Michigan 48202. 313-577-1607.
J_m_peterson@wayne.edu
Kathi Tarrant-Parks, Ph.D., Teacher Education, 273 Education,Wayne
State University, Detroit, MI. 48202 (313) 577-0946 ktarran@coe.wayne.edu
Rich Gibson, Program Coordinator, Social Studies Education, Wayne
State University, 299 Education, Detroit, Michigan 48202. 313-577-0918.
rgibson@pipeline.com
Center for
the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement, Michigan State University:
Susan Florio-Ruane, Ph.D. Professor, Michigan State University,
College of Education, 305 Erickson Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824.
Office phone #'s 517-353-3887; 313-393-3012. susanfr@pilot.msu.edu
Christopher M. Clark, Professor, Educational Psychology. _clarkcm@msu.edu
Christopher Dunbar, Professor, Educational Administration. dunbarc@pilot.msu.edu
Erickson Hall, College of Education, MSU, East Lansing, MI 48824.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Three elementary schools on the eastside of Detroit (Bellevue,
Howe, and Hutchinson) are working together as a cluster to improve
their schools. After meeting for almost two years, they adopted
a model of "whole schooling" to provide overarching
principles to guide their improvement efforts in concert with
Accelerated Schools. The plan to date focuses around three key
areas: (1) developing new and improved ways of learning and teaching;
(2) including students with disabilities in regular classes and
providing in-class support for all students as they learn; and
(3) increasing and strengthening partnerships with you as parents
and with community resources. Towards this end, faculty of Wayne
State University and Michigan State University are working in
collaboration in these three areas to provide training and technical
assistance and to conduct a comprehensive and multi-faceted research
and evaluation program to determine the effect of these efforts
and to improve knowledge regarding the education of urban children
in low income areas. Below, we describe the guiding initial research
questions and approach to this research.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Research questions of interest to the Cluster and collaborating
faculty come from many perspectives. These research questions
provide a framework around which additional, specific parts of
the program will be developed. Our research questions are:
RESEARCH STRATEGIES
As part of our partnership, the Whole Schooling Consortium (WSC) and the Center for Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) will conduct research on the process of reform. We believe that this research can (1) feed back to participants in an ongoing way to inform their decisions and activities; (2) inform the wider community of educators, parents, and community members about improving education; and (3) contribute to the knowledge base for preparing teachers and administrators, framing policy for education, and increasing our understanding of teaching and learning.
Not every project will use all of the research procedures listed below, but all projects will use at least some of these procedures. We will publish observations and analysis in educational publications. Researchers involved in this collaborative effort will gather and analyze both qualitative and quantitative data to address clusters of research questions. Different researchers will take the lead in different parts of the research program. Data gathering methods will include:
1. Attend public meetings and record observations of actions
and dynamics. These may include but not be limited to: school
board meetings, meetings of the Detroit Federation of Teachers,
site-based council meetings, meetings of the Local School Community
Organization (LSCO) of schools.
2. Interview informants within the Detroit Public Schools regarding
dynamics of change in the school system.
3. Reading and analysis of extant public documents regarding the
Detroit Public Schools and each local school in the study.
4. Observe instruction in classrooms and to record notes.
5. Informally interact with children and teachers as questions
arise which require clarification of the researcher's observations
and periodically conduct more formal interviews of the teacher.
6. Copy samples of children's work and examine records of achievement,
assessment, and performance of children in the school.
7. Periodically videotape, audio-tape, or photograph instructional
activities within the classroom.
8. Conduct focus groups with children and parents / teachers to
which you may be invited.
9. Record interactions in teacher dialogue groups, planning meetings,
and other interactions with school staff, parents, and the community.
10. Survey patterns of communication among teachers in the dialogue
groups
11. Collect teachers' written and/or oral stories of their own
learning and its relationship to changes in their teaching and
in the learning of their pupils
Different analytical procedures will be used depending upon the specific focus of a particular inquiry at a point in time. Analytical procedures will use combinations of qualitative and quantitative data analysis, case study procedures, and related procedures.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Careful procedures will be followed to assure the confidentiality of all involved in the research process. We will use procedures designed to insure that individual staff, students, parents, or community members are not identified. All records will be kept in locked files or on computers with data secured by passwords. All reports will use pseudonyms and other mechanisms designed to protect individual identity. In addition, descriptive information that could identify an individual will not be shared.