THE ROLE OF THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST IN THE PROMOTION OF ADOLESCENT LITERAl1JRE

SLJohn's

THE ROLE OF THE PROGRAMIMPLEMENTATION SPECIALISTIN THE PROMOTION OF

ADOLESCENT LITERAl1JRE

by AngelaClouter(8.A.,B.Ed.)

Aninternshipreportsubmittedto theSchool of GraduateStudiesinpartialfulfilment of

therequirements£01'"thede gree of MasterofEducarion

FacultyofEducation

Mem orialUnivers ityofNewfoundl and May2000

Newfoundland

ABSTRACT

This internshipreportconsiders the roleofadistrict school boardprogmn implemen tati on specialistin promotingtheuscof adolescentIiterarcre injuniorand senior highschoolsinNewfoundl and and Labrador .It consistsofa casestudyin which onepartic ularprogramimplementa tio nspecialistdiscussedhisbeliefsaboutthemc:an:ing ofthisroleand about ho witmightbe achieved best.

Itconcludesthat thepanicipantbelieved stronglyin theimportance ofadolescent literature,includingho wtheuseofitin j unior andsenio rhigh classroomshel ps meetthe learningoutcomesofmenew AtlanticCaM daI,jInguaveADS QlITjclIhqn"Gra de;';7.9. (hereafterreferred to as~.The case studyrevealedthat..driven bythese beliefs,thisprogr.unimplementation specialistwasoHey importance inpromoting adolescentliteraturethroughe:t'ICOW'agingitsuse in dive rsewaystoadministrators.

teachers,andparents. Givingteachersupportas a facilitativeleader inthiscurricular initiative. especiallythroughrelatedIn-service,wasofpartic ular importanceand received positive~onfrom teachers0\'et3.I1.However,timerestrictionsdisallowcdi thispartic ipanttodothe in-depthprom otion desired.

Theprogrmnimple mentationspec ialist believedthepromotionof adolescent lite raturecouldbe achie ved bestbyteachersbecomingwellread inadolescent literature;

by a program speci alistwho is credibleandenthusiasticabouthis orher knowledge relatedtoadolescent literatureand whoconcentratesonprovidi ngmeaningful and relate din-service; and by some changesbeingmade, especially in anarrangemen t whereby a schoolbeard programimplementatio n specialist for LanguageArtscan focus on this subjec tata particular leve l,(e.g.,juniorand seniorhigh school),thusenab lingthe time neededtodoin-depth work.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Withsincere appreciation,I acknowledgetheinvaluableencouragement of my family and friends duringthe timeinwhichI havestudied toward the Masterof Education in Teaching and Learning Program.Specialthanksgo tomymoth er, Glenda Clouter; and to my partner.Paul Smyth, for their unfailing and patientsup port.

Besides extending gratitude to the Faculty ofEducationatMemorial University ,I wantespec ial ly to thankDr.Elizabeth Strongfor the superior direction and help shegave in her supervis io n of my internship report.

Finally,I extend heartfeltthanksto the program implementationspe c ial ist involved in theresearch componentof this int ernshi p.someone towhom I amindebted for the willingnessto takemeon as an intern, for the agreement to be the keyparticipant in thecase study , and also for thekindsuppo rt and patiencegiven methroughout.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

. ii

...Iv

TABLEOFCONrENTS v

UST OFFIGURE S Ix

FigureI.Mode l of Support for ChangingLite racyPractice ix

CHAPTERI:INTRODUCTION.... . 10

Backgro undafthelntemship., . 10

Significance of theInterns hip 12

The PurposeaftheIntemship.... . 14

DefinitionofKeyTerm s... .. _ 16

Limitations oftheInternship... . 18

Summ:uy... . 22

CHAPTER IT:REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE... . 23

Introduction... . 23

A Review ofOpinion Literatureon Coordinator-type Roles 23

Leadership Models.... . 24

SubstantiveBackground.. ..28

Role and Val ueof AdolescentLiterature 32

Reviewof RecentPolicyDocuments.. . .36

CHAPTER.

rn.

lIiIETl-IOOOLOGY 38

Introduction.... . 38

Setting andParticipants.... . .40

TimeFrame of theInternsh ip .41

RolesoftheInte m.... . 42

Data Collection... .. 44

FieldNotes... . .44

Interviews.. .. .45

DocwnentReview... . .47

CHAPTER.IV;DATA ANALYSlSAND INTERPRETATION __ .48

ln tnxl.uction... .

48

Internship Findings;Resean:bQuestion1 _ _ 51

ThePhiloso phies ofthe ProgramImplementa tion Specialist .52 lmponancc ofStory_.._ ..._._...•_ ... _•....__...•••.52 hnportaneeof Literaturein the Curricu lwn _ 53 CmnulativeEffect ofRc:adingandLiteratureon Writingand

Learning _... . 54

AdolescentLiteratureasAppropriateforYoungAdults.__ _ 55 Vicarious ExperienceThroughAdolescen t Literature S8 AdolescentLnerarereLeadingtoSensitivityandResponsibility 60

Comm itment totheTransactionalModel . 62

AdolescentLiteratureMore TbanaBridge to the Canon. _ 62 Classroo mAtmosphere ThroughAdolescentLiterature 64 Imponanceof AdolescentLiteratureto SuccessfulProgramming. 65 Atlantic Canada. LanguageAmCurriculum:Grades7-9CEnd.ish.1:2J;Affecting on thePromotionof Adolescen tLiterature... ...66

ExpandedView of Literacy . 67

~Provides an OverallBalanceintheLanguageAm

Curriculum. . 67

~PromotionofAdolescentLiterature 68

.En.&1ish.1:iSuggests Aestheti candEfferent Responses 72 OverallConcern with Outcomes...•._... . 75 Role of thePrognun SpecialistinPromoti ng Adolescen tLiterature. 76 EnsuringAdolescentLiteratureisIncluded intheCurriculum. 76

PromotingAdolescent Litera tureOverall 76

PromotinganEmphasis onNovelStudy.••••••._

n

PromotingAdolescentLiteratureAcrosstheCurriculum 79 Promoti ngtheIncl usionof aRangeof Ado lescentlitera ture 79 Leading theAdolescentLiteratureCurricular Initiati ve... ..._ 81

LeadershipStyle _ _ 81

Im porta nce ofBeingInspirationalandMoti vati onal 81 Importanceof EmphasisandClarification. _ _ _ 82 Importan ce of AccessibilityandSupportiveness. 83 Assistin gTeachers in the:Discovery andUseof Adolescent Literature 86 Suggesti ngAdolesce nt Literature to Teachers.. . 86 MalcingTeacbersAware of ResourcesAvailable 88

Importance of BeingOrganized 89

TeacherReaction.. . 90

Response to In-service 90

Teachers'Use of NovelRecommendationFonns.. . 92 vi

TeacbersSensing aComm itment tothe Rol e.... . _ 93 Lack ofTime AV3.11able for the PromotionofAdolescentLiterature 93 OtherR.e:spons1b iliticsDetractingfrom(heRole._.._ _•...94 Lad:of SpecificJobDescription•••••.•.•. • 94 FrusmtionComingfromLack.ofTime. __ _ __ 96 TimeAvailable forthe RoleNow as Opposed to Then...•..97 Resulti ngLackofAnen ricetoEnsuringGenresPresent 98 Resulting Preclusionof Adequate Follow-up _ 100 Frustrationwith TeachersDOtUnderstandingtheChange.•_••••.100 Prob lemsCausedbyDiscontinuationof FreeGrade7 and 8 Novels 10 1 DataAnalysisand Interpretation: ResearchQuestio n 2 104

Teachers'RoleinBestAchi evingthePromoti on of Adolescent Literature... ...•... ... ... ... ... ... ....105

Knowin gthe RightBook. 106

Teache rs MakingtheDifferencewith AdolescentLiterature l06 Teachers Must ExposeStuden tstoQuality Literature and

Genres.... . 107

Importance ofTeacherEnthusiasm 107

Preservice Education in JuniorHighLanguageArtsNee ds

Work.... . 108

Tea che rsMustBeWellRead inAdo lescent Literature 109

Teach e rs HelpingEach Other 111

ProgramSpecialist'sRole inBestAchi evi ngthe Pro motio n of

Adolescent Literature 112

CredibilitywithTeac bers _ 112

Credibility Comi ngfromKnowledge ofthe Curriculum 112 CredibilityComingfromKnowledgeof Theories _..113

Cred ib ility Comingfrom ClassroomExperience.. . 114

Credi bility ComingfromBeing We ll Read _ 114

Imponance of Personal Love of Reading . 115 Promoting TeacherReadin gand Self Educati on.. ...•... .115 EnsuringRegularTeacherIn-se rvice onAdolescentLitcm ture_116

ChangesRequired . _ _ 117

Promotio nof AdolescentLitera ture Through SSR . 117 Estab lis hmen tofa Professional Develo pm entCentre... ••...118 KeepingStude nt Readi ngInvent ories... .119 Ado lescent LiteratureListin gfor ParentalReference 120

NeedforChangein System.... . 122

Sum mary... . 124

vii

CHAPTER. VI:CONCLUSIONSAND RECOMMENDAnONS 126

Conclusions 126

Recommendations 131

REFERENCE S 136

CITED ADOLESCENT LITERATURE...•.••...•••.. ...151

APPENDICES . 154

A.InterviewQuestions .. 155

B. Letters andForms ofConsentandPermission 160

C.In-serviceAgenda, LanguageArtsIn-service, Grade 7 169

D."Teac hing theNovel"Excerpt.. . 172

E. In-serviceAgenda 178

F.Grade 8 ContentList 180

G.RecommendedGrade 8 NovelList .. . 182

H.TeacherNovel RecommendationForm s 184

I.Student ReadingLog .. 187

viii

Figwe I

LIST OF fiGURES

ModelofSupportforChanging LIteracyPractice

ix

Pag<

26

CHAPTER) INTRODUcnON

Backgro yn d pe w Intern sh ip

As partialrequiremen t of theMaster of EducationinT cachi ng and Learning Program atMemorialUniversity of Ne wfoundl and.thiscandidate chosethe internship routefrom the fourcho ices availab le.thatis.fromtheinternshi p.thesis,pape r folio. or project routes.The resulting internshipreport,aspresentedhere,posesandanswers questionsregardinga program implementation specialist's self-perce ived role inthe promotion of adolescentIitera tare, whichisIiten. rurewrittenspecificallyfor the young adultreader(aged 13-18years).

Tbe rationalefortheinterns hipfoUowslogicallyfromanexam ina tio n of thc growthoCthereader respo nsemovem en t;the real iza ti on ofthevalues ofadol escent literature in thelivesof youngadults;the percepti onthatbothstudentandteacher awareness ofadolescentliterature islo w overall;theneed.foracurricular changeto facili tategreater promotionofadolescentliteratureinjunior andseniorhigh schools;and the keyrolethata district schoolboard program implementation specialistmust playin

Untilthe early19 80$,thelitera turetaught inschools consisted mainly ofa prescribedcanonofclas sicsthatilwasbelie ved wouldexpose studentsto the great culturaltradition(DeKay,1996).However,Dekayma intainsthatinfluenti almovements in readinginstructionandcurric ul um,aswellasinpsychology,have begunto affectthe

teaching of literature.Mostnotably.he asserts"Rosenblatt's(1978 )transactionaltheory whichdistingujshesbetween~and~reading processesbas providedan importam theoretical rationale for advocates cftneratureinstructi on"(p.8).Reader responsepedagogy derivesfrom Rosenblatt'stransactional theory,andcurrently, research specificallyconcerning adolescent literature"com prisesarespectablebodyof knowledge in the area"(poe,Samuel,&Caner.1995,p.48).Infact, manyeducators (Benton,1993;Bishop&Blazek, 1994;Dugan.1997;Langer.1994;Stover,1996;

Monsea u, 1996;Probst,1984,1988;Purves&Beach, 19n;Zarillo,1991 )have advocatedtheuse of strategi esintended to nurture an engaged,personal approa chto lite rature instruc tion.

Furthermore, the rationalefor theeffecti venessof reader response pedagogy asit relatesto adolescentliterature isrooted deeply in theoriesof adolescent cognitiveand affectivedevelopment(Donley,1991 ).Erikson(1984 ) claimed that thecentral task of adolescenceis the fonn ulationandreform ulationof one' spersonalidentity,and Koblbe rg(1984) theorized that adolescen ts are developing fromself-een trcdness into an abilityto adopt principles for moral reasoningandactions.Sucb researchersas Donley (1991),Langer(199 5) andProbst(19 88)have argued that, because adolescence isa period in which substantialintellectual,physical,andsocial-emotiona l developmental changes are occurring,itisessentialto considerwhat typesof curric ulum will enhance growthin these areas.

11

Significan ce oftheIntC'IDship

The roleoflheprogramimplementati onsp«iaiist ofLanguageArtsforjuniOl"

andsenior highschools at thedistrictlevelinNewfoundl and and Labrador willbe one critical fact orinthe importantinitiative 10 promote exte nsiveuseofadolescentliterature inthe classroom, Although, manyresearchers(AdaIns,Bicknell.HoImes,&Lana,199 8;

Bisbop & Blaze k. I994;Blenkinso p.I99 I;Bobannan., 199 3;Brown, 1994;CampbeU, 1985;Dare&.Maddy-Berstein,1997;Ford&.Hern:n, 1993;Harwood,1992;Heckard, 1993;Kennard&.Carter.1989;Lingo&.Henry.1990;Marcovitz,1998;Moore,1994;

Newell&Holt,.1997) acknow ledge the importanceof a coordina tor'sroleincwricular change ingenera l.there rema insa generaldearth inthe ed uca tionalliteratureinthis area.

Despite the obviousneed, there isacompleteabsence oftheOl"eticaiconstructs or substan tiveresearchspecific 10 theprogramimplemen tati onspecialist'srole asit pertainsto promotingandsuppo rting wideruse ofadolescent literature intheclassroom.

Furthermore,thereisa gapinthe literaturespecifictoaprogramimpl eme nta tio n specialist'sperceptio ns of his01"her roleinthepromotionof adolescentliterature.This internshi pstudybas attempted10 begin10 fillthat gapby expandingandextending research traditio nsandfoundationallitCl3tUreSinnewwaysandareas (Mars hall&.

Rossman,1994 ). Research whichexplores and descn bestheprogram specialist'sself- perceivedroleinthisregard.becauseit he lps identifythose tacit.often hiddenareas fuelling successfulcurricular chang e,maystimulate further exploratoryresearch ormay ide ntifyvariables forpredict ive resear c h.Itishoped thattheparticipant'spercepti ons

12

willidentifYsome psychological.social. and organizational variablesthatare a significantpanof thisprocess,since: the way inwhich a program specialistperceives such rolesas thepromotion ofadolescentliterature mustbe inte gral10thecomplex meldin gof elementswhichcreate a'cul ture'supportingcurricular initiati ve.

Also.thevalues ofadolescentliteraturewillberealized onlyjfteac bersare motivated 10 selectsuch literature for their classroom usc.Inorder 10 promoteadolescent liler81url; aprogram implementationspecialist'srole will beessentialincreatingan openness forthis curricul archangeand a suppo rtforteachers asthey experience it thro ughteacher educationvia professionaldevelopment.11ishoped thatthisstudywill add10the growingaware nessof the importanceofaprogramimplem entatio n specialists'sfunctionintheentire process.Moreover.because the role ofaprogram implementation specialistis more closely investigated, determined,undemood,and communicatedinthis interns hipstudy,especiallyfromthepoUllof view ofsuchan individual,other educa tors may benefitfromtheexperie nceof anothe rwho holds an inte gralposition in theinitiativetopromo teadolesc entliterature amon gst jun ior and seniorhigh schoolteachers.Therefore.there aretwomainargum en ts forthe significance of1h.isinlernshipstudy:its exploratory pUJPOSC andits commitmenll0improving lilera ture programsfor junior and high schoolstudents.

13

The p"mose oftheIntern sh ip

Some researchers concludethatthereis aneed for mo re detailedcase studiesof a .coordinato r's(programimplementationspecialist)role(Bohannan. 1993;Harwood.

1992;Kennard&Caner,1989).Furthermore,given that adolescentliterature is necessaryfor teachersandstudents to experienceeffecti velitera tureprogramsanda coordinator' sroleinimplementingcurriculuminitiatives in general iscritical in constructivetea cher education and support,clearlya study wasneeded thatspec ifically considersthe role ofthcprogram implementationspecialistinthisregard It was,then, thegoalofthisinterns hipto considertheprogram implementationspecialist' srolein promoti ngthe use of adolescentlitera tureinjuniorand senior high classroom s.Sinceit was a qualitativestudy,a mainobjectivewasto exploreand descri be the perceptionsofa programimple me ntatio n specialist onhisor herroleinthepromotio n of the useof adolescentliterature injuniorand seniorhigh classroomsspeci fical ly from that individ ual'spoint ofview.

Because theintern is a juniorhigh LanguageArtsteach er,anothergoalwasthat thestudy might providein someway,a furthering of - orevena catalyst for - research inthe area of the roles ofke y figures, suchas thatoftheprogramimplementation spec iali st, in the promotion of adolescentliterature.Moregeneral ly,as a teacherwho appreciates the extraordinary valuesof usinglitera ture wrinenspec ifical ly foryoung adultsin the classroom ,this internhopedthat agreater awareness andpromotion of adolesce nt litera ture wouldbe extended.

14

Datacollection fortheinternship was conductedover a In-week blockthrough qualitati vemeth ods . Therewasin-depthinterviewingat the school board office ofone programimplementation specialist responsiblefor Language Arts;participant observation atthe site, especiallyas it related to that individual ' sprofessional development interactio nswithteacherson theissueof adolescentliterature usein their classrooms;andcontent analysisof relateddocuments.

The internship questi ons,whichare focused on a specificpopulation-in particular,thatof one district school board program implementation spec ialist responsible for intermediate and senior high LanguageArts -came logicall yfrom the discoveryofproc es ses,everydayrealities.and perceptionswhich theliteraturereview indicated hadnotbeenexplored adequat elyup tothat point.Theyweregeneral enough to allo wexploratio n, yet sufficientlyfocusedto delimitthe study(Marsha ll&Rossman, 1994).

Thequestions fo r theinternship study were:

ResearchQuestionI:How doe sone program implem entati on specialist at the school districtlevel perceive hisrole in thepromotion of extensi veandeffect ive use of adolescent litera turebyjuniorandsenior high teache rsin their Englis hclass roo ms?

rt.e.Whatishisdailyexperi e nce with it,how doeshe understandit,and what meanings does it hold for him?)

ResearchQuestion2:Withinoneprogram implementation specialist 's experie nces of his role,bow doe shebeli evethat thepromotion ofadolescentliteratur e canbe achie ved most effectively?

IS

DefinitionoCKeyTenns

Thefollowingtermsarecrucial to this discussion of theprogram implementation specialist' sroleinthepromotio n ofadolescentliterature.

Adolesce ntliteraruretoryoungadultlitera ture):

Adolescentliterature islitera ture which involvesayouthfulprotagon ist and employsa point of viewthatpresentsthe adolescent'sinterpretationof the story.It is characterized byimmedi acy of exposition,dialogue,anddirect confro ntatio nbetween main characters.

These characters are highlyinde pen dentinthoughtand action anddepictadolescentsas reapingtheconsequencesoftheir behaviours and choices.Drawingupon the writer' s sense ofyoung adult development,adolescentliteraturestrivesforrelevancyby attempting to include current attitudes and issues.Itincl udes themaincharacter's gradual growth to awareness,and it is,above all,ho peful(Small.1992;Brown&Stephens,199.5;

Stover,1996). Adolescent literature includestradebooks suchaspicture books,picture storybooks,informationa lbooks.biographiesand autobiographies.andfantasy books such as science fiction, as wellas books ofpoeny,traditiona lliterature, histo rical fiction, and realisticliterature (Mayer.1989).

Language Artsprogramimplementation special ist(or programspe cial ist):

Aprogram implementationspecialistisa memberof the Newfoundland and Labrador district school boardpersonnel who is responsibleforcoordinatingcurricular program s andteacher professionaldevelopmentfn thearea of Language Artsforjunior and senior highschoolswithinthat district...

English7·9(1999)

~(1999)was developedby the Atlantic Provinces Education Fo undatio nwhich, in1993.began workon "the development of common curricula inspecific core programs"(FoundationfortheAtlan tic CanadaEnglis hLanguageADSCurricu lumn.d.,

16

p.3)for the purposes of improving education by sharing expertiseandresources,and by ensuringthatitisequitable across the Atlantie provinces region. As a result, both students'and society'sneedsarc met. The development of a common curric ulumfor Language Arts,as formathematics,science,and social studies"follows a consistent process.Eachprojectrequires consensus byaregional committccat designateddecision points:allprovinces haveequalweightindec isionmaking"(p.3).The contentsof EniI.i.sb.l=2(1999) are largel y based Oil thegroundwo rkof the precedingdocument, Foundation for theAt'an tic Canada Engli shLanguageAm Cyrriculum(n.d), hereafter referredto asEi:l.wJ.da1:ism

Essemia/Graduana nLearnings(EGLs):

EsseutialGraduationLearningsare"stat emen ts dcscnbing theknowtedge.skills and attitudesexpectedof all studentswhograduate from high scbool."~n.d,p.S).

CJOTicul umOwoomes:

Curriculumoutcomesare,"sta tementsarticula ting whatstudentsarc expectedtoknow andbeable todo in particul ar subject areas ....Throughtheachievement of curriculum outcomes, students demonstratethe essentialgraduation learnings"(~n.d.,p.

S).

GeneralCJOTicul um Oiaco mes:

Generalcurriculum outcomes arc"sta tementswhichide ntify what students are expected toknowand be able to do upon completion of study in a curriculum area"(~

n.d,p.3)

Key-slage CJOTicu lumOutcomes :

Key-stage cwri culum outcom esare "statements whichidentify what students areexpected tokne w endbeabletodobythecnd ofgrades 3.6,9 and 12asa rcsult oftheir

17

cumulativelearningexperiencesin a curricul umarea"~n.d.,p.3)

Specific Curricul umOutcomes(orGrodelLve1Outcomes):

Specificcurriculum outcomesare"statem entsthat identifywhatsrudcnts shouldknow andbeable todoata particulargradelevel-<EwWsh..1:2.1999,p.28).

SSJ<

SSR isthe acronym for sustainedsilent reading, sometimesreferred to asUSSRor uninterru pted silentsustainedreading.

PDisthe acronymfor professional develo pment,specifically theprofessional developm entofte achers.

I im itatio ns of tbe Internship

Thisinternship studyissound according tothestan dar ds againstwhichqualitative studiesarc usuallyjudged,thatis, Uncol n andGuba's (19 85) criteria for judging trustworthiness.

Toincrease thecredibi lity ofthcinternship study,theinterndeclaredcarefully defined bcKmdaries around it.Therefore, the results do notclaim anundeT5tanding ofall programimplemen tatio n specialists'perceptions oftheirrolesastocwric ular change. but rather, throughdetailed descri ption,givea credible case study of oneprogram implementationspeci ali stwhohasvolunteeredto participatefromhispointofview on the subj ect of hisroleperceptio ns.specifical lyas it appliesto curricularchangeinvolving usc ofadolescentliterat ure.Only withintheseparamete rsisthe interns hipreportvalid.

Under thesecondition s, "in-depthdescripti on showin gthe complexi ties ofvariables and interactio ns will beso embedde dwithdata derived from thesetti ng that it cannot helpbut

18

bevalid'"(Marshall&Rossman.1994,p,143).

Infact.since meinternshipinvolved qualitative methods inwhichtheinternwasa participant observer inthedailysettingfOTa fairtylongperiod,itallowedopportunityfor continueddataanalysiswhichincreased the like lihoodofthe Intern'scategoriesmatching with whatwasrealityfOTtheparticipants (LeCompte:&.Preissle.1993).likewise,the constant comparison method(Glaser&Strauss,1967),whichwasusedfOTdataanalysis, helped distinguishmaturation influences from interveningotherphenomena, thus guardingagainstinternal validity(I...cCompte&Preissle).Inthesame way,themember checkswherebytheparticipantperiodicallycbeckedthedata analysis.toseethatit'rang true',increased validity (Fenennan. 1989;Harwood.1992;LeCompte&.Preissle;

Marsball &Rossman.1994).

Becausethisisacasestudy1baldidnot involverandomsampling. asistypical of qualitative.naturalistic inquiryin context. it makesnopromisesof generalizabiltiytoa broaderpopula tion (LeCompte&Prc:issle,1993;Marshall&.Rossman. 1994;Tite, 1996 ).

Also,since findi ngs may differin a school district comprised totally of ruralschools OT lowsocioeconomicstatusfami lies,genera lizationislimited Additionally,because this internship study focused onaprogramimplementation specialist for interm ediateand seco ndaryschools,results mayvaryfor case studiesinvolvingprimaryandelementary levelprogramimplementationspecial ists.Aswell,since noattemptwasmadeto control other variables,thereislessgeneralizabilityandvalidity (LeCompte:&.Preissle,1993;

Marshall&Rossman,1994).Ontheotherhand,theinternship study'sgeneralizabilityis enhanced bytriangulation from multipledatacollectionmethodswhich substantiate, clarify,andilIwn inatetheinternship.andwhich can"greatlystrengthen thestudy's usefulness forothersettings"(Marshall&Rossman,.1994,p.)Inany case,""theburdenof demonstratingtheapplicability of one set of findings toanother ccmextrestsmorewith theinvestigatorwhowouldmakethat transferthanwith the originalinvestigator"

(Marshall&Rossman, 1994,p.).Therefore, asindicated bythe definition of this internship study's boundaries,thedescriptionofthesampling strategy,and the

19

demonstrationof howthe interns hipisconnectedtotheoretical constructs.other researchersare providedwiththenecessaryinfonnatiooto determinetransferabilityto o1her setti ngs.

Uniq ue:condi tionsofthestudy whichmayaffect future attempts10replica te it (LeCompte&Presste,199 3:Tile,1996)includetheCWTetltimplementationofWlWl 1=2(1999)whichnecessitatesextradiscussion,interacti on, and perceptions amongthe programimplemen tation specialist.otheradministrators,andteachers.Also. since this interns hipoccurredinatimeofgeneral government cutbacks,the participant'sprogntm implementationspecial istposition,which a few years agohad been totallydevotedto LanguageArtsandtitled'Languag eArtsprogramcoordinator',nowisrespo ns iblcfor other areas as well(i.c.,allseco ndary schoolprograms).Replicationwo uld require similar conditions.Aswel l,schoolsinNewfound land andLabrador areundergoing massiverestructuring with themoveawayfrom denominationaleducation.Therefore, althoughoveral litisatimeofgreat

nux

andchangeinoureducation syste m,andthus, wasaunique opportunitytoresearch suc h an imponant area as curri cul ar change related 10adolescent literature,1JUC10qualitativeinquirywhich assumes thesocial worldis constantly being constructed,rep lica tabilityisproblema tic(LeCompte&Preisste.1993;

Marshall&Rossman, 1994).

However,leCompteandPreisste's(199 3)suggestions forinte rnal reliatHlity were undcnalr:cn,that is,use ofa tape recorder for interviewdatacollecti o n; use efIcw inference descriptors(verba timaccounts whichare ccccrete,precisedescri ptions andk.ept separate from the intern'sinferences);useof directquotes;inclusio n ofdisettpantdata as wellassupportive;andinclusionof multipleexamplescomingfromthick.descriptions.

Finally,to ensure against conce rns about replica tabi lity,from the beginn ingofthe internship,the internkept thorough andsystematic notcs,givingthe rationalefor design decisionsandkeepingall collecteddata organized andretrievable forthe possibl eanalysis of others (Mars hall&Rossman.1994 ).

Nonetheless , since theinternpurposefullyavoidedcontrollingthe interns hip 20

conditionsinorder10focusonthe complexna~of interrelations as they occur.in realization that tberealworldisnotstatic. "'the rescarchcr'sgoalofdlscovcring this complexi tybyaltering str.ltegic:switha fle:ub leresearch design. D\Ol'WVer,cannocbe replicat edbyfuture researchers,norshoulditbeattempted-(Marshall&Rossman, 1994, p.I46).

Toincrease confirmability,the intern consistentl yandregularlydida self-analysis ofpersonalbias (Marshal l&Rossman,1994).ThatsheisamiddleschoolLanguage Arts teacher who valuesadolescent lite rature allowedunderstandingandinsight intothe internshi pinthatitincreased theability 10understandanddescribethecomplex perceptions and interactions occurring; however,atDOtimewerethesevaluesprojected onto the participants.Similarly.the internguardedagainst"going native-(Pollard.1985).

thatis, identifyingso greatlywitbthepartici pantSthatallobj ectivi ty islost.

Aswell.,10increase confirmability shebuilt..instrategi esforbalancingin interpretari oe" (Marshall&Rossman,.1994,p.14S).Theinternbelievedthese realizationsand strategies wouldestab lish obj ectivityinthedatacollectionand analys is (Trte,1996 ).Thedatawastriangulatedwithineachcategorybycomparin g field notes,by content analysisofdocuments.andbyinterviewdata(LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Tire, 1996).For example. inte rviewdata relevant to theprogramimplementationspecialist' s percepti on of hisroleinpromotin gadolescentliteraturewascomparedwithjob descriptiondocumentsandwiththeintern'sobservationsoCtheprogramimplementation specialist' sroleinfieldnotes.Aswelt.theinternmadecontextsas explicitasispossible williekeepin ganonymitysafe.Additional ly,furthertoLeCompte and Preissle's(1993) suggestions forincreasinginternal validity,theintern ensuredeffectiveandefficient retrievalofdata. Moreover.she believedinthebenefits of qualitativeinquiry,thatis.in thepotentialfor rich,detail eddescriptio nofnatwal phenomenaincontext.

Inconclusion. given itsinternship framework. thisinternsh ip studyprovidesa neededcasestudyinvestigatingthe program implementation spec ialist'sself-perce ived role in prom otin gteachers'classroo m useofadolescentttterature.Itgivesquality,

2.

ridmess, and depthinitsfindings. aswell as asystematic.detailedanalysis whichyielded valuableexplorations.descriptio ns,andexplana tions of processes (Marshall&Rossman, 1994).

SliInmm

Cbapter Ooe of thisreportisan introductiontothe frameworkof the internsh ip andincludes the ranocaleasweUas it'ssignificance: withinthe contextcf reseerchin adolescent literarure.Chapter Two willpresentareviewofliterature relatedtothe promotionofadolescentliterature.ChapterThreecovers themethodologyof the inte rnshipandChapterFourreflects theconclusionsand recommenda tionsbased on the internship.

22

CHAPTERD REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Throughanoverall orientationtosymbolicintentetionismandethnomethodology, fonnal theorieswhichfoc uson themeaningshumans attachtobehaviours and interactions(LeCompte&Preissle,1993),thislitera ture review develops"a conceptual framework thatwill ground the_..studyinongoingresearc h traditions" (Marsha ll&

Rossman,1994,p.22).Marshall and Rossmanassert that fonnaland tacit theorywillhelp to bringtheresearch questionsinto focus. raisingthem toamore genera1level.The theoretical backgro undwill includea review of opinio n literature on coordinator-type roles; areview of argumentsfor teac hers'need of professional developmenteducation andsupportin this~a summaryofcurrent, genera l leadenhip mode ls;and some modelsspecificto leadershiproles incurricular change.Included as well are the substan tive background, research on theroleandvalue of adolescent literat ure,and a brief contentanalysisof currentNewfoundlandand LabradorDepartment of Education governm ent policy documents relevan ttouse of adolescentliteratureintheclassr oom.

A RC;vic;wofOpjnjon 1 ite ra ture 00Coo rd in ato r_rypeRoles Acoordinator,likeaprogram implementationspecialist,isa catalystforeffective educationalprogram deliv eryandisessentialas ameanstoprovidingteacherswith

23

information, guidance. and supponintheir professional development in thisregard (Adams,Bicknell-Hol mes&:Latta,1998;Blenkinsop,1991;Dare&:Maddy-Bernstei n,

199 7;Marcovitz,199 8;Scarino,Vale,McKay,&:ClarIc..198&).Althoughthereis a noticeablegapinthe educationliteratureastotherole ofthe program implementa tion spedalist specifictocwricular changeintheareaof adolescentliteranee,many educators,including Kachur (1997). do assert thatteacherswillneedsupportand guidanceinmalcingthechan ge to effectiveuseof adolescentliterature inthe classroom.

Garcia(1994 )claimsthat the changesdiscussed,of themselves,requiremajor shiftsfrom traditional waysof thinki ngandteachi ng.and thatthesechange sareoccurrin g sorapidly that it is often diffi cul t to keeppace.Furthermo re,she cla ims suchchangesinvolve teachers'selfconceptsaswellastheir teachingbehavio urs.

J.ea4ershjpMOOch

Currently,according10 Lashway (1996),educa tio nal leaders, suchasprogram imp lementation specialists,canchoosefromat leastthreebroadparadigms ofleadership stra tegies. Hierarcha l leaders usea rational analysis approach todecisionmaking and then assertFormal authoritytocarryit out;transform ationalleadersuseideal ism, persuasion, andtheprospectof ashare dvision tomotivate;andFac ilitativeleaders actively engage teachers in decisionmaking,invitin gthem to committoapartnership towards vision.

Some educa to rs(e.g.,Garcia,1994;Hoskin g&:Teberg,1998 )haveproposed

24

models more specific to leadership rolesthatinvolve workingwithteach ers on curricular change involvingliteracy practices.Garcia(1994) theorizes thateducationalleaders must realizethat staffdevelopment should be client-centred if programinnovations, such as greater use of adolescen tliteraturein theclassroom, aretohave lastingeffec tson practice.Derived fromthe theoIy of psychologistCarl Rogers (1969),as well as from Gestalt psychology(Perls,Hefferline,&Goodman. 1951)and modern cognitive psychology,this 'affecti ve' , client-centredapproachtoguiding curricular change refers to active listenin gas an essentialpanofthe leader' srole.It isbelieved that a leader's supportive'reflectin g back'ofideas as reachers ere expressing concerns willenco urage an environmentinwhich theseteacherswill comeup with theirown solutions.Theclient- centredstaffdevelo pmen tmodel is: self-asse ss,self-direct,self pace.Insuc h adialectic model,the processoffaciliratingteachers'growthin literacy practicesconsistsof identifying the teachers'positionson anissue,leadinga discussionto determinethe balance of enthusiasmfor each side of theissue ,and letting thesolutionsemerge by facilitatin ga synthesisthroughfull exploration of each aspect of the dilemma.

HoskingandTeber g (1998)present a model(Figurel)that offers both flexibility and directionandisdesignedto helpadministratorsachieve successfulprogram change throughsupportfor partnership,shared ownership,and responsibilitybetweenteachers and district staff.The province ,district, and school are 'an extended family'of

25

Fi gure IMOOdQ[ SYrn'l!XtforchangingIjtmcypnteriC£i"

(Hosking&Teberg.1998)

Educational partners districts

Commitmentsandpnactices

Resource allocations

Time to plan Flexible professional teacherin-service

Communicati onnetWOrks Supporting policies

Schoolsite

26

School

educational partners.The coordinator.suchas a program implementation specialist,plays an imperative role as a liaison, supporting teachersto align currentliteracyexpectations and ensuring thatteachersknow thechanges will be better for theirstudents'needs.and further,that what is beingasked oftbem ismanageable.

Other researchersand practitioners offer opinions on ways that a coordinatorrole, such as that of a programimplementationspec iali st, cansupportteachers insuccessful curricular change.Dareand Maddy-Bernstein(1997) suggestthat a coordinator should possessthe ability to articulate a vision, the insight to be able to seediversity as positive.

andthe capacity to understand and empowerothers.Blenkinsop(1991),Mertz (1993) and Peterson (1996)stress theneed for encouragingmore discussionamongteachersfor it is

"the regular everyday conversationswhichhelp establish and reaffirmshared meanings"

(Blenkinsop,199 1,p.3).Kachur(1997) emphasizesthat a program coordinato r must encourage teacherstokeepwell-informed,Inthe same way,a coordinato rmust develop in-depth knowledgein thespecific area concerned,includingan understanding of national curriculumstandardsonthe curricularprogram (Blenkinsop,1991;Kachur,1997; Lingo

&Henry,1990).Coaching through support groups,one-to-oneexpert modelling, feedback, and mentoringare imperative (Kachur,1997).

In-serviceandfollow-up arecrucialpansof the process(Kachur,1997;Kennard

&Carter,1989;Lingo&Henry,1990).Scarino et al.(1988) assert that a program coordinator needs to ensure thatprofessionaldevelopment is an ongoing, evolutionary processes.Itmust be coordinated toprovide for continuity;to ensure thatteachers are

27

allowed to identity their ownneeds;toinvolve teachers directlyand activelyin a collaborative process;tobuil din sufficient flexibilitytoallow for differinglevelsof teacher experience and needs;to give support intheform of constructiveguidance;to createa forumfor discussionwherethereis shared responsibility,trust,andopenness;and toensurethatthereisa sense of achievement.

Insumm ary,although much hasbeenwrittenon the significanceofacoordinator- typerole in bringing about curricular change in general.thisliteraturereviewdoesnot uncovermodelsor theoriesspecificto theroleof aprogramimplementation specialistin theeffective promotionof (and the inherentteacher education on)theuseof adolescent literatureinthe classroom.Moreover,althoughCampbell(1985)refers to thecomplexity andambiguityofa coordinator-typerole,there isnomention ofthe perceptions of suchan individualas to specificfunctionsinthisregard.

SubstantiveBackground

Areviewofthesubstantivefindingsconfinns the pattern obviousin thetheoretical review.Although there are no studies specific to a coordinator-type rolesuch as that of the program implementation special istinpromotingadolescentliterature,andadefinite shortage of case studieswhichexplore individuals'perceptions of their rolesin these regards, many studies(Brown, 1994;Bishop&Blazek, 1994;Harwood,1992;Kennard&

Carter,1989)haveindicated the essentialrolethat a coordinator playsin program change and developme ntingeneral. Forexample.Newelland Holt's(1997) studyof ahigh

28

scbocl'sEnglishdepartment undergoinga change from a cultureof individualismto one of cooperation and collaboration during a movementbeyondthettaditionalliterary canon, concludedthat there needs tobe acentral position"fo r discussion,debate,and thebard work ofdevelopinga coherentand thoughtful English curriculum from whichindividual tea chers might fashion their own practices"(p.36).

Furtherm ore ,severa lstudies indicate that a program coordinator'sroleis strongly affected byteac hers ' beliefsabout thesupport requiredincurricular change.Forexample, Licldeig(199 5 )foundthat the administrativeeffo rts teachers rated most highlywerethose which made the developmentof literacya priorityand which providedmo ralsupportin the processinvolved.In another study byBulach, Boothe,and Pickett(1997),375 graduateEducation Leadership students,themselvesteachersin schoolsetti ngs,when given aquestionnairewhichasked them tolistthemistakes educatio na l administrat ors make,identifiedmostfrequentlypoor hwnan relations skills,poor interpe rso nalskills, and lackof visio n. Also,Moore ' s(1992)surveyof 222UnitedKingdom head teach erson aspects ofprimaryscie nce coordi nators'work revealedapreference for coordinatorsto be fello wworkersandhelpers rather thanauthoritativedeci sionmakers.Likewise, Hoskin gand Teberg' s(199 8) survey of teachersindicatedthat visiblesuppo rt from district personnelis oneofthecrucialelements which will makethedifferencein desired program changes towardsincreased literacy.Obviously,then, a keyfigure,suchas a program implementationspecialist,willneedtobeawareof theimportance of developing optimal communication withteac hers and of maintaining a consistentvisionforprogram

29

change within a collaborative atmosphere.

Several studieshaveindicated techniques used by successful coordinators.For example,Brown's (199 1) studycollected. qualitativedata onstaffdevelope rs'explicitand implicit role sin structuringa multiculturalstaffdevelopm ent program for teachersthat requiredlinkingcurriculwn andstaffdevelopment~maintainingteacher interest.

Simil ar ly,inastudybyProsserandLevesque(1997). wherecollegeundergraduate Education students tutoredurbanelementary school children in an after-school literacy program, all those involved, includingadministrato rs,teachers .parentvolun teers.were ableto achievemore workin gcollaborarivelyasacommunity than individ ualscould have doneon their own.Forexam ple,the Grade3studentsbeing tutoredincreasetheir self- confidence and readingabilities,adult tutors experi enced personalgrowthand satisfaction and parents became more involved in theirchildren'slearning, Clearly.toimplementany literacy program."cooperation,input. participation, and constantcomm unica tion"(p.37) areessential.Successful chan getakesplace through collabo ration and partnerships.

Likewise, Bishop andBlazek's(1994)casestudy on the role of theschoo l library media specialistinaliterature-basedreadingprogram suggests thata consultantor coordina tor roleisintegralto thesuccess ofthe programsince it suppo rts teachers undergoing curric ular changethroughtheprovision ofintensiveinservicing. classroom observations,relevantprofes sionalmaterials,and one-to-one personalsugges tions.As well, Brown(1994),in hercasestudyofstaff developers ' rolesin implementing a multicultwaleducati onprogram.,found that role functionsincluded those of curriculum

30

developer,facilitator and changeagent, Thestaffdevelopers were respceisiblefor ensurin ga variety of teacher training activities includinginservicing, studygroups, seminars, observation, ore-to-one meetingsand feedback;extensivecwriculwnplanni ng andrevision, including piloting.assessing,and evaluation of curriculum;;andsignifi can t curricular research and development

Moreover,although many teacher educatorsstilluse a transmissi-onmodel which conflictswiththeholisticnatureof readerresponse pedagogy and the effec tiveuseof literatureinthe classroom. research showsthatteachersled toseethevajue of teaching directlyintheir own learningbeginto understand theoryand practice forimplementation in classroom(Lehman&Scharer, 1995. 96; Ross, 1992).For instance ,Reass (199 2) found that,when 129children'sliteratureuniversitystudentsusing MacLacha..m's (1985)Samh.

~discussedand respondedastheyread.their deepened and broadened awareness ofliteraturepositivelyinfluenced teaching ability.Similarl y,whenFisher and Shapiro (1991)looked at how ninesecondary teachers and15elementary teachers came to experienceliteraturestudy,findings indicatedthat their expos ure and response to quality children'soradolesce nt literatureextended their own literaryknoswledgein ways that would, inturn,encourage theirstudents'understandlng ofliteratme.

A few studieshavenoted coordinators'perceptionsandfeelingsabout theirroles.

Kennard andCarter's(1989) study indicatesthatcoordinators felt thatthelack oftimeto developa trulyproactiveapproach tocurriculum coordination was a maj-or constraint,as wasthelackof guidanceastohowthey sho uldinterpret and developtheir roles.In their

31

experience,aclear lydefinedrole,especially during times of great curricular change, shouldbepriority.Similarly,Harwood (1992)indicates,inhiscase study of curriculum coordinators forsupportedself-stud y program implementationinsecondaryschoo ls, that theseindividualsexperienced problemsof roledefinition,as wellasfee lings of vulnerability anddefensiveness.Notably,Duignan and Bhindi (1997) have surmised from their substantivefindings,that

there is an increasin guse of theconcept of'spiritual ity'by managersandleaders, not in any narrow or religious senseof theterm but more in a senseofquestioning as tothedeeper purpose ormeaning of their actions....we interpret thisconcern forspirituality,toatleast partly,reflectan attempt to understand the 'connectednes s'oftheir work, their relationshi ps,indeed their life[sic], to somethin gbeyond self and tosomething thatdemonstra testo them that they do,in fact,makeadifference.(p,198)

Despite whatisknown aboutyoung people' sneed for qualityliterature andabout effec tive teacher educationin timeof curricularchange,then, surprisinglyfewstudies haveexploredtheperception sofa program implementationspec ialis t involvedin this processbydescribingthat individual' sdailyexperiencesand feelingsormeanings regardingthatfunction,and nonehavelooked at this essential aspect oftheroleintegral to curricular change specificto thepromotionofadolescentliteraturein the classroom.

Role andvalueof Adolescent I jt e rature

Some educators contend thatado lescentliterature belongsin thecurriculum ofOUT junior andsenior high schoolsinacentral ratherthanin a peripheral place(Abrahamso n

&Cart er,1998;Burke,1993;Hipple,1997;Israel,1997;McGee,199 2).Asreasons,they

32

cite the many valuesof usingadolescent litera tureinthe classroom.Bushman (1997), Huck, Healer,Hickman,&Kiefer(1997),andStover(19%) believethat.because adolescentliterature,like Avi's excitinghistorical fiction, The TOleConfessionsof Cbar10neDoyle (1990),andGaryPaulsen'ssuspenseful contemporaryfiction,~ (1987),providepowerfulemotionaland psychological connections,they give the necessary excitementforenthusiasticreadingandallowyoungpeople to beginto understandthetransactionalnature of reading. As well,adolesce ntliterature(Soto'sA

~andJohnston'sAdamand Eve andPinch Me),unlikeclassicliterature.is effective because the characters,issues,andthemesare relevant to today's young adults and are.therefore,interesting to them(Benton,1993;Burke,1993;Bushman,1997;

Donley,1991;Israel,1997; Stover,19%;Robb,1998).Some,suchas Sanchez(1998)and Hucket al.,remind usthat adolescentliteraturesuchas KatherinePaterson's~

~(1978)andCynthia Voigt's~ (1983),bothexamplesof contemporary realistic fiction, canilluminate life foryoung peoplebyallowing them insights into humannature and into theuniversali ty ofhuman experience .Huck etaI.and Stover claimthat adolescent literaturecan developtheimagination,as whenyoung people readMargaretBuffie'sintriguingmodem fantasy,WhoIsfnmre:;Rajn?(1987) or Lloyd Alexander'shigh fantasyseries The Rook ofThree (1964 ). The BlackCauldron(1965).

TheCastle QfLyr(1966),TaranWandmr(I%7).and~(1968).Many recognizethe power of adolescentliterature'shistorical fiction genreto transportstudents to other placesandtimes.as do workslikeKarenCushman's The Midwjfe'sAppre ntjce

33

(1995 ) andKarenHesse's~(1998)(Antonetl.,199 7;Brown&Stephens, I99S;Huck etal.,1997;Sanchez,1998).Thenotion that adolescentIiteranrre,likethe multi-layered contemporary realisticfiction Walk Twp MoonS(1994) by SharonCreec h or1bchigh fantasy A Win", ofFaObsa(1968) by UrsulaLeGuin,allows a vicarious 'uymgoo' ofroles,andas aresult. a better understandingofself inthesearch for identity, issupponed. by scholarsandeducators (Brown&Stephens,1995;Huck.etal..1997;

Stover,1996).Much has beenwritten abouthow adolescenttuera ture suchasKatherine Paterson'shistoricalfiction,~(1991),andWillHobbs'exciting contemporary reali sticfiction,~(1991),canenhan ceempowermentfor their teenagereaders (Bushman, 1997;Donley,1991;Kachur.1990;Louie&Louie,199 2).Ofprimary imponance saymany,for instance,Huck et al.andStever,isthe sense ofhopeadol escen t literature offersyoung people whenthey readsuc hworksas BetsyByars'~ Questions pfBinro Brown(1988)or Walter Dean Myers'~(1988), in these particular cases,bothexam ples ofcontemporary realisticfiction..Several writers, inc ludingHipple(1997)andMertz(1993),reassurethatadolescen tlitenl1urelike Lois Lowry'ssciencefiction.~(1993),andKatherine Paterson' scontemporary realisticfiction, Jaeph HaysIIom:!(1980), offer the samepedagogicaltools,such as setting,character,andtheme,thatwehave alwaysusedwithclassicallitera ture.Finally, others are of the opinionthat exposure toadolescentliterature,from absorbingfantasy novels such as Katherin e Paterson'sBridgetoTerabjtbja(1977 ) toquality poetry by such writersas X.J.KennedyandDorothy M.Kennedy.MyraCohnLivingston,or Eve

34

Merriam.canleadto a lifelonglove of readingandexperiencinglitera ture(Bushman, 1997;Huck etal.,1997;Mayer,1989).

However,eventhoughthe inuinsicvalues of lrteramre shouldbe sufficient to give it a major place inthe curriculum, for"it can educate the heart as wellthe mind"(Huck et:

at.

1997,p.11),whenhterarure-based language progmnsare brought into classrooms, often the focus remains onthe efferent,'one right answer'approachwherebyliterature is treatedas infonnationtobetested.not asanexperience to be appreciatedand enjoyed (Huck,1992;Langer, 1994;Perfect,199 7;Purves,1992;Rapha eletaI.,1992;Rosenblatt, 1995).In fact,LaBonty (1990)sunnises that teachers'readingandawareness of adolesce nt litera ture arelow.Huck(1992) conjecturesthatthismay bedue toteachers' lackofconfidencein the ir knowledgeof litera ture to generate adolesce nts'responses,and

"thatmany teachersdo not know children's (adolescen t ) literatureandyet are being expected to use it withlittleor no in-servicework"(p.534).Funhennore,because Traw (199 3) concludes that adoles«nts stiU read agreat:dealof low qualityliterature,even though, Bushman(1997)andMarlow(1994) report that, whenyoungpeople are exposed toadolescent literature,they show increased desire: toread more trade books,it would lead us to surmise thatourteenage students are notbeingexposed tothe vast amlyof quality, interesting,and relevant lite rature that is now available.

Bringingmo re:adolescentliterature intotheLanguageAnsclassroomsof our schoo ls,then, is an importantcurricularinitiative.However ,suppo rt andguidancefor teachersingainingthenecessaryknowledge, skills, andperspec tives willbeimperative

35

foritwillrequiremajorchangesinteachingphilosophiesand behaviours(Hade. 1991;

Lebnun&Scharer,1996;Monseau,1996;Scharer,1992).Teachers WIllneed to be informedoftbe availabilityofadolescent literature,inspiredastoitspowerful potential, andguidedinitsuse(Langer,1998).Shared leadership and responsibilitybetween educationalleadc:rsandteacherswillbetheI(eycomponentstosuchsuccess fullitcnM:y curric ular change(Manning&Manning, 1994).Infact,acoordinator-typerole,suchas that oftheprogram implementa tio nspecialist atthe district schoolboardlevel,offers a rare oppo rtunityto cultivatestrong partnershi pswithteachers inthisarea,Sincethis function mustbeinte graltothe success fulandeffective promotion ofadolescent lite ratureinthe classroom,research intothenature ofsuch a roleis essential.

R'iYic:wg( R ecent PoHcy Docymen t'$

Duringdata collectionand analysisof thisinternshipcasestudy.the intern undertook. content analysis ofcurrent Newfoundland z.nd LabradorDepartment of Educationgovcmmentpolicydocwnents relevant touseofadolescen t litera tureinthe classroom.'Thesedocuments,whichthelanguageArtsprogram implementation specialist attheschoo l districtlevel wasclosel yinvolved withimplemen ting,revealsome relevant issues whichwillbecoveredinmo re detailinthe"R esearch Findings"sectioninChapter IVof thisreport.For example,theProgramo(Studjes'Kinder i 'De"Prima ry Ele me nta ry Intenne4iate andSen ior Hjgh(199 7-98)emphasizes thatliterature experiences are, "in addition to developing theirkno wledgeandstrategies,design edto

3.

enhance studentS'awan:oessof tile ricbncssof life"(p.72),andthatthereisneedfora balanceoftransaetiooal,expressive,and poeticwriting.Likewise,theDepartment of Education'sTeacher'sGuide·En glj sh-TheIntmnr4 jaJeSchoo!(19 88),recommendedby thePmmmofSmdi es(1997.8 ).althou ghdated,alludesto the needforstudents to enjoy the experience of literature,tounderstandit in relationtoself,and to respond toit emotionallyand reflectively.Also,~(1999),crucialin itsdemandfOTcurricular changes toguaranteeEssential Graduation Learnings.alludesto the need and provision for professioDalgrowthof leacbersin supportofthisnewcurricul um.in order to enable them.toallowstudents "to respondpersooallytoarange oftexts"(p.34)and10 do so usingvariousstrands-speaking,listening, reading, viewing,writing,and others.These emphasessuggest aneedfor a reader response philosoph ywithmoreinvitati onto aesthetic response .allofwhichuse ofadolesc ent literaturecanhelpenab le and whicha program implementation specialist isintegral in promoting.

37

CHAPTER lII

METHODOLOGY

Although researchislimited,somegeneraIand theoretical models for a coordinatoT-(ypCroleincurric ulumdevelopmentsuch asthatof a program implementation specialisthave been proposed.Theresults of thisinternshipmayormay notreflect suc bmodels as presentedinthe literature review.Therefore.the internship report.informedbyrelevanttheoreticalandsubstantiveliterature.was moreinductive thandeductive althoughitalsohadded uctiveelements.Inductiv eresearch beginswiththe collectio n ofdata whic h theresearcher examinesin a search for categories and relationships.The intern used thisapproac hinwhichthe"q ual itative researchertends to regard theory as something that is'gro unded'inthedata..(Tite..1996.p.25).Thusthe internbeganwithdata and searched forpanerns and themes.Deductiveresearch,on the otherhand.stanswitha theoretical systemwhich it relatestoa bodyofdatawhich suppons or negatesthe propositions oftbe theory.Also,thisinternship studywascloser to the genenstiveendof ttle gcncrative-ve rifi cative continuwnsince itwasmore concerned withthe generativeapproachofdiscovering theore tical propositions from the evidence (generative )thaninverifyingtheorywiththe data(LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Tite, 1996).The studywasverynear to the constructive endofthe construc tive-enumerative continuwnsinceitwas involved morewithelic itingconstructsthroughitsobservat ion

38

and descriptionthan insystematic counting(LeCompt e&Pretssle,1993;Tile. 1996).The intern's approachwasmidwayonthesubjective-objecrivecontinuumbecause whileshe valuedinsightasintegraltoundemanding,sheensured her valuesY.Uenotproject ed ontO theparticipan ts orontoher analysis ofthedata.Infact, she strove to'ma ke the familiar strange'(LeCompte&Preissle,199 3;Tite.I996)andtolookforsurprises(Shank.1994).

She did sobyta1cing objectiveobserver notes on aregular basis withoutinterpretiveor emotio nal comments.Sheattemptedto see theparticipantsfroma consultant- like perspective.

Manyscholarsassert that positivismis inappropriate forhuman behavioural scienceinquiry (LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Marshall&Rossman.1994;Moniso n.

1991;Tite,1996)and emphasizethatquali tativestudiesarcespeci allyvaluablefor

"researchthat delvesin depth into complexi tiesandprocesses"(Marshall&Rossman.p.

43 ).Aqualitative(asopposed to aquantitative)study of aprogr.un implementation specialist'srolein the promotion ofteaehers'uscof adolescentlnerarure, therefore.was noedcd...Also,uncoveringthe tacitaspectsandindi vid ualperceptions invo lvedin curricular change are importantbecausetheyhavebeen Largely overlooked.Insucha complex areaascurricular innovation insupportofliteracy,the inlern'squalitative approachenabledaglimpsebeyondmerevariablesinto the real-lifeprob lemsand perceptionswithinthearena, andreapeda thorough,and rich lydetaileddescription. In fact,Marshall&Rossman(I9 94)claim that, for anyphenomenon.itiscruc ialto understandhow people perceive theirpartinit,Qual itative methodswere cbosenfo rthis

39

internshipstudy.then,.becausetheyallow research whichis exploratoryanddcscripti\'e withinthenarural0CClIlTe0CeofCODtemporaryphenomena; becausethey recognize the importance ofsettingandcontext;and becausethey'IllIueandsearch fo r adeeper understanding of lived experiencesoftheparticular phenomenon.

SerrjogandPilnjcjpaot}

Preferri ng an in-depth ca.sc--studyof asingle prognun implementationspecialist for the roleanalysis,the inte rnsoughtatypicaloraveragecaseofa Newfoundlandand Labradorschoo lboard program impleme ntatio nspecialistresponsibl e for Langua geArts Thiswas a form of purposiv e,criterion-based selection(LeCompte&Preissle,1993;

Miles&Huberman, 1994;Tite,1996 ).The decisionsinvolvedwere theoreticalones basedonthe perceivedgap in theliteratureaswellasontheintern'scomm itment tothe need forqualitative researchonarole crucial totheprocessof cwricular changein middlescbool Language Am.Furtaermore,the internwasnotinterested in generalizability,but rather,in providingthick descriptionof oneprogramimplementa tion specialist'srole in this regard.

OnlyODeprogram implemen tationspecialistfittin gthe criteri awaslocatedwithin suitabledistanceforthe dailyaccess required fortheinterns hip.Theparticularcandidate, whowill remain anonymous,when approachedbythe intern'suniversity supervisor,Dr.

E.Strong,volunteeredtoparticipateboth asthe sitesuperviso rforthe internshipandas the key participantfor theinterns hip.Also,since the specific schoolboard distri ct

40

iavo bedis imple mentin g~t1ythenew~(1999),itgave exce llent opportunitytostudytheprogram implementatioospecialist'5perceptions ofthe role involvin g the promoti on of adolescentlitera~with teachersduringa time of tremendo us curri cular changeinLanguageArtsfor the province.

Therefore.althoughthestudy waslimited10onecase,theselected sitefor interns hipwasonethat providedsigni ficant potentialtorevealan in-depthunderstanding oftheprogram implemen ta tionspeci alist'sperceivedrolein thisregard.The casestudy gavethe"intensity,amount,and variability ofthedata"(Mars ha ll&Rossman.1994 , p.

47) thatencouraged fullresponsetothe intern'squesti ons.Thisparticularsite,aschoo l boardoffi ce,responsiblefor appro xima tely80schoo ls ranging fromkindergartento Grade12ina distri ctwith bothurbanandruraJ.schools.wasmore appropriatethenothers becauseentry waspossible;becausetherewasahighlike lihoodthattheresearcherwould find"arichmixofttleprocesses,people,prognuns,interactions"(Mars hall&Rossman, 1994,p,51)inwhichtheprogram implementationspecialist'sroleis embedded;. because, as apartofan internship settingthere,theintern wouldbeabletobuildrapportandtrust withtheparticipants:andbecausedatawouldbe richanddetailed,thereby lendinghigh credibilitytotheinternshi p(Marsball&Rossman,1994).

Tjme;[m m'of the;Intern ship

The intern shipportion ofthisstudyconsistedofalo-wee k blockduringMemori al University ofNewfoundland' s1998 springsemester.Itoccurredfrom April 20,1998 to June29, 1998.

41

RolOofthcIntern

Theinternmaintained full awareness ofmeresp onsibilities that accompanied her role asthe mainresearchinstrument.Toincreasethe comfort of participants.she fully discl osedher role.mcludmgpurposesforthe internship.descriptio noflik elyactivities, possiblewaysthe internship findingswouldbeused.and bowthe participantscould take 'partintheintemship(Morse.1994;Marshall&Rossman.199 4; Ttte,1996).

Inthefirst two to four weeks,the intern gavepriority overdatacollection tothe developmentoftrusting relationshipswithparticipants(Marshall&Rossman.1994).She accompisbed thisbyactivelyandthoughtfullylist ening.aDdbyshowing"em pathetic undemanding of and profoundrespectforthe perspectivesofothers-(Marshall&

Ross man,p.65).Shewas remindedofMarsbaUandRossman' sadvicethat"researcbers sho uldbesensitive totheneed for timetopass.fle Xibil ity in their role.and patience.

because confidenc e andtrustemergeover timethrough.co mplexinterac tio ns"(p.66).

Also.in the earlyweeks ofthe internshipstudy.withthepurpo se of refining her ability to dealwithethicalproble ms.she took sometime 10readother researcher'sdiscussionsof ethicalproblems.

furthermore.as a participant observer.theintern attem ptedtobe as unobuusive as possible,and 10 thisend, maintaineda somewhatlo w profileso astoallow natunLI interacti onsandto avoidpartic ipan ts feelingany discomfort. Shemadeevery effort 10 ensureminimaldisruptions 10the participants'everydaylivesandprivacy.soas tonot violate their hwnanrightsinanyway.

42

The internwas especial lysensitivetoethical considerationspresent (LeCompte:&

Preissle,199 3;Tile,1996 ).Forexample,she obtained the program implementation specialist'swrittenconsentbefore interviews.Thekeyparticipant, theparticularprogram implem en tationspecialist inthiscasestudy,aswellas allotherparticipantsdurin g parneipaa tocservation, includingtheproviDcialDepartmentofEducarion'sprogram implem entati on specialist for Language Am, remain anonymous.Also,altho ughcontent analys isoftheprogramimplementationspec ialist'smaster's thesis(unpub lished)was cond ucte dto gainfunhcr insight intohis beliefsregard ingado lescentliterature and its promotion, to further protecttheprogram implementation speci a list, the thesiswill remai n unidentifi ed specificallyandinstead willberefe rredtoas the"participant's master' sthesi~1989'.Aswell,sites of thevariousin-servicesatwhich partic ipant observa tionoccurredarcDOtdisc losed;instead,in-servi cesarclabelledIn-serviceA,B,C.

0,E.orF.Theintern hoped thatthis protecti onofparticipantswouldencotlnlgC disclosure ofpercepeces and feelingswithoutfear ofpublicscrutinyandaccountability (LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Tite,1996).

Toreciproca te theparticipants'inconvenience,time.support, and tolerance.the intern helpedoutwherepossible.For example, she assistedthe programimplem entation special ist' Susual tasks related toLanguage Arts,gaveinfonnalfeedback, provided thoughtfullistenin g,andobliged anyother demands ofrcciprocitythatwerea typical part of the internship(LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Marshall&Rossman,1994;Seidm an.

199 1).

43

Inall situations involvinginteractions among perncipaers,the imem tookcare to remain neutral, lookingforways "todisplayskill.andsensitivityindealingwith complexitiesinrdations bipsthat inevitably emergeduringfieldwort."(Mars hal l&

Rossman,. 1994,p.66).Also,the internheededLeCompte&:Preisslc's(1993) advice to bandle tensioninthefieldbyidentifyingandsympathisingwith the participantswhile maintainingsome social distance.

[)a1:aCollectjon

Additionally,the intern.as aparticipant obse rver,tookaccount oftheprogram implementationspecialist's interacti ons with teacherson issue srelatedto using adolescent literature.Typicalof qualitati veresearch. this panicipantobservationinvolved immers ionin theeveryday life of the setting; sought todiscov erand value the perspectivesof participan ts on their \lr'Orlds;viewed inquiryasacollaborative,interac tive processbetween theinternand thepartic ipan ts;wasboth analyticand descri ptive; and dependedon people'swordsandbehaviouras theprimary data (MaIshall&Rossman, 1994).Theintern foc used on theprogramimplemen tati oospecialist'sinteractions involvingteacher education and professionaldevelopment suchasin servicing.andother relevantinteractions suchasdemonstrations pertainingtouseof adolescentliterature,and even brief,informa l encounters, suchas anin-servi cecoffee break, which involvedhelp requests,supportivegestures,and so forth.

Theintern tookbothobjective.,descriptive fiel dnotes(referred to as Descriptive 44

Field Notes from In-serviceA.B,C,D,E.orF)andinterpretive.analytical fieldnotes (referred eo as AnalyticalField NotesfromIn-serviceA.B,C, 0,E.orF;ordenoted wiiliiodescriptivefield Dotesbybrackets[as so» (Glesne&.Peshkin.,1992).Fromvarious perspectives (Jorgensen. 19 89)andusing aU the senses, theinternbeganby observing everyth ing. but, afterthefirstweek.or two. upon'getting afeeling' fo r what sorts of basic socialprocesses were occurri ng (Hutchinson,1988),continuedparticipan t observati on with a clearerfocus.

Midwayontheparticipant-observationcontin uum.,observation allowedtheintern undemandingof aspects oftbe programtmplemen tancn specialist'sroleimplicitin interactions, dlusproviding triangulation.while participatioo fromimmersio nin the setting allowedhertobear.see,and begintoexperience: realityas the participant did,so that interviews,combinedwithobservation, allowed theintern to understandthe meaningsthat individ ual held for everyday activities(Marshal l&Rossman,19 94 ).

Furthermore,althoughthescope of thisstudywithintheinterns hip frameworkdid not allow in-de pth interviewingwithotherparties. (e.g,teac hers,principals,erc.), the participan t observationgave some overallinsightwhich could stimulateother researchers toexploresuchanglesinmore depth at another time.

TapedIntervie ws

As aprimarymethod.of datacollectiontodiscovertheprogramimplementation specialist'sperceptio ns speci fic 10thepromoti on ofadolescentlitera ture,what personal

4 '

meaningthisrolepossesses.daytodayexperienceswithit. and penonaIbeliefsregan1.ing bowthe task maybestbeachieved,theinterncor.dueted fourin-depth interviews with the program implemeutarionspeci alist(referred to asInterview1,2.3,or4)duringthe10- week period oftbe internship.Intervi ewsoccurredatthe schoolboardofficesandlasted fromIto1Ytbourseach.Sincethese interviews were tape-recorded,theydid notproceed withoutwrinen pennission.On a regular basis,theinterviews weretranscnbedand recordedwith out changetotheparticipant'swording orgnunmaticalstructureso asto mai ntainintegri ty to the ccnversatio nal tcneoflhisqualitativeinq uiry,andespecially.so as10mai ntai n inte gritytohismeaning.Also ,the internmadeall necessaryattempts10 kee p confi de ntialthe infonnationcollected; inte rviews,transcripts,and tapeswillbe destroyed oneyearfollo wingacceptanceofthe internshipreport,

The internused asemi- structured interviewfonnatthat provideda set of possible issuesandquestions thatshouldbe explmed.yetremained very fleXIbleanddid not peescribe wording(Merriam, 19 88).Employin ga combination ofPanon'stypology (in LeCompte&:Preissle,199 3 )and somemodels(Kennard &.Caner.1989;Heckani, 1993) discoveredin thereviewof 1he literature:(see AppendixA),the intern plannedsome generalquestions aimedat discoveringthe participant' smeani ngperspective,butplaced emphasisonletti ng"the participant'sperspectiveonthephenome nonof interest...unfold astheparticipant views it,not as the researcherviewsit"(Marsha ll&. Rossma n,1994,p.

80).AsPatton ' s typologysuggests,theinterview contai nedseveralof eac htypeof question: experience- be havi o ur,opinion-value,andfeeling.Aswell,the interngave

46

appropriateattention tocontent.scripting.andorderingofquestio ns.

Thisintervi ew method promisedricher data than would aquestionnai re.The intern could probe,use open-endedquestioning,and explainthequestions .."..hen necessary,Rappo rtwiththepartic ipantled to the revela tionof morein-depthinforma rion coocemingthatindividual'spen:eptionsoftheprogramimplementati onspecialist'srole in promo tingadolescentliterature,andthus,provideddatathatanswerc:dthequestio ns

Asa means offurther triangulation(LeCompte&Preissle,1993;Tite,19%).the internreviewed documentsrelatedto use of adolescent literature whileworkingwiththe programim plementati o nspecialistand teachersduringprofessionaldevelopment interactions.Theseinc ludedteacherin-servicedocumentssuchas l..anIDg gcADSID_

~(1997)(seeAppendix C)andmaterialsconccmingadolescentliterature;

cuniculwnunits usingadolescentliteraturethatweresuggest ed bytheprogram impl.cmentario nspecialist;andDepartmentofEducationrelatedpolicy documentssuchas Tg'bjngtimNovel(SeeAppendixD).The internalso reviewed andanalysedthe partic:ipant'sMaster'sthesis(l999)whichwasonthe subjectofadolescentliterature.

47

CHAPTERIV

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

-

Theinterninthis internship useddefiniteandorganizedmethodsof data analysis, realizing atalltimes the limitationsof theinternship.Dataanalysis wasanongoingand contin uo usprocessfrom thebeginning.Daily,the interntranscribed,labelled.organized.

and.codedinterviewdata,.field notes.and memosto hersel f,includingsummaries, insights,perceptions,andso forth,allthe while searching for patterns in thedata.A computerfile listin g the availabledata,time of interview or field notes,andthe participantsinvolved waskept. The intern organized thedata in theseways consistentlyso thatlargequantities ofdata did notbecomeunmanageable.

The intern followed a form of Marshall's(citedin Marshal l andRossman.1994 ) organizationaltechniquessuchthat.dwingtranscription of dataonto computerfiles, initial analysisinitalics~added, keeping theliteraturereview,previousdata,and earlier analysisnotesinmind.1l:lis processofpreserving data, alongwithinterpre tive meaningssoonaftercollection.expeditedtheanalysisprecess,althoughit didnotreplace theoveraIJconstantcomparisonmethod(Glaser&Strauss.196 7) of sorting, loo kingfor overlappingcatego ries.and identifyi ng more abstractthemes.However.these organizational methods ensured retrievable and manipulabledata.At thesame time.they werenot sorigid as todisallowflexibility (Marshall&Rossman).

Utilizingthetheoretical perspectives and approaches indicatedinthe literature:

48

review,the intern anaI:yscd datafrom thisinternshipStUdytoanswerthe main research questi ons.AsManball and Rossman(1994)pointout, theliterature reviewinagrounded theory developmenthelpsprovidecategOries,theoretical consnuets,andproperties that may assist data organizationandthe discovery of new links between real-world phenom enaand theory. Place me ntoftheprogramimplementation specialist'sperceptio ns ofandexperienceswiththe role ofpromoting adolescent literatureagainstthe theoretical reasons todo so{i.e.,readerresponsepedagogy,andadolescent development theories) andwithin modelsof a coordinator-type role,illuminatedfor the internthe participant's meanings.so that, in effect,pr-eviousrbeotyand models provided "guiding hypotheses -.

Nonetheless,these premiseswere,as Marshalland Rossman reflect, "'merely toolsusedto generatequestionsandtosearchfor patterns,andmaybediscarded whentheresearcher getsintothe fieldand finds othe rexcitingpatterns ofphenom ena"(p.37).This approach maintained the essentialflexibility requiredtopennitthe precisefocusoftheinternship to unfold during theresear chprocess itselfTheintern,then, "retained her rightto explore andgeneratehypotheses in the general area ofthe problem statement-(p.37).

To this end,generalanalytic procedures such as the constant comparison method and typological analysiswereused to derivegroundedtheoryfromthe data(G laser&

Strauss,1967;Hutebinson, )988;LeCompte&Preissle,J993;Tire,1996).Here,to expeditetheprocess,the internused Burnard's(1994) methodoffocusingonthe identification of'meaningwrits'asabasisofde vel op ingcategories for analysis using

~Whilecodingand analysinglinksfor patterns,incident (orbehavio ur)was

. ,