1. Goals and objectives/outcomes of the research investigation
Increased knowledge and awareness of state school safety standards by administrators.
Listing of areas of administrator weakness in knowledge so that professional development programs can be designed to meet those needs.
2. Activities designed to achieve the objectives
Review and summary of Texas Unified School Safety Standards.
Comparison of 2007 Audit results with newer Unified Standards.
Survey of administrators current levels of knowledge about the standards and the audits
Identification of administrators that are currently working on the same campus as in 2007/08
Analysis of survey data; comparison of levels of knowledge, delineated by several demographic data groups: years of experience, length of employment by our district, types of school safety training received and by what method, awareness of current state and federal laws governing school safety, etc.
Summary of professional development needs of the administrators involved in the study
Investigation as to the methodology used for successful adult learning programs and professional development presentations.
2-3 small courses will be developed to meet the learning needs of the administrators, as determined by the survey. Courses will be offered to administrators as part of the in-district professional development series.
3. Resources and research tools needed for data gathering
Texas Unified School Safety Standards
2007 Safe and Secure Schools Audit results for our district
Information on the best design for this type of survey
Employment lists for 2007/08 and for this current school year
Audit tool being used for 2010 Safe and Secure Schools audits
Permission to distribute survey to administrators
4. Draft timeline for completion or implementation of activities
a. Compare standards to 2007 audit results - by end of August 2010
b. Gather employment information – August 2010
c. Investigate best design for survey – September 2010
d. Get permission to distribute survey – September 2010
e. Create survey – September/October 2010
f. Introduction to 2010 audit tool – October 2010
g. Safe and Secure Schools audits are scheduled for this fall
h. Results of 2010 audits are promised by January 2011
5. Persons responsible for implementation of the action research plan
Denise Chuick (researcher) will implement all parts of the research plan except for garnering permission to distribute survey to our district administrators. This permission is required by administrative policy and I will have to bring my request through the established procedure.
6. Process for monitoring the achievement of goals and objectives
I am part of a LU cohort of 5 students within my district, who are also enrolled in this course. Together, we are meeting once per week to review our progress and to comment on each other’s work.
My current job role allows me unlimited access to the information that I need to conduct this research, including the 2007 Audit analysis which was written by me and my supervisor.
All information concerning this action research project will be kept in a separate binder.
7. Assessment instrument(s) to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study
Following the final course offering through professional development seminars, the administrators will be asked to re-take the original survey, answering honestly as to their new level of understanding and knowledge. The two results will be compared and analyzed to determine effectiveness of the series of courses.
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