Tracking, having separate advanced, standard, and/or remedial classes intended to homogeneously group students by perceived or actual ability, is a frequent practice used in U.S. schools, particularly at the secondary level. To promote educational equity, close achievement gaps, and counteract the de facto racial separation between advanced and standard-level courses, some districts and individual schools in Virginia are moving to detrack their offerings and stop offering separate advanced and standard-level courses. This qualitative case study explored how a middle school's newly adopted detracking policy with an honors-for-all approach impacted teachers' beliefs and pedagogy. Data were collected from documents and interviews with six school and district personnel and analyzed using inductive coding techniques until a mutually exclusive scheme of categories had been generated. The study concluded with the discussion, implications, recommendations, and conclusion of the results.
The findings identified four categories that answered the research questions: opinions on honors-for-all, defining what "honors" means, instructional shifts in an honors-for-all classrooms, and challenges in practices. Overall, the study found that: (a) teachers' beliefs on tracking and honors-level classes did not change after implementation of detracking and there was a general divide in opinions between the teachers and non-teaching faculty, (b) there were varying definitions of what "honors" means among the district, school, and staff, (c) teachers' instruction shifted to adopt new pedagogical tools and strategies to meet the diverse learning needs in a mixed-ability honors classroom, and (d) teaching in an honors-for-all classroom was challenging, especially in differentiating for students' needs, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the accelerated standards in honors mathematics courses. Implications of the study included: (a) the necessity of having teacher buy-in when implementing a new programming initiative, (b) the benefits of vertical articulation with feeder elementary schools to prepare students for the rigor of middle school honors courses, (c) the need for common language and clear definitions across the district and school, and (d) the importance of providing professional development and support personnel to assist teachers in adopting new pedagogical practices in an honors-for-all setting. / Doctor of Education / Tracking, having separate advanced, standard, and/or remedial classes intended to homogeneously group students by perceived or actual ability, is a frequent practice used in U.S. schools, particularly at the middle and high school levels. To promote educational equity, some districts and schools in Virginia are considering detracking by no longer offering separate advanced and standard-level courses. This was a qualitative case study that used document analysis and interviews to explore how a middle school's newly adopted detracking policy with an honors-for-all approach impacted teachers' beliefs and instruction. Overall, the study found that teachers' beliefs about tracking and honors-level classes did not change after detracking, but teachers did adopt new instructional practices to meet the wide range of learning needs in the honors-for-all classrooms. The study also found that there was a lack of common language and definitions of what "honors" means and despite teachers' best efforts, teaching in an honors-for-all classroom was difficult, especially in the mathematics courses and given the timing of the new policy beginning immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings and implications from this study provide education leaders and policymakers with an understanding of teachers' perspectives on honors-for-all as other schools and districts consider detracking.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/118704 |
| Date | 30 April 2024 |
| Creators | Langstein, Hanna Beth Preizler |
| Contributors | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Alexander, Michael D., Cash, Carol S., Brabrand, Scott Sorensen, Sullivan, Molly Lynn |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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