Restructuring the school calendar: A survey of selected Eastern Shore secondary school administrator's attitudes

Abstract

This thesis examines the topic of year-round school. The purpose is two-fold; 1) to study both the benefits and drawbacks of the year-round calendar as published in professional literature, and 2) to assess current attitudes of selected secondary school administrators on matters pertaining.to the changing of the traditional school calendar. While it is evident that not every article or work can be cited that pertains to the year-round calendar, it was discovered that an overwhelming majority of published work reflects positively on the year-round calendar. The findings of this study were based upon analysis of data collected from a survey of fifty-six (56) administrators and their attitudes towards the year-round calendar. The survey of attitudes of secondary school administrators on the Eastern Shore of Maryland indicated a support for instructional and learning related outcomes of the year-round calendar. However the respondents had reservations in the areas of extracurricular activities and other nonacademic items associated with the year-round calendar. Although additional research is still needed on this subject, there appears to be support for the philosophies and learning outcomes of the year-round calendar. By indicating support for various topics associated with the year-round calendar, administrators have shown that the year-round calendar is worthy of further investigation as "a means of restructuring schools on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.