Urban schooling: school mission and culture audit protocol Choose an urban school (elementary, middle or secondary) to conduct an environmental/cultural audit. You are expected to spend time on the school?s website; review educational reports, school/district newsletters, curricular/extra-curricular offerings, fundraising appeals, special reports, other media, etc. In 3-5 pages you will need to write up a report of your findings and provide accompanying artifacts as necessary. Below is a modified checklist of audit guidelines developed by Kuh and Whitt (1987) to guide your audit. Think outside the box as there may also be some creative ways to use Facebook and other social media to gain additional insight into how students interact with the school/district ? be creative in your search! A. Is the school mission clearly communicated? Mission refers to the broad, overall, longterm purpose of the school which guides institutional priorities and practices in ways that are consistent with the expectations of stakeholders (district, parents, students, etc.). 1. What is the school?s mission? a. Where and in what form is evidence of the mission to be found? b. What is not included in the school?s mission? c. How and to whom is the mission communicated? 2. How do members of the school describe the mission? a. What similarities and differences exist among these descriptions? b. To what extent do you think students, teachers, and parents have shared understanding of the school?s philosophy? 3. From your research, to what degree do you think the school is committed to the appreciation, encouragement, and enhancement of multiculturalism with respect to race, ethnicity, class, gender, physical abilities, and world views? From your review of the school?s website and other documents, how are these commitments manifested in the mission, philosophy, and practices?School Culture B. By broadly conceptualizing school culture, highlight how the school?s culture promotes student engagement, learning, and success? a. From your research, what traditions, events, programs introduce and socialize students to the core values of the school? b. What opportunities exist to celebrate school community? What role do students play in these celebrations/programs? c. What language is used to communicate the importance of students and their learning? d. Is the language of the school culture inclusive and embracing or alienating? e. Does the language of the school culture communicate respect or disrespect for individuals and individual differences? f. Is it inclusive of parents and other community-based programming? g. How do you think newcomers learn the language of the school? h. What symbols and symbolic actions communicate the importance of out-of-class experiences to student learning? i. What is communicated about student life to prospective students and parents, and in what ways? j. What is communicated about expectations for student behavior at school? k. From your research, what messages and school values are communicated by other cultural artifacts, such as mascots, mottoes, traditions, stories, school history, myths, etc.? Please support your write-up with samples from you search!
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Qualitative Article Analysis Qualitative Article Analysis For this Application, you will read and analyze an article detailing a study that employed a qualitative research approach. As you read, be sure to take note of the characteristics of qualitative research and why a qualitative research approach was more appropriate for the study. To prepare for this Application: Review the following readings for this week: Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches; Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods; and Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Consider the characteristics of qualitative research. ? Review Chapter 2 and Chapter 6 in the APA Manual. ? Locate the article your instructor has selected for the class to read and analyze (this should be posted as an announcement by Day 2 this week). ? For the article your instructor has selected: o Analyze the article for characteristics of qualitative research. o Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of using a qualitative approach for the study in question. Why use a qualitative approach instead of a quantitative one? The assignment: ? Craft a 3- to 5-page paper in which you do the following: o Analyze a qualitative research article for: o Characteristics of qualitative research and o The strengths and weaknesses of using a qualitative approach for the study instead of a quantitative approach Required Resources This page contains the Learning Resources for this week. Be sure to scroll down the page to see all of this week's assigned Learning Resources. To access select media resources, please use the media player below. MyMediaPlayer. This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player. Get Flash ? Handout: Welcome letter to the foundational Research Sequence This document provides information about the foundational research courses and the 48 doctoral competencies the research courses were developed to fulfill. ? Course Text: Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. o Chapter 3, "Designing a Qualitative Study" In this chapter, Creswell provides an overview of qualitative research, and describes the common characteristics shared by all forms of qualitative research. He then goes on to explain how to design a study that effectively employs qualitative research methods. ? Course Text: Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. o Chapter 1, "The Nature of Qualitative Inquiry" In this chapter, Patton introduces the concept of qualitative research and explains how qualitative methods can be used to gather rich, meaningful data that can stand alone or be used to supplement quantitative research. ? Course Text from RSCH 8100: Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. o Review Chapter 1, "The Selection of a Research Design" as reminder of characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. ? Course Text: American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. o Chapter 2, "Manuscript Structure and Content" o Chapter 6, "Crediting Sources" These two chapters will assist you with completing this week's Application assignment. ? Media: o "Doctoral Research: Preparing for Qualitative Research" (8:36) Click here to download a transcript of this video segment. In this video segment, qualitative research expert Laura Lynn discusses the distinctions between qualitative and quantitative research. Main topics include the continuum of inquiry and preparing for qualitative research. To view this video program, use the media player located at the top of this page. ? Handout: List of Articles For this week's Application, you will read and analyze an article detailing a qualitative research study. Your instructor will select an article from this list provided, and post an announcement by Day 2 indicating which article you will read and analyze. ? Software o NVivo Begin to familiarize yourself with the software this week. If you need assistance with the software, contact the manufacturer directly?QSR International?instead of Walden's Student Support Team. Contact information and resources are listed below in the Research Toolkit and will be listed there through Week 9. o Technical Requirements for Mac Users (Word document) This document provides Mac users with specific information for using NVivo software. arch term, or search by general categories. Optional Resources ? Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. ? o Between-Chapters Interlude: "Top Ten Pieces of Advice to a Graduate Student Considering a Qualitative Dissertation" (pp. 33-35) In this interlude, Patton presents a series of tips gathered from multiple respondents who have experience working on a qualitative dissertation. o Chapter 4, "Particularly Appropriate Qualitative Applications" (pp. 143?205) These pages illustrate the range of uses for qualitative research. ? Bazeley, P. (2007). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc. This additional text is recommended to students who would like additional support with learning NVivo software.
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