A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

This study will address the following goals:

1. Identify strategies that U.S. elementary schools might use to provide elementary school teachers with more time for planning and other professional activities.

2. Describe what is known about the typical work schedules and responsibilities of U.S. elementary school teachers from the research literature.

3. Describe and compare the typical work schedules and responsibilities of U.S. teachers in innovative elementary schools that provide teachers with at least 6 hours per week of planning time (often common planning time) with the typical schedules and responsibilities of U.S. elementary school teachers in schools that provide teachers with 5 hours (or less) per week of planning time. The research will analyze the organizational arrangements and support structures of the schools that provide 6 or more hours of planning time in order to better understand how they are able to make this time available for teachers.

4. Analyze the cultures and structures of some schools in Germany and Japan to understand how these schools manage to provide teachers with substantial time for planning and other professional activities.

5. Assess the resource implications of providing U.S. teachers with more time for professional activities.

The study will meet theses goals through a review of the research literature and through case studies of nine U.S. schools and several German and Japanese schools.

For additional information about this study contact the Planning and Evaluation Service, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave. SW, Rm. 4162, Washington, D.C. 20202.

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Last update September 1996 (swz).