Date of Award

5-2000

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and parents in regard to Minnesota's Competency Program. The study was designed to address the pros and cons that have emerged from the program implementation and the possible differences in perceptions of participants according to role and school size.

The study was done through a questionnaire that utilized a Likert Scale. The format was designed to draw upon a study done by Harvey (1990) who identified 12 components that he saw as essential for overcoming any new change or for a new program to be effective. The study involved ten small, ten medium, and ten large school districts across Minnesota. In each of these schools the questionnaire was to be administered to ten administrators, ten teachers, and ten parents.

Once the questionnaires were received from the participating sites, the accumulated data was assembled and analyzed. The information from the questionnaires was typed and coded onto a disk and converted to ASCII. The converted data was run through the Abacus system of the North Dakota Higher Education Computer Network (HECN). The compiled data was then printed, analyzed, and reported through various graphs. A second set of data was obtained through four open-ended questions that were at the end of the questionnaire. These were analyzed qualitatively and the resulting data was interpreted and conclusions were summarized based on the emerging themes and the evidence presented.

In conclusion, the data - both quantitative and qualitative - substantiated that almost all of the points of resistance to change as identified by Harvey (1990) were not adhered to in the implementation of this program. As a result, many obstacles, frustrations, and problems arose in its implementation.

Upon completion of the study, it can be concluded that this program may have been a good idea in the beginning, but the changes were too drastic and sudden to be effective. It was also concluded that the state should have had more input from those groups that were affected by the program changes and should have taken considerably more time to implement the program.

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