BENEFITS OF SMALLER LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Benefits of Smaller Learning Communities



Table of Contents

Introduction2

What is Smaller Learning Community?3

Statement of the Problem5

Significance of the Problem7

Literature Review8

The Chosen School8

Student Outcomes11

Administrators and Teachers11

Perceptions/Viewpoints of Smaller Learning Communities13

SLCs Success Factors in the Study13

Purpose and Research Questions16

Methods17

Participants20

Instrumentation21

Procedure21

Analysis22

Reliability and Validity23

Ethical Concerns24

Limitations25

References27

Appendix31

Benefits of Smaller Learning Communities

Introduction

There is substantial research dedicated to the troubling pattern of increased disengagement and declining motivation among students transitioning into high school (Alspaugh et al, 1989). A possible, and in some areas likely, end-result of this declining motivation is an increased drop-out rate. Georgia is one of the worst-afflicted states in the US, with only 67.6% of their students graduating (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). This is a national issue, but is particularly critical in Georgia. Many school districts are changing the structure of their schools from larger to smaller schools and creating schools-within schools with the hope of improving student achievement and drop-out and graduation rates.

A growing body of literature does suggest, however, that smaller school models can have a positive impact on students, including improved attendance rates, improved behavior, greater satisfaction with school, and greater self-esteem (Raywid, 1991). Swanson (1988) reviewed research on the benefits of small and large schools and school districts, giving consideration to achievement, affective qualities, and outcomes of students. Findings reveal that smaller schools foster more positive student attitudes and interpersonal relationships and are not as deficient in their range of curricular offerings as was believed. Smaller schools exhibit higher achievement than larger schools at the secondary and particularly the elementary level. These indicators alone stand as a justification of why smaller learning communities need to be considered an essential component of any school with low-achieving students. According to Oxley (1997), in the last fifty years, the average school size has changed from having fewer than one thousand students to now having over one thousand five hundred students. Due to the problematic issue of low performing schools across the state many schools are asked to examine their dropout rates, failure rates, and numbers of low-achieving students. This new examination is part of what prompted the national discussion on small learning communities.

What is Smaller Learning Community?

Smaller Learning Community—For the purpose of this paper, a Small Learning Community (SLC), also referred to as a School-Within-A-School, is defined as a form of school structure that is increasingly common in secondary schools to subdivide large populations into smaller, autonomous groups of students and teachers. Organizing schools into SLCs has become a common restructuring strategy. "The aim of these school communities is to provide a comprehensive program of study that affords social as well as academic achievement" (Oxley, 1997, p. 624). SLCs have small groups of teachers and students who work together closely within the school. This size changes the dynamics of the relationships within the building among students, among faculty, and between students and faculty (Meier, 1995; Oxley, 2007). Because these schools allow teachers to know students more closely, SLCs work to improve school and student outcomes through more personalized and supportive learning ...