Effective communication strategies used in disseminating the California English/Language Arts Framework in California elementary schools

• Main Author: Hancock, Margaret Ellen Marr
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1992
• Subjects: Curricula; Teaching; Teacher education; School administration; Elementary education; Education
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2946; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3945&context=uop_etds

Purpose of the study. The purpose of this study was to determine the effective communication strategies used to disseminate information to teachers about the 1987 California English Language Arts Framework in California K-6 distinguished and non-designated elementary schools. Responses of teachers were examined to ascertain similarities and differences in the two groups. Additional factors such as gender, size of school or size of district were studied to determine their impact on the teachers' perceptions of effective communication strategies. Methodology. The research was descriptive and comparative. A survey was employed which consisted of twenty questions. The survey was sent to 50 distinguished and 50 non-designated elementary schools. Each distinguished school was paired with a non-designated school of comparable size and socio-economic level. Of the 1,960 surveys sent out, 1,022 were returned. Findings. Six communication strategies were perceived to be effective by teachers in both distinguished and non-designated schools. There were hands-on experiences, grade level or small group discussions, demonstration by a fellow teacher, oral presentation by a fellow teacher, information from a fellow teacher in an informal setting, and demonstration by an expert or consultant. When the six strategies were compared with demographic data, three areas of significance were shown in gender in relation to grade level meetings, demonstration by a fellow teacher, and oral presentation by a fellow teacher. Recommendations. Additional research should be conducted to determine: (1) the perceptions of middle and high school teachers on effective strategies used in conveying the framework, (2) the degree of framework implementation in classrooms at all grade levels, (3) if these findings apply to other curriculum frameworks to see if the strategies transfer to other fields, (4) if the same or different communication strategies are more effective with Hispanic, Asian, African-American teachers.