Year-round versus traditional school calendars and student achievement

¶ … Round School vs. A Regular Calendar School Year

The Benefits of Year-Round vs. Traditional Calendar Year School

Continued interest in improving educational achievement has prompted school districts across the nation to consider alternatives to the traditional nine-month school calendar. Educators are exploring year round education, which means that schools will continue to operate on a 180 day system, yet they will spread these days out differently with shorter breaks between each term. The most popular example of year round education is the 45-15 plan.

This has students attending school 45 days and then getting three weeks (15 days) off. The normal breaks (holiday, spring) are still built into this calendar. Is the year-round school schedule more beneficial to student academic achievement vs. The traditional nine-month school calendar? I believe that the year round schedule will help students retain more information, provide increased opportunities for learning during intersession's that will lead to educational gains, and learning would be continuous rather than fragmented.

There is a specific drive behind using a continuous process for improvement. This type of process fosters curriculum change and enhancements, and allows academic leaders an opportunity to update and connect curriculum to the current bodies of knowledge that are respected for their academic discipline. Effective leadership is part of academics, and utilizing it will enable changes within the curriculum. This is why an assessment model is so very significant. Every assessment model has a plan, do, check, and act phase (Toombs & Tierney, 1991).

Some of the most noted process assessment experts have been particularly influenced in leading academic transformation in many institutions of higher learning. Therefore, as educators seek to improve curricula, their support becomes an integral part of the continuous improvement process. This process has been guided by academic leadership. Assessment models are then designed to help improve curriculum (Gaff, Ratcliff, & Associates, 1997).

Statement of the Problem

It is clear that there is a serious issue where the 'right' way to address schooling is concerned. Major studies by Pothering (1998) and Swing (1998), cite the election of curriculum and change perspectives as the purpose and role of curriculum in education. These studies further reinforce the need to apply models of assessment that successfully measure the performance of the curriculum against stated purpose and are reflective of a discipline. These and other studies like them have begun to pave the way for many academic leaders to systematically reform the curriculum at their institutions. Models of assessment have become a common thread in current discussions on the systematic improvement of curriculum.

Successful definitions have been presented that link education and curriculum with quality improvements. Researchers have linked definitions to education that contend that models of assessment are esoteric to successful curricular improvements. Recently, researchers have also formulated frameworks for assessment and improvement as applied to education. In short, it must be determined whether curriculum and how it is structured affects students and their learning outcomes.

Essential Question to be Addressed

The essential question that has to be addressed with this particular study is the following:

How does year-round schooling compare with traditional, standard calendar year schooling when it comes to student performance and quality of education?

Rationale

On average, industrialized nations spend 193 days in school. Many of the countries that are currently outperforming the United States have restructured the school year to utilize a balanced calendar. We must begin to consider school calendar options that put learning first, and since other countries and their performance shows evidence that year-round schooling may be more beneficial to the learning process, it is worthy of study and consideration.

There are also some school districts within the United States that offer the year-round school option, and studying them can provide further information for whether this should be a nationwide commitment to education or whether it does not provide enough of a benefit to be considered worth making the change.

Definition of Operational Terms

Single-track YRE (year-round education) provides a balanced calendar for a more continuous period of instruction. Students and all school personnel follow the same instructional and vacation schedule. Single-track does not reduce class size, nor does it allow a school to accommodate more students. The rescheduled vacation is placed throughout the school year into periods called "intercessions," allowing time for remediation and enrichment throughout the school year.

Multi-track YRE is used primarily to alleviate overcrowding, although it also incorporates the educational values of single-track YRE, including intercessions. It was designed specifically for schools with a shortage of classroom space.

Multi-track avoids double sessions and the extended school day. It also alleviates the need to build costly new buildings. Multi-track divides students and teachers into groups, or tracks of approximately the same size. Each track is assigned its own schedule. Teachers and students assigned to a particular track follow the same schedule and are in school and on vacation at the same time.

Extended Year calendars lengthen the school year substantially, from the usual 180 or so days annually up to 240 days of instruction.

Intercessions are the periods of time rescheduled from summer vacation and redistributed within the school year. They can be used as vacation but are usually utilized as instructional time for remediation and enrichment with both single and multi-track calendars. Intercessions typically involve school staff and community resources to provide a safety net and an academic boost to avoid failure or enhance achievement (Harris, 1996).

Discussion of Potential Positive and Negative Outcomes

As with any study and with any decision that makes a substantial change in a formative area like education, there are positive and negative effects that are often seen. In every successful academic initiative, the need for improving quality within curriculums in higher education is essential (Albrecht, 1994). Quality is steeped in the very fabric of education in this country. Application of the principles of the quality model for improvement alone does not determine the cause of educational change. The assessment process requires a continuous examination through the use of an assessment model. Examination will likely bring about positive changes in any educational curriculum.

Using consistent and well conceived models of assessment to improve quality provides an environment in which change is viewed as something positive and non-threatening. In this way, change can be fostered. By creating a way that others can view change as a non-threatening entity, those that lobby for this change can often move things along much faster than they would be able to otherwise. When change is seen as non-threatening, few people fight to keep the status quo.

A curriculum includes a set of courses offered to students; the set of courses students actually select (unless compulsory) from those available; and the content of the specific discipline that makes the curriculum unique (Toombs & Tierney, 1991). As for substance, the processes and substance of an educational program comprise the purpose, design, conduct, and evaluation of educational experiences.

This gives shape to an institution's particular intellectual beliefs and aspirations, because it is aided by faculty in light of their specialized knowledge and in the context of social expectation and students needs manifested in a body of courses that present the knowledge, principals, values, and skills intended as consequences of an education (Gaff & Ratcliff, 1997). All of these things together work to define education as unique, and there can be strong effects seen in both good and bad ways when education is changed or adjusted, even if there is compelling evidence that the overall outcome will be a positive one.

Projected Limitations

Any study has limitations, and this one is no exception. The main limitation of this particular study is that there are not that many school districts within the United States that subscribe to this particular type of calendar. Most of the schools address the standard, traditional, calendar year as their school year and that is the curriculum that they follow. In other countries, however, most of the schools follow the year-round model, and there is evidence that those students perform better and have more actual knowledge retention than the students in the traditional calendar year schools.

Whether this will be shown to be the case with all of the schools in the United States is not something that can actually be proven by a study such as this one, but good evidence as to whether it has worked at schools in the past can be addressed, which will help to lead the discussion toward future research into this important area.

Through 2005-2006 School Year)

According to Kelly (2007), "The studies comparing the year round to the traditional schedule are problematic because they are inconclusive. For one thing, it is difficult to isolate the year round calendar as the reason for any positive or negative results. Further, we have to question the agenda of the people performing the surveys. The fact is that the biggest gains were made in schools that were truly trying to improve the overall quality of education. Implementing the year round schedule is just one effort to achieve this end. The question then becomes what part in any educational gains does the schedule take? Schools that are investigating year round education need to decide what they are trying to accomplish and whether a new calendar will move them further toward their goals."

One of the keys here, with year-round vs. traditional calendar schools, is that of the curriculum and how the students are actually taught to ensure that they are all essentially on equal footing throughout the school year. Naturally, what is taught to these students is not that strongly affected by the days and times that the students are in school, but how it is taught is certainly affected, and so the curriculum must be examined as well in order to make a strong determination of how schools and their students are really affected by the year-round school or the traditional calendar school.

One of the issues to address is the No Child Left Behind Act, as this is designed to provide money for teachers and students, and getting good quality teachers in the schools can sometimes be more difficult when the schools have what is still considered by most people to be an 'odd' school schedule. The good news is that the Act does have money for teachers (Exstrom, 2003). School districts must look at spending at least 5% of the Title I funds that they receive from the Act for teachers that are highly qualified.

In 2003, states received an estimated $2.93 billion (Exstrom, 2003). However, 95% of the funds that were received went directly to school districts (Exstrom, 2003). Some are seeing this as a windfall for these districts because states are often struggling to find enough money for retention and recruitment programs that are new and innovative. This is especially true where impoverished children are concerned, and when the schools change over to the year round calendar the costs of doing business change (Thompson, 2002; Thompson, 2003; Quality, 2000).

Unfortunately, many individuals are quite worried that the financial support coming from the federal government is not actually enough to see a highly qualified teacher in every classroom if schools are used year-round (Exstrom, 2003). Many veteran teachers are worried that the No Child Left Behind Act will be mandated federally but will not have money that will be adequate to keep teachers. It is agreed by most lawmakers, however, that teacher retention is an issue that must definitely be tackled in schools whether or not there is enough federal funding for it (Exstrom, 2003).

This retention of teachers changes as the curriculum changes and as the calendar changes, and the costs associated with the operation of the school is also affected by these calendar changes, which could mean that teachers cannot be retained in large enough numbers and with the proper credentials. The Act will have to be studied by those who are interested in changing their schools over to year round instruction before all of the curricular and financial issues can be addressed, and that is why the Act will be discussed here, so that the financial concerns with it can be better understood.

When the No Child Left Behind Act was created in 2001, it stated that by 2003 to 2006 all teachers who taught for schools in states that accepted federal money must be highly qualified (Exstrom, 2003). The good news about this is that states can use parameters set by this particular Act in order to define for themselves what they want the definition of highly qualified to be. The bad news is that the Act did not meet those guidelines before those dates passed, and some of the school districts still do not have their guidelines in place, which puts them into noncompliance.

There were only 10 states in 2003 that had defined highly qualified for their teachers and it appears as though they are taking an approach that is relatively conservative and sticking close to what the minimum requirements are (Exstrom, 2003). There are various new policies and programs that have been created by legislatures throughout the past decade and that help find and retain teachers. These include programs that:

Increase salaries and benefits.

Offer loan forgiveness or scholarships.

Allow retirees to "double dip" into retirement benefits and salary if they return to the classroom.

Offer tax breaks or incentives.

Create alternative certification programs and licensure reciprocity.

Offer signing bonuses.

Support beginning teachers through mentoring and induction programs.

Offer high quality professional development and career advancement opportunities (Exstrom, 2003).

It is good that states are able to determine the definition of highly qualified by themselves, even though they must follow the guidelines set up by the act. Then each state must submit a yearly plan to the United States Department of Education that works to outline the steps that the particular state will be taking to ensure that the goal of highly qualified for each teacher is met by 2005 (Exstrom, 2003). Much of this was not done, however.

The plan for each state must also address how it will work to increase the number of teachers that are highly qualified each year and also the number of teachers that are receiving professional development (Exstrom, 2003). States can define what highly qualified means and determine what steps have to be taken by each specific teacher in order to meet that designation. Unfortunately, many things about the Act failed and it also stopped some schools from changing over to year round calendars because they found that they could no longer afford the steps that they would need to take to accomplish that.

There are 10 states: Connecticut, Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Florida, Maryland, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, and Virginia, that appear to be doing very well in defining what highly qualified means for teachers and another 21 states that were working toward it (Exstrom, 2003). As the definition of highly qualified is considered by the states, however, many policy experts who work in education are questioning whether these definitions will actually be bold enough to go higher than the minimum requirements that have been set by the act.

Before the No Child Left Behind Act was created there were several states that were considering licensing requirements and teacher preparation that was more rigorous in order to improve the quality (White & Parham, 1990). It is now unclear whether the states will challenge teachers more strongly based on the federal requirements and help to move quality even higher at whether they will struggle to meet the minimums that have been set. It is also unclear how the Act might affect or be affected by schools that use the year-round calendar and schools that want to move to the year-round calendar but have not yet done so.

Many states are likely not going to be interested in setting the bar much higher because failing to make any kind of progress toward a definition that is much more demanding than the minimum will be publicized quite widely under the federal reporting requirements. If this happens with schools that use the year-round calendar there could be problems for schools that want to move to that method - parents and education professionals might be led to believe that the failure of the schools was directly related to their year-round calendars.

As has been mentioned, these states are also concerned about losing their paraprofessionals because the No Child Left Behind Act also requires these individuals to be highly qualified (Exstrom, 2003). If schools in any state take the money provided by the federal government the paraprofessionals that they have must have completed at least two years of postsecondary schooling (Exstrom, 2003). They must have obtained either an associate's degree or higher degree and pass an assessment which demonstrates the skills that they have (Exstrom, 2003).

This requirement might be too much for a lot of these individuals when coupled with the year-round schooling because they can no longer go to school over their long summer break to catch up the schooling that they need in order to be in compliance with the new law. That could put some of them out of jobs and produce some hardships for others, but moving to year-round schooling appears to have benefits for the students, so it makes determining what to do in these kinds of cases very difficult.

By the 2005-2006 school year, all paraprofessionals in a state that takes federal money for the No Child Left Behind Act were to have met the requirements. Some teachers and legislators are concerned that many of the valuable staff members at schools will be lost because many of them will have difficulties becoming highly qualified. The minimal salaries that they receive often do not allow them to afford more schooling and postsecondary education in communities that are very rural is often difficult as well (Thompson, 1998; Rose & Gallup, 2001). This is even more complex when coupled with the issue of being required to change over to a year-round schooling system. Instead, these individuals may look for other jobs or they may attend school in order to become licensed at something else and then move to another field altogether (Ingersoll, 1999). So many teachers are concerned about their paraprofessionals being required to leave the classroom that some states are looking towards grandfathering in paraprofessionals that are currently teaching and have at least ten years of experience (Exstrom, 2003). Whether this will actually be done, however, still remains to be seen.

One of the reasons that legislatures believe that highly qualified teachers are so important is that research confirms that students reach higher levels of education when they are taught by exceptional teachers (Polite, 1999; Poplin & Weeres, 1992; Floyd, 1995; Oakes, 1999). With research indicating that year-round schooling is better and that highly qualified teachers are better, it would appear that schools need to find a way to combine both of these.

Often minority students, low income students, and others who are having difficulty learning in some ways are helped much more by teachers who are extremely competent (Cook & Ludwig, 1998; Delpit, 1995; Dupuis, 1999). Unfortunately, however, lawmakers have seen over the past 10 years that there is a strong shortage of good teachers and good curriculum, regardless of how they address it from a calendar standpoint (Exstrom, 2003). This is especially true in schools that are low achieving, poor, and rural (Drew, 1996).

Many of the schools have been forced to utilize emergency-credentialed teachers in their classrooms and most individuals who work as superintendents of schools in various states across the country argue that having a teacher in the classroom so that children can learn is more significant been sending the children home when a highly qualified teacher cannot be found (Corbin & Pruitt, 1999). One report indicates that, not only can good teachers not be found for specific positions but many school districts do not work hard enough to retain the good teachers that they already have (Exstrom, 2003). The teacher retention problem is seen to be very severe and this is a grave concern for many parents that are worried about the education that their children are actually getting. When year-round schooling is addressed, the teacher retention problem must also be coupled with it so that both concerns are handled.

There are only 33 states, as well as the District of Columbia, that require teachers to take a test in their subject of knowledge in order to receive a license (Exstrom, 2003). Most of these requirements are only for those who teach elementary school and even fewer states require majors in subjects taught for teachers that work in middle school or high school settings (Exstrom, 2003). Most teachers teach classes outside their field of study and there is seen also to be a teaching gap in that schools that do not have a lot of money often have teachers instructing their students when the teacher himself or herself is not certified in the subject that is being taught (Barr & Parrett, 1995). In middle schools the problem is particularly difficult because studies have shown that at least half the students in middle schools that are in high poverty areas take at least one specific class from a teacher that does not even have a minor in the specific subject that he or she is teaching (Clark, 1983; Comer & Poussaint, 1992).

This is one of the main reasons that the No Child Left Behind Act was created, because the lack of high-quality and highly qualified teachers in many states is becoming so severe that researchers, legislators, and other individuals are extremely worried about the future education of children. but, was there a better way to address the problem? Would changing the school calendar to a year-round option help the student to retain more and make up for some of the deficit in teaching without having to comply with the Act? Since children are such a precious resource in this country they must be taught in the best way possible and when teachers are not qualified to teach the subject that these students must learn, or when the students do not have the time and the resources to learn it properly, it becomes questionable as to whether students will actually learn anything valuable from the teacher that they have (Exstrom, 2003).

Naturally, there are many implications for highly qualified teachers and middle schools. As has been noted, many middle schools in poor areas with low income, minority students often have difficulty retaining teachers that are highly qualified (Exstrom, 2003). Approximately 13% of students in higher income suburban middle schools take a class from a teacher that does not even have a minor in the subject taught. This is alarming enough but it is seemingly less significant when considered against low income and rural schools where fully 26% of students in these middle schools take a class from a teacher that does not have a minor in the subject that is being taught (Exstrom, 2003). This does not necessarily indicate that these teachers are not qualified.

It does, however, mean that they are not highly qualified. Highly qualified teachers are those who have passed schooling and licensing issues that deal with the subject that they are teaching (Exstrom, 2003). Because teaching is traditionally a rather low-paying profession unless one is a tenured college professor, the concerns regarding schools and the implications for highly qualified teachers continue to grow. Retaining teachers is very difficult today because many of these individuals find that they can make more money by moving to different states where the schools are better or by switching professions altogether and doing something else.

Naturally, these individuals cannot be blamed for trying to make a better life for themselves and their families, but if they could do this by getting better pay as a teacher and by having a more rewarding career through the use of a year-round calendar model, there would be a larger benefit to a higher number of people. However, the blame generally should rest on those that work to acquire these teachers and retain them because it appears that the job that they should be doing is not getting done. If it were, highly qualified teachers would be in every classroom and they would be paid sufficiently that they would not wish to leave their jobs.

Coming up with money for this problem may be very difficult but it is something that legislators and lawmakers should look at very clearly. The future of the country may depend upon it. Money is not the only issue, of course, but it is one of the most significant ones, since the Act has not really been properly implemented in a lot of states. The school districts there are simply unable to meet the guidelines, which indicates that there must be a better way to handle this kind of problem and to address the situation that is taking place in the schools within this country. Whether the year-round calendar is the way to show the improvement that is needed is something that must be looked into.

Leadership and how the principal operates a school is also vital to its success, especially if the school plans to transition to a year-round option. Leadership studies by Dinham et al. (1995) revealed that the principal's role is "complex, ambiguous, and that he or she must attempt to cope with long days punctuated with numerous interruptions, many short-term interpersonal contacts, not always of their instigation, many issues at various stages of resolution being juggled concurrently, and a general perception that he or she arrives late, leaves early, and wanders around the school in between times."

With this perception in mind, how is it that the principal is able to be an efficient and effective leader and incorporate all significant issues into the everyday fabric of school life?

It would seem like the principal would need to be a multi-faceted individual that would be able to do many different things at once and not take everything personally. The principal would also need to juggle many different issues and deal with problems effectively. Principals must work very hard and diligently to ensure that the students and faculty of the school are treated fairly, and that problems that they may have are handled quickly and properly before they become worse (Jose-Kampfner, 1994).

In a study by Dinham (1995) the author examined student, teacher, and community expectations for education. The study was also concerned with the manner in which these expectations are communicated between the various parties involved in education. The study was undertaken in two stages. The first stage of the study consisted of a survey of teachers, students, parents, and businesses within a representative range of nine comprehensive high schools and communities.

Schools were then chosen to represent the socio-economic and cultural diversity evident in Western Sydney. Stage two consisted of in-depth study in three of these schools, which were selected both on the basis of their diversity, and because they were considered by students, parents, and teachers to display evidence of effective communication. It was the desire of the researchers to see why it was that these schools seemed to function more effectively than others. Apparently, they had something that other schools did not.

Data in stage one was collected using a single survey. This survey included a list of objectives that the literature suggested comprehensive high school were attempting to achieve with their students. The survey was tested at a single comprehensive high school with 82 students in years 7-10. With minor modifications, the surveys were subsequently administered to the nine schools during March and April 1991, in order to determine if these schools met the specific criteria for comprehensive high schools and what they were attempting to achieve.

Stage one provided 3,567 surveys for analysis, comprising 2,713 surveys from students, 232 from teachers, and 622 from parents. In addition, 100 surveys were sent to business groups with a return rate of 49%. The questionnaire was comprised of 60 questions organized into two sub-groupings. The majority of questions required subjects to use five-point rating scales to provide judgments on priorities for schooling (should) and their perceptions of what currently occurs in schools (does).

For all these questions, means and standard deviation were calculated. Subsequently, selected Spearman rank order correlations were calculated and quadrant and discrepancy scale analyses were conducted to determine the common matches and mismatches in perceptions and understandings of educational needs and priorities in these schools.

Conclusions from the study indicated that the aspects of the leadership of each school, particularly that of the principal, had influenced school climate, educational performance, and teacher, student, and community satisfaction. However, the authors concluded that leadership is also a two-way process and it was equally apparent that the behaviors of the leaders were also in part a product of the school environment and interactions with others.

The following are several important and worthy implications for school leadership effectiveness:

An open-door policy and principal accessibility and approachability are important, particularly to staff and students.

Hands on" leadership and attention to detail are also important, but need to be balanced with preparedness to delegate the importance of this against the interruptions and loss of time that being "open" necessarily results in.

Consultation and collaboration have important symbolic as well as practical benefits.

The principal needs to be a source, facilitator, and conduit for both formal and informal communication within and without the school and to utilize consciously a variety of communication measures.

It is important for the principal to espouse and encourage forward thinking, a sense of purpose, and a collective vision.

A balance needs to be struck between attention to detail, policies, and procedures, and the more symbolic and intangible aspects of school organization, culture, and reputation.

The importance of a school's physical environment with regard to school climate and staff as well as student and community perceptions of school effectiveness has been underestimated.

Public recognition of student, staff, and school achievement is important, but efforts also need to be made to ensure higher levels of student and staff participation in such "high profile" sporting, academic, and cultural activities which only involved a minority of students and staff at the schools studied.

Extracurricular activities are also important as symbolic "rallying points" in building the perception and reality of a "good" school.

The aim of true, representative, and meaningful student (and to some degree staff) involvement and empowerment in school decision-making processes remains seemingly unfulfilled.

Representative parent and community involvement is important yet was also lacking in those schools studied.

Many of the implications raised above hinge on the notion of "balance" in a school. It seems that the principal of a school needs to be capable of making professional judgments which involve finding a personal position between sometimes opposing ends, e.g. "hands on" verses delegation, attention to detail versus "big picture," procedural vs. symbolic action, and so on.

Can leadership training be provided to assist the principal, first to identify the most appropriate position on any continuum of the "essentials," and then to adopt this?

According to the authors, it is difficult to separate the principal from the organizational climate of the school, as there are cause and effect relationships at work, with the principal influencing and being influenced by the school and those involved within and without it. The principal often becomes so deeply integrated into the school environment that he or she is not seen as a separate entity with his or her own identity and values.

Overall, it was apparent that in this study students, parents, and teachers shared a common belief that it was a 'good' school. The principal had a strong influence in setting the general tone or "climate" of the school and had a marked "hands on," "open door," positive attitude, being at the center of much that was happening within and concerning the school. The principal despite the large size of the school appeared to deal effectively with the variety fragmentation and brevity of contacts with others that have been found to typify the lot of the principal. This is largely what made the school 'good,' as parents and others in the community believed that the principal displayed an atmosphere of caring and compassion that was necessary to show an interest in the student and faculty and their well being.

This study shows that there is some correlation, at least at the particular school studied, between the principal's beliefs and involvement, the culture of the school, and the safety of the school in question. Some of the opinions about safety and security can be evidenced by the fact that the parents and teachers, as well as the students, rated their school highly.

Students and others who do not feel safe at school would not choose high marks for that particular establishment. This is significant as it works to display the suggested correlation between school culture and school safety and indicates that the principal may play a central role in this. This is valuable information for those who are looking into changing their school over to a year-round calendar, because this will change the culture and some of the safety aspects of the school. These kinds of changes must not be ignored.

Chapter III: The Method

Population and Sample

The population that I have chosen to study is the school districts within the United States that have chosen to implement year round education. The population is mostly focused on elementary schools that implement year round education as that is where YRE seems to be most utilized. The independent variable in this study is the year round education calendar/schedule. The dependent variables are the students who attend year round schools.

The other facet of implementation is the track. Single-track year round education involves an entire school using the same calendar and getting the same holidays off. Multiple-track year round education has groups of students attending school at different times with different vacations. Multi-tracking usually occurs because it is a way for school districts to save money, and offer alternatives in overpopulated school districts. Year round education is a very complex topic with many variables that must be considered, not the least of which is the motivation behind a school district's decision to change their current calendar (Kelly, 2008).

Methods and Procedures

The research design that I have chosen to implement in this study is qualitative content analysis. Content Analysis is a method of studying human behavior indirectly by analyzing communications, usually through a process of categorization (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2006). Using content analysis for the study of Year Round Education seemed to be the best choice since most of the information that I obtained for this study was through books, newspapers, journal articles, and internet data bases.

Qualitative v. Quantitative Studies

Where research is concerned, the way that it is conducted is highly important. Due to this, it is important to examine the idea that there are two specific ways to conduct this research - the quantitative approach and the qualitative approach. Sometimes these are taken together and called the 'mixed-method' approach, but they will be discussed separately here. In order to discuss them there will be four specific areas that will be looked at. These are: (1) Types of data collected, (2) Instruments used to collect the data, (3) Fundamental differences in how both types of research are conducted, and (4) Procedures used to analyze the data. For each one of these areas, at least four examples will be addressed for both types of research methods so that the comprehensiveness of these methods can be seen.

The use of quantitative research helps to reveal information that is subjective, since the participants' input is what is used as the primary source of information for the researcher (Creswell, 2001). There are a lot of different types of data collected in quantitative research, and these include answers that are given on surveys, statistical information that is found through the use of surveys or a more expanded study, comparison data that is collected between one individual or group and others, and data that is raw and that needs to be coded on a yes/no type of basis, instead of the longer answers that are quite often collected and analyzed in qualitative research where opinions of the subjects are examined (Diaz & O'Hanlon, 2001). Instruments used to collect the data include statistics, surveys, comparisons, and SPSS services. There are also fundamental differences in how both types of research are conducted which will be discussed later in this document, along with the procedures that are used to analyze the data.

Qualitative research generates data that is based on the participants' own categories of meaning, it is useful for studying a limited number of cases in depth, and tends to collect data in naturalistic rather than empirical settings (Creswell, 2001). Types of data collected generally involve the opinions and beliefs of the researcher and the subjects that are being examined, through the use of various instruments. Instruments used to collect the data include case studies, interviews, focus groups and observation (Creswell, 1994).

Creswell (2001) describes qualitative research as an exploratory focus, while quantitative research focuses on explanatory inquiry. In addition, with the qualitative approach the researcher is more subjective. In other words, qualitative research is used when the researcher's inquiry is based on the participant's opinion about a particular phenomenon. In that method, the researcher wants to gather subjective data, therefore his personal knowledge and research methodology influences the research to some degree (Herndl & Nahrwold, 2000). One of the most important outcomes with this method is that it highlights the researcher's views during the research process.

The similarities and differences between qualitative and quantitative research approaches are based more on the philosophical perspective of the researcher who is able to participate in the activities being studied (Herndl & Nahrwold, 2000). Quantitative studies are based on scientific methods of inquiry and measure the analysis of causal relationships between variables. Qualitative research is based on gaining insight and understanding about an individual's experience and having a sense of reality in a way that does not generally involve attachment of a number to observations.

Qualitative studies, therefore, provide guidance to test theories and validate information while the activity of qualitative research legitimizes and generates credible data for analyses through exploration, description, or expansion of existing knowledge and theory (Herndl & Nahrwold, 2000).

In summary, therefore, qualitative research is used when the researcher wants to understand and to further describe subjective meaning from the participants' perspectives. Types of qualitative instruments (tools) include; case studies, interviews, observation of participants, surveys, and statistical data. On the other hand, when the purpose of the study is to explain relationships among variables or to predict what may occur based on the objective findings the quantitative research design is used (Glitz, 1997). Quantitative methodologies measure differences between variables and provide data that would help researchers understand their significances. The numerical differences can be compared by using statistical measures to determine whether the differences that are seen are actually significant.

Chapter IV: Data Analysis

An analysis of the data presented in the literature review chapter and studied through qualitative means indicates that there are both benefits and problems with the issue of year-round schooling. It is important to discuss them both here so that a complete picture of the issue can be addressed. First, there are problems that are worthy of discussion. The year-round schooling presents unique challenges to the students, to the parents, and to the teachers and others who work at the school. Some of these individuals have other jobs in the summer, some of them travel, some of them have complex babysitter issues or other concerns worked out so that they are able to be where they need to be each and every day.

Naturally, changing the school schedule would force individuals to make changes in their own lives as well. For most people this is not a serious concern, but there are some students, parents, and educational personnel that could be facing a serious hardship if their school schedule were to be adjusted to a year-round option from the standard calendar school that they currently have. While many states have year-round schools in some areas, the number of school districts that actually use it is rather small, although that number does seem to be growing. Some areas have much stronger support for this type of schooling than others do, and there have been areas of the country where there is little support but where the school board has gone ahead with the option to change the school to year-round curriculum.

Teachers and other education professionals are already facing some complications from the No Child Left Behind Act, its implementation, and its general failure to do anything worthwhile for educators and for teachers across this country. When they are struggling with this and then a change in the schedule is thrust upon them as well, some of them will leave. They will not be able to use the summertime to take courses to reach the required 'highly qualified' status, and with that being the case they will not choose to continue their teaching careers because the demands on their time and finances, and the logistical difficulties of going to school at night and teaching during the day, will simply become too much for them.

Of course, more needs to be studied when it comes to this issue, but the early problems with it cannot be ignored. They show up in the thoughts of the teachers, and they show up in the thoughts of the other educators and school workers who support those teachers. Clearly, there is more to the issue than most people realize. It is not just about a few people adjusting their vacation plans because there will no longer be a large summer break. It is about people readjusting the actual way that they live their lives because there is more schooling, more requirements, and new challenges that they have to face.

A lot of people already have enough on their plates with the economy and job losses and they do not welcome further change, especially if it is going to come at a higher cost. Schools will need money to keep the lights on and run the air conditioning during the summer, which is something that they did not have to do before. In states that have very hot summers, this can be a problem. There are also many states where the summers are hot and sticky and the older schools do not have any air conditioning. Going to school in July and August could be uncomfortable and even dangerous for these students, and it would be questionable as to how much work will get done under those kinds of conditions.

There is more that can be analyzed and should be analyzed in future studies, but the information here clearly shows that there are concerns that have to be addressed. It also shows, however, that there are benefits to having year-round schooling that cannot be created in other ways. When students do not go as long between learning something one year and building on it the next, they remember things better. That helps them to continue to move forward in their academic endeavors and slows down the need for remedial work at the beginning of each year just to get the students to where they were at the end of the prior year.

This can have a lot of benefits and the possibility exists for students to move faster and learn more, which could mean that, in time, the U.S. would be able to catch up to other countries that continue to rank ahead in academics. Most of these countries also have year-round schooling, and that is a very strong indication that there are many benefits to it. School districts in this country will have to decide for themselves whether the benefits that the students would receive outweigh the financial and other costs to the parents, the teachers, and the rest of the educational community.

Chapter V: Summary, Recommendations, and Conclusion

I am in favor of year round education and through close examination of the educational research available on YRE I am convinced that YRE is beneficial in most aspects. "Some opponents will say that if year-round education is such a good idea, why hasn't it been accepted more readily? If democracy, which has about four centuries of existence, is such a good idea, why is it that so few countries in the world have it? or, why is it that Christianity, with a 2000-year existence, is not universally accepted? The point is quickly made that good ideas don't necessarily achieve universal acceptance, no matter how good they may be" (Harris, 2003).

There is a strong point made here. There are many, many good ideas out there, and often people turn them down, shun them, or look elsewhere for other ideas because they want to be able to find some reason to reject an idea that would mean a lot of change. It is not surprising that people are resistant to change. They are used to doing things in a specific way and they want that way to continue. They are comfortable with it, and whether or not it is right, easy, or best often takes a back seat to the fact that it is familiar. People fear change.

In order to continue to evolve, however, change is necessary and important. This is especially true with education, and studies show that the U.S. is definitely falling behind a lot of other countries where education and how much the people actually know upon graduation is looked at. That in no way implies that people in the U.S. are stupid, but only that they could do much better than they do when it comes to educating their children with what they need to know to succeed in the world. There is too much 'teaching to the test' in many areas of the country instead of simply teaching the children good, solid, and important knowledge that they can use in the future.

Certainly there is more to teaching students than simply changing the days and times that they use for learning, but there is more to the year-round calendar than that. By ensuring that there are no long breaks like the current summer break on the traditional calendar, a school district can keep the learning fresh in the minds of the students. People forget things, and that is especially true of things that they do not use, with the passage of time. When students have a two or three-month break in which they do not use algebra, for example, they are not going to be able to do it as well as they could on the last day of the past school year. By avoiding those long breaks the students also avoid that tedious and often several week long review period at the beginning of the new school year.

That time is then used for something much more constructive and could allow students to get much farther in their academic endeavors than they do now. Less review means more time to learn new things, so the curriculum can move faster and the students can catch up to those across the world who are getting ahead of them. This is very important as the world moves toward becoming even more global than it already is. If students continue to be left behind the U.S. will soon start to flounder when it comes to working with the rest of the world and this could make a troubled economic situation even more serious and painful for the people who are in it now and the people who will be graduating and coming into it in the near future.

For future studies, a survey of students and teachers would be a good way to gauge feelings about the issue of year-round schooling. Ideally, some of these individuals from schools that already have it and some from schools who do not would be studied to see what the perceptions of year-round schooling really are and whether they are accurate based on what those who have experienced it have to say about it. Since there are schools districts in the U.S. that use the year-round calendar as well as many who do not, there should be many individuals who can be examined regarding this subject so that further studies can be conducted and further studies can be made.

Overall, however, it does appear that year-round schooling is a better choice from an academic standpoint than traditional, calendar year schooling. This may not be the case for all students, parents, teachers, or others who are involved with a school, however, and can vary on a case by case basis. Those people who are relocating and have children should consider what type of school district they will be moving into and how it will affect their lifestyle, as well as how it will affect their children's educational opportunities. The future of the No Child Left Behind Act and how it will be impacted by (as well as how it will impact) year-round schools should also be further addressed.