partial sis

TEACHER REACTION '1'0 1989 ct1RRICtlLO'M CHANGE INNEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR ELEMENTARY CORE FRXNCH

by

HaroldJ.Warr, B.Se.(Han.), B.Ed .. M.Sc.

A thesissubmitted to the Schoolof Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degreeof Master of Education

Department of Curriculumand Instruction Memorial Universityof Newfoundland

1995

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TIlE AUTHOR HAS GRANTEDAN IRREVOCABLE NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENCE ALLOWING

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lHE Aun!ORRETAINS OWNERSHIP OFTIlECOPYRIGlIT INI-DSIHER.

THESIS.NEmIER TIlE TIlESISNOR SUBSTANnAL EXTRACTS FROMIT MAYBE PRINTED OROlHE RWISE REPRODUCED\\-ITHOtrrHISIHER PERMISSION.

ISBN 0-612-06158-2

Canada

L'AUTEURA ACCORDE UNELICENCE IRREVOCABLEETNON EXCLUSIVE PERMETTANT A LABffiLiOTHEQUE NATIONALE DUCANADADE REPRODUlRE,PRETER, DISTRlDlJER OU YENOREDES COPIESDE SA THESEDE QUELQUEMANIERE ET SOUSQUELQUE FORMEQUECESOIT POURMETTRE DES EXEMPLAIRES DE CETTETHESEA LADISPOSITIONDES PERSONNE INTERESSEES.

L'AUTEURCONSERVFLA PROPRJETE DUDROITD'AUTEURQUI PROTEGE SA TIffiSE.NtLATI-lESE NI DES EXTRA1TS SUBSTANTIELS DE CEUE- CINEDOIVENT ETREIMPRIMES OU AUTREMENT REPRODUlTS SANS SON AlITORlSATION.

Theaim of this studywas todetermineteacherrec c ercn to a curriculUJl\ change in el ementary core Fr enc h. In mos t cases a particular curriculum is changed and a new one impl emented wi t hout a formal eva l uat io nof whetheror not the implementation was suc ces sful . As a res u l t of inf orma l discussions with tea c h e r s it was learned that t.he change in curriculumin elementa~coreFrenchwas successful, but.tha t th e r ewer e some difficul t ieswiththe newprogram. Thisst udy is, th e r efor e, an example of how to evaluat e aprogram that has already been impl emented.

In order to determine exactly the suc cesse s and difficulties with the new program, a survey was developed using the neweleme ntarycore Fre nc h curricul umguide as a so urcefor the questi ons tobeposed. The surveywascceoceed of two sections. The first cons i s tedof fiftee n itemsand asked teachers for demogr a phic infonnat i on . The seccnd requi red tea c h e rsto ra t",ona scaleof five tozero forty·

fo ur statementswhic hwerebased on program objectives.The su rve y was admin i steredto all teachers of element ary co r e Frenchinschoo lsoperatedbyth ePenteco s t al Assemblies Board

i i

of Educat ion. ThePe n t e c ost a l As s embli e s Boa r d ofEd ucat i o n is a provincial board wi t h schoolsrepresentativeof the types tha t are found inNewf o un dl a nd and Labrado r.

Out ofa total of forty-one surveys sentout. therewere thirty-five completed and returned. Althougha descriPtive study, SPSS. a compr ehena Lve, integrated system for statistical analysis, was used to deterrnine frequency distributions of the variables on which the survey was based.

Aswe l l. Pearson correlationcoefficient.:; were calculated to determine what linear relat ionships exf st; between the variables.

As a result of this survey analysis it was learned that teachers arefa vo ur a b l y impressed with the curriculumchange.

However, they feel that there are some difficultieswiththe authorized resource at the grade six level. Teachers have stated that the ';Jrade six resource does not provide for continuityfrom grade five to grade sixand that manyof the suggested activities in the grade six resource are not suitablefo rstude nt s who have previouslystudied coreFrench for only two years.

iii

'Ihe challenge facing teachers who usethiscurric ulum is to makecertain that the obj e ctive s outli ned in the curriculum guidearemet eve ni f it meanscons i derable adapt atio nof the resourcethat hasbe e n authorized forusein grade si x . If the resource -ba s ed le arningand te a c h ing ph ilos ophy of the Departmentof Ed uc a t i o n is followedby theteach e r s . st udent s shoul d have a success fu l experienc e inele me nt ary coreFre nch nomatter what re s o u rce sare used .

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to tak.e this oppo rtunity to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Eliza be t h Yeoman, fo rhe r assistanceduring the prepara tionof this thesis. I alsowish to acknowledge the support and encouragement of my wife, Geraldine , andmych ild r e n, Stephenand Julia .

'1'A1ILJI': OP CONTBN'l'S

ABSTRACT ••••••••• ••••• •••••••••••• ••••••••• • • •••• • • • ••ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ••• •• •••••••.••••••••••••• •• •••••• ••.. •v LI S TOF TABLES•••••• •••••• •.•• ••••••• ••••••.••.••••••vii CHAPTER

1INTRODUCTI ON•••• •• •••••••• • ••••• • • ••.• • •••1 2 STATEMEN'l'OF THE PROBLEM••• •••••••• • • • ••• • • •• . .• 5 3SELECTEDREVI EW OF THE LITERATURE .••7

·1 DESIGN OFTHESTUDY .•••..•• •.• • • . • .... .• 18 5RES ULTSOFTHESURVEY •••••••••••••. ••.••.. •.2 ::!

6 CONCLUSION.• ••• •••••.•. • . •..••...•••.•• •••• ..5 5 REFE RENCES •• ••••••. .•.•••••••.•• ••.••.• • ••••••••. ••.•• 63 APPENDI CES •• •.••••••• •• • ••••••••••••• • • • ••••••.• ••• •••72

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LIST OF TAlILES

1. Teache r Le v e l of Comfort using s rencb 25

2. Student Enthusiasmforthe Study of~rench 28

3. Student Interest in~Unit... ...29

4. Correlation of Cu r ri cul umGu i d e and Resource.. . ..32

6. Me a n i ngf ulLan g uageCpportunit i es

s. Conti nuity Be tween Gra d es ... .35 . ..40

7. Learning/T e a ching Pace ..

8. Need to De vis e Ac tivi ti es

.41

...44

9. AllActiv it iesin Resource 45

10. Need to Ada ptAc t i v i tie s 47

vii

Cha p t e r 1

Intrqd uctjon

In septe mbe r 198 9, the Depa r t me nt of Ed uc a t i on in Newfound landandLa br3dor int roduceda new cur ri culumguide and Le a rninq resources in to th e elementary cor e Fr e nc h curriculum. The curriculumguide ent itled , Iea rn in gFre nCh)5

" Secgnd ran9llage "GBide for Teac bc "'"Gr a des4- 6, replaced the Elementary Fre n c h Teaching GlIj de Gr a des 4 - 6 dated August, 1981. Thelearningresou rc e chosento comp l e ment the cur riculum gu ide is ent itled ~, a ccrnmeccfa Hv pr oduced reec u r c e- ba e ed kit of materials. The mat e riaIc include a student text,workbook , flashcards , audiocosset ee e and puppets. ~~was chosenasa re sul t of a prov tncfat pilotduring whichtimeother commerciallyproduced resou r ces were exper i e nc edbysele cted classesacrossthepro v i nc e. As aresul t of pilotteacherconmenr,~was sele ctedas thereso u r c e that couldbe s t meet theneedsof stude ntsinour schools. As well , ~correlatedverywellwith the provi ncial curriculumguide.

Since it s intr od uc t ion in1989at the grade4 leve l, the new resourcehas be en introduced one yes r at a time togr ad e 5 in1990 and grade 6 in 1991. It should be noted as well that the implemen t at i on of a ne w core French program has continuedthro uqho ut the intermediateIeve.land int othe

senior high . Theintroduction of the newcurricu lumguideand learni ng resources in 1989 w"'~ em import",nt point in the teaching and learning of French in Newfoundlandand Labradoc Schools. It marked theend of a decade of rapidin t r od uc t i o n of core French to ourel emen t a ry schools to the pointwhe r e core French is accepted as an established part of the elementary school program withgrade 4 as the officialentry point to the core french program.

With elementary core french firmly established as an official part of the school program, the aim of the changes in eleme ntary core French was to consolidate and improve the entire elementary co re French program.

This multi -dimensionalelementarycore French program has been in use in schools for five years at the grade 4 level, fo ur years at the grade 5le v e l and three years at the grade 6 level. For the most part. teacher attitude and reaction to the changeshave been determined informally. The program has be e n accepted, and mos t practioners seem to agree that the program is meeting the needs of the French curriculum.

Howe ve r . it is nowtime to make a more detailed assessment of there a c tion of teachers who areusing the program.

Thete a che r s ' point of view is importa nt, andthi s study is an attempt to give teachersan opportunityto express th e i r viewsor percep tio ns. Anders on (1970) states that te ac he r s

are the grea t e s t of allinflu enc e son the cur r icul um,and tha t th e i r views of cur ricu l um content, of the ch ild r e n, and of the i r ownva lues arethe major determ i ne rs of the classroom experience. The classroom experi en ce of child r e n is the curriculum.

The que s tion ofwhat shou l dbe incl uded inthe school curriculum is a conti nuing one. 1_is a ques t ion towhich each generati on mus t find its own answer, dr.:lwing upon the past for what is app r opr iat e and makinQchanges to reflec t contempor ary ne e ds. Cur r i c u l umpl a nne rs mus t co n t inuous l y reassess the curriculumwithr eference to th eki ndotworld in whichour childrenwillLi ve in the ye a r sahe ad .

Some of the forces whi ch hav e cr eat ed a ne ed for re a s s e s s me n t of the cur ri c uluminclude the qloha l econo my, conflictsbetweendiff ering va luesystems and nat i o nal ne e ds. They also includethe exp los i on ofknowl e dqeandthe growthof expectations . The se ve ry factorswereamong those that led the NewfoundlandDepartment of Educ o!lti on to impl e me n t o!l new curriculum guide be g inni ng in 1990. The views of the el eme nt a ry coreFr e nc hteac he r s,wi t h respec t to the differen t aspectsofthecurriculum.maybeof qreat inter e st . The ways thatthey perceivethevariousas pe ct s of the cur ri c u lum may wel l bekeydete rmi ninqfact or s fo r the success or fail ure in achievi ngth e goals and object ivesoftheelement a ry core

Frenchpr01ram.

This descript.i vest.udy is there fo r e anexampleof how a prcqramandcu..--riculumchange canbe eva lua t edafter offici a l implemen tat i on. The survey that eeeeee ee were asked to compl e te gave them anop po rtunityto reac t toa curri cu l um changeafter se ve ral yea r s of usingthe aut horizedres o ur c e s 'in their c.taeeeeces• Based on the teac her responses, the implemen tation and feas ibilityof the programisdi.ac us aed, Fullan (l991 1statesthat edu cational cha ngedepe nd s on what teachers do and thi nk. This study gave teachers th e opport un i t y to exp ress theirthou9h ts ona curr iculumchange in elemen t ary cor e Fr e nc h.

Chapter 2 Stat ement Ofthe Pratl em

one of the majorproblems with any maj orchange to school curricu lum is the lack of evaluation of tha t curriculumonce it has been implemented. Teacherscont i n u ously evaluatetheir students through va rious means such as observat i on s, ra ting scales, checklists andunit tests. Often the co llective evaluations of st u den t s serve as an evaluati on of the curric u l um its el f. In mo s t cases, this sort ofcurri culum evaluati on may be suffi cient . I f students ar e att ain i ng programobjectives , itmigh t be poss i b le to gener al izeth at the program is adequate. Howeve r, the ac t ua l attitudes and observations of teachers wi t h rega r dto t.hecurric u lum cannot be ove r looked. The i r evaluation of the curriculum, whether po.aLt.Lve or negative , must be considered with a view to improvin;"the curriculumor con firrninQthat thecur ri culum is acc e pt a b l e for intended objec t ives .

Curriculumimplementat io n according to Fullen (1982) requires several years. Itis. theref o r e, appropriate that tea cherobservationof and attitudetowards the new curricu lum be studi edfiv eyears afte r theinit ial implement ationat the gr a de 4lev e l .

The purposeof thisdescriptive studywillth e r e f or e be to determine teac h e r reaction to changes in cur r i cu l um in elementarycore French . In f ormal discuss ionswith teachers

reve al that there is overallsatisfaction with the change.

However,someaspectsof the cu r ri cu l um are problematic. For example , some teachers have stated that th e learning acti vit ies of the grade6learningresource.~. do not fittheob jectivesofthecurriculum guide aswell as they ha d hope d. rt is hoped tha t an analysis of tea c he r reaction wil l demonstrate the actual topics of concer n so that adjustmen ts ca nbe ma de inthecur r ic ul um.

By analyz i ng teacher attLt.udea and concerns towa rd curricu l umchange, itwill be possi ble to improve the te ac hing and learning situa tion in el emen tary core French classes. The rec omme nda t i ons that res ult fro mthe study shou ld, i f impl emen t ed, cre a t ewo rt hwhi l echange s inthe classroom.

Chapter 3

Select edRevipwof the T;terature Attemptsat Change

The literature sugges ts that sc h ooldist ric ts whichare willingto disp e rs e powe r so that thereis more invo l veme nt and deci s ion-maki ng clo serto thepoint of delivery ar emor e successful in implemen ting change (Fullen, 198 3; Ru the r - ford, 1986 ). Initi ativ e s rely ing more on cross-l evel par t icipati o n and col laborative planning, wi th central monitoring andsuppor t, are rnare suc cess f u l . There fore the capacity of an implement ation plan to influence teaching stra tegies, orqanizat ionalpatterns. and basic be liefs about inst ructio n is essential toany at tempt at pla nne d change.

coaencn UgeO) obs erves tha t scho ol reforms that were de s cribed in scho l a rly ar t ic l e s , gove r nmen t documents, and scho ol board policies. forthe mos t pa rt,wereno t impl ement ed in clas sroo ms : -ueacbe r s were able to put the weather stripp ing on the cl a s s r o om door and effec tive lyshut out the coldwi nds ofchange" (p. 1). In rev iewing there s u l ts of attemptedin nova ti ons ,Ma nn (1978) conc l ude s, "It turns out , in asens e, thatall th o s e school peo plewh ohave been saying yo udon ' t knowmyteacher s, or myschoo l. or mydist r i c t,were righ t" (p. xx) .

Traub. We i ss , Fisher and Musella (1972) ccneent.ed that

"che hi story of educat i onis litteredwiththe remains of

program innovations that have ...all but ddse p pea red - (p.

69 ). Le i t hwo od and Mo nt gome ry (1987; conclude that

"pedaqcq.ica L innovations· aimed at influencing instruction have been extremely short-lived and less successful than attempts at organizational and adminisl:rat ive changes.

Leithwood andMontgomery 1198 7) reqard this as a "s ob e r i ng experience" {p.2) since classroom Inatrvct Lcne I experiences are so crucial to shaping students ' learning. The consequences of even the best developed and well funded cur r iculuminitiatives depend on "what happens as individuals throughoutthe system inte rpre t and act on them' (McLaug h lin, 1987 , p.172).

TeacherImpact

The teacher variable has been identified as greatly influencing the success (or failure)of many programs(F r i ed , 1974). Teachers are one of the essential constituents of the educationa l process, and therefore i t is impor t a nt to learn about their perceptions regarding various aspects of the curriculum. Teachers' perceptions may be of great significance in determining th e success of any part icula r program. Knowing how the teachers perceive themselves in relationto the different components of a curriculumcould be very valuablewhen determininggoals and curricularactivities

in a coo pera t i v e process.

The purpose of d.st udy by Barnetteand Thompson (1979)

\'1as toexamine teacherperceptions of the effects,)fprogram evaluat ion, teache r evalua t i on , and stud e n t evaluation in improvinginstru c tion. The irresul tspr ov i d e devidencethat studentevaluat i on appearseteecetve in improving ins tr uc t ion, while te a cher and program eva l uati on appearnot to be as effe c ti ve . Studen tperforman ceeval uat i on, as a fa c i l itat or of ins truc t ion al chan ge , seems to be posi tivesi nce tea che r s , students and parents want good acade mic performance. 'ni e findings of this area of evaluat ionle a d us to be li ev e that the majo rity of teachers are revi ewi n g, modi fyi ng, and re vi sing the i r inst r uc t i on to mee t the nee ds of t.heir students, wherea s we canno t concludet.hat;the same impetu s for change is generated from program or teacher evalua ti on.

Te achersmodifya programso tha t theirstu d entsdo well.

.The str en gt h andmajor contributions of a cur r icul um developer are that he/sh eca n pr ese nt course materials in a useful form for te ache rs and students. Ho wever, the curriculumdeve loper can no t assignlet alone acc ountfor , the full range of teac h ing sit uat ions tha t arise. It ishe r etha t th e teachersI experience and wisdomenter into cur r i c ulum plann ing in a way that cannot adequatelybe replac ed (Sab e r and Miron, 1980, p . 205 ) . Teachers have the flexibilityto

modify cur ri c ulum as long 10

they ceecn fro m pres cribed object ives. The greate r the amount of modification that is neces s ary. the greater th e wor kload for teachers. However, experienced teachersadapt to meetthe needsoftheirstudents

to ensure that success is attained.

The teachers are the individualswho actively put a program into practice. They can eithergo through the motions or genuinely give theirbest effort. Teacher understanding of the nature of the program can be a major dece rminant;of how it is implemented. Hughes and Keith (1980)concluded that the degree of success in implementation was creac er whenteachers perceived the innovation positi velyfrom four perpectives. Is it an improvement overthe previous curriculum? Does it suit the teacher's existingvalues, past: expectences , and needs?

Does it allow the teacher to experimentwith it on a limited bas i s ? will others clearlyrecogni ze there s ul t s of the new program? Whetherteachers adequ ately impl eme n t a new program depe nds on their perceptions of that pl:ogra..-n. Thei r perceptionsarenot discernable from their choice to use the progr amor even their seemi ngl y accurate use of te rminology . Their thoug h t s mus t be investigated much more deeply to determinetheirlevel of under standing.

11 ChangeModels

Fullen (19821 states -educatio nal chang edepe ndson what teache r s doand thi nk -it '5as si.JliJle and asco~l exas that·

(po107) . Lei t hwood (1 982) belleve e 'i t is the clas s r oom teac he r who posse sses the i:l.format i on (about part icular st.udents in a part i cula r class) nec essa ry to make the innova tionwork. '!'h edec isions of th e classroom te acher will determi neth e class room success of the innovation" lp. 2501.

Rut her f or d (19861 st at e s "the processof change inecbocta cannot he studied in ameaningfulway withoutat.tendingto the role of the teachers' (p. 1).

The Concerns-Based Adopt- i o nMod e l (e-BAMl is a modelof change which describes th e st a g esthro ugh whiched u cato rs move as an innova tion comes into a school. Th i s mo del tra ce s level s of concern s abou t an innovationfro mthe stag esof littleor no knowl e dge to the point atwhichth e indi vidua l ceac b ex beco mesa fluentuserand finally an eva lua t or of the dnnc vattcn (Hall , Wal ~ ace, and Dos s et t , 1973, p. 2) . Acco rdi ng to Louc k s (198 3 )I th i s modelde sc ribes the ch a nges individualcee cnexs goth roug h asthey adopt newpr ogr ams, and how theycanbehelped tomake the nece s s a rychanges •inan eff e ctive, effici€'~ltand humanist ic manner " (p . 31.

TheC-BAM Mod el is based oncerta i nass umpti on stha t set thepers pec ti vefr om whic hcha n ge inschoo ls isvie·...ed. This

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modelwas developed in eaaponsa to the failu re of other models in bringinq about successful changewithinthe sch...::ll system.

The dev elope rs argued that: the lack of successful change within the school system resulted from th e lack of consideration of thein d i v i d u a l in the adOPtioncrcceee (Hall, Wallace, and Dossett, 1973. p. ai .

The following a s aurnpt i.ona he l p to term an understanding of the C-BAM Mo d e l :

{11 Educationalchange is a process and notan event. Often school administ.ratorsandsometimesevente ac he r s assume that change isth e result ofan administrativedeci sion or a new curriculumacquisition. Theyas s ume that. teachers wi ll put asidetheir oldstrategies or textbooks and immediately apply an individualized program with great sophistication. They also assume th 3 t with the introduction of a new progra m, ceec nees will blend their talents into effective teams. As in d i c a t e d in the C-B AM Mo de l , change takes time and is ach i eved onlyin stages(Hall and Loucks, 1978, pp. 37-]8).

(2' The individual must be the primary target of any in t e r v e n t i ondesignedto facilitate change within the school sys t e m. The C-BAM Model emphasizeswo r ki ng with individual teachersand administratorsin relation to the i r rolesin the impl e me n t a t i o n of the innovation. Accordingto this theory, in s t i t u t i ons cannot changeuntil the individualswi thinthem

13 change (Hal land Loucks, 1978, p.381.

131Change isa veev personal experience. Staff developers . administrators an dothe r chang efacili tators of t. e n emphas ize the techno l o gyof the innovat:.ionandiqno r e the feelingsor concerns of theindi vidualsexperien cingt.he changeprocess . In the C- BAM Mode l. t.he persona l dime nsion is not only emphasi zed but consideredto beimp ortan t tothesucce ssor fa il ur e of the in novati on. Sincechange isbro ug ht aboutby indi v i dua l s , their personal satisf act i on, frustrationenct concer nsin generalall playa part indetermini n g thesucce s s or fail ure ofan innovat.ion (Ha ll and Lou c ks, 197 8,p. 381 .

(41As individ ual s exper i e nce thepro cess ofchan g e,theyrove thro ugh id e nti fi a ble s ta ges or le vels. They move throuqh these ide n t ifia bl e stag es or le vels 4S t.hey deve l op sophisticationinusing the innova t ion IH311,1978.p . 41.

IS) Many in -s e rv icewor ksho p s addr essthe needs of trai ner s ra th e r than trainees. Whe n pl annin q sta ff develo pment. administrators should use a client -cente red diag nostic. prescriptive model. To delivereffectivestaff development, admi nis~.ratorsor changefacilitatorsneed tof ind out where theircli e n t s are in thechange process andthen addres s tho s e needsin the in-service (Hall andLo ucks. 1918. p.38 ) . {61Change facilitators need toworkin a syst e mic way. They nee d to constllnt:lyeval uate the progress cf the individual

14

within the larger cont.ext of the total organization that supports thechange. As they evaluateth e process of change, they have to be constantly ready to adoptinterventionsin accordance withthe informat ion rec e i ved from the evaluat i on.

However, change facilit.ators must always be aware of the

-ri p ple effect' th at ch a nge may haveon ot her parts ofthe

educat i onal syst e m(Hal l and Loucks. 197 8, p,38) . (7) A completedescripti on of theinnovationin operation is import ant. Very often changefac i litatorsar e not clear or complete in the operational defin i t i ons of the inno v a t i ons they areimplementing. Fr eque n tly , teac he rsdonot kn o w wha t the innovat i on is supposed to look like when it is implemented . A consumer -ba aed change requires a comple t e descripti on of whatis invol ved in theinnova t i onwhen it is infulloperat ion (Ha l l , 1978 , p. 4) .

Resource-basedLearning

The Departmentof Education 'sdocumententitled~ .t..o...Loe.astates thatthe philosophyofresourc e-based learning shall guidethe developmentof the cur ricul umin the province of Newfoundla nd and Labrador. The elementary core French curriculum guide. learnjng French as 0"Second IanQllaae' A Guide for Teachers Grades 4 - 6 is suppo r t ive of th is philosophy of resource-basedlea rni ng . Theguide st a t e s that

15

besid esc:ontributi nQ'to stud ents' general knowl edge . learning Frendlalsohelps the mdevel op their reason i ng:sk ills and their abili t ytoinf e r ,dedu c e,andobserve. ThecoreFrench program rei ates to atuden e s' experienc e . drawing on that experiencewh~never possib l e. Th e topics (themes ) of the program shoul d be of int e r e st to elementa ry stud e n t ssi nce they relatewell to stu de ntsof this par t icu la r ag e group . The program is meant to be st udent- cent ered. pr oviding opportunities forqroupactivity, movemen t.music.an d drama, St::udents are given oppor t u n itie s to talk abo ut the mselves.

Learninga language is a hol ist ic vent u re invol vi ng chanqes in at t i tud e s,knowledge. and sk ills. Byprovidi ng reso urc e-ba s ed lear ning opportunitiesin Fr ench classes, student s in co r e Frenchle a rn language but. a.t the sameti me,ac qui r e skills in the accessof information tha twi ll be beneficial in fu tur e le a r nin g.

The development of the el eme nta ryco r e Fr ench cu r dcu l \Jlfl ha s reflectedtheneedtobroaden the re sourc es .activi t ie s, an d strategies whi ch st u d e nt s expe ri e nce. thus meet ing a var i ety of learning needs and styles.

16 Nati onal core Frenc h Stu dy

The Natio nalCore Frenc hStudy was afour-yearcurriculum pr ojec t. that publi s hed it s final report in 1990 . It puts for t h a multi-di me ns ional curriculum mo d el ba s ed on a corranuni c a tive /experient i a l appr oac h. The implications of thi s model for prof es si onal devel opm ent. program design, and s tud en t eval u ation areexami ned in theNatio nal Study.

Themu l ti- dimensiona l curriculumwas pr op os ed as a possible solutionto perceived weaknessesof thevarious t.yp es of core Fr ench programs in Canada. Stakeholders in education had been de manding bett e r results from the core Fr e nch program sand theNationa l Stu dy examinedresea rch insecond language teac hin g as a mean s of impr o ving core Fre nch offering s in Can adian schoo ls. The mul t i d im ens ional curri culum is made up of four sylla b uses : langua ge , corrrnunica tive/experi entia l , cul ture, and general language educati o n, th ekey to the succe s sof thi s pr oj ec t beingthe integrati on ofthe vario us component s (Le B l anc,1 9 901. The aut hor s of the Nationlll St u dy felt thatthe implementati o n of th e mult i dim en sional cur ricul um wou ld give ecce French a higher profileinthecur r icul umsinc e in re c ent years French immersionhasbecome the pr oqramof choice'forstudents and parentswhowanted second languageabi li ty.

Inord e r toaccompl i s hits goalsthe Nat i onal Stu d y'S

17

objectives were: (~l toexaminethepolicies .programs.and act ivi.ties of coreFr e nch teaching acros s Cana da; (bl to develop an d or ga nize a curri culumonthe basi s ofnational cooperation and exchange of ideas based onexperienceand researc h; (c lto identify means of impr ovingcor e Frenc h in a substantialwaysothat it couldcontribute more si gnifi c a ntly to th e sch o ol curriculum (Poye n, 1990 ) ,

The elementary coreFr e nch pro gram .~. is a cOlmlerc i a ll.y produced res ourc e-ba s e d teaching program which incorpor at e s the resea r chupon which the Na tiona l CoreFr enc h St udy isbased.

Cha pter 4 De s i o n Of theSt Jldy

In thisst udy all elementarycoreFrench teachers in the Pe n t e c os t a l SchoolDistrictwereadmi ni st e r ed a Like rt-sty le questionnaireto determine theirreaction to recentchangesin the e Lernentary core Fr e nch curriculum . A separat esection of the Questionnaire determined demographic information. The questionnaire was developedbyusing the learning objectives thatare contained inlearnin~Frenchfl'" a SeCond Iangllag p' .;

Gn i d e for TeaCbeni GrC'des 4-6, the curriculum guide for elementary core French. Using a scale of five to zero teachers were asked to statethe degree to whichthey agreed or disagreed with each statement. Acopy of the questionnaire is attached as Appe nd i x A. Permission to survey all teachers of elementary core French was given by the Superintendentof Schools in a letter dated Febru ary13, 1995. Acopy of the letter is attached as Appendix B. Th e Pe n t e c ost al School District covers the entire province of Newfoundland and La b r a do randha s schools in ruraland urban centres. Someof it s schools are small with multiage classeswhi l e others are la rg ewith as ma ny as three se reemeat certai ngradele vels . Some of these schools havespe ci a l i s t elementary co r e French ceecne rswhile others have generalistte ac he r s·wi th a limited ba c kg r o un d in Fr e n c h teaching the French classe s. The districttherefore inc l ud e s the fu ll range of possibilit ies

rs

that is likely to ~ fou nd in the prov i nce. For these reasons ,I havedecidedeelimit my su rvey to te ach erswit hin this di s tric t.

Inf orma t i on from theque sti onna ire s wa s sumnar izedby frequencYdi st ri but ions. The frequency dist r i bu tion s wer e then used to calculate the percentage of teachers who res pon ded ei t he r positive lyor negat i v e l y to the vari a b le s on the questionna i r e . Thepositi ve catego r ies (value s4and5) in the frequen cy dist r i bu t i ons wer e collaps e d inord er to ca lcula te thepercentages. As aresu l t , overa llcorrsnentsha ve been made ins t e a d of se pa ratecomments onthos e who strong ly agree (va l u e 51 andthose who sometimesagree(va l ue4).

The Pear s on Prod uc t MomentCorrelat ionCoefficientwas usedto measure the closen ess ofthe linear relationship bet....een respo ns es to th evarious items. Accordingto Cohen and Cohen {l9831 this co ef fici e nt is the standard mea s ur e of the linear relat i ons hi p betwe en two vari a bles and has the followi ngproper ties: (il It isa purenumber and indep e nde nt of theuni ts of mea s urement. (11) Its absol ut e value varies betw eenzer o, wh enth evariableshaveno linear rela t ionship and one. when ea ch va riable is perfe c tl y predic t ed by no other. The absolut e va lue thus gi ves the deg r e e of rela t i onshi p. (iii) It s si gn indic at e s the dir ectionof the rela t ions h i p. Apositive si gn indicat e s ate ndency forhi gh

20

va lue sof on e va ri a b l e 1:0 occu r wit.hhighvalues of the other.

and lowvalues to occur wi th low. A ne;lltivesign indicates a tendancy fo rhi;hvalues of onevaria b l e tobeassoc i ated withlow value s of the othe r .

Li mitat i ons of the Stud y

Resear c hsugg est s tha t school principa ls are ina key posi t ionof in fl ue nce. Berman and McLa u g h lin (19 77) foun d thatwith the ac t i ve su p po rt ofthe pri n cipa l ,projects would most like l ybesuccess f u l. Th e principal ca neit he r provide a tr emendous amount of help or hindrance toa ne w pr og r am.

Their pas s i ve indiffere nce . whil e not a dir e c t negative influenc e, ca n also slow the implemen ta tio n proc e s s . under stan dingtheir percep tion is there fo reaworthwhiletas k whe n st udy i ng the succe s s of a new program. Principal re a c t i onwill not beex a mi ned in th isstudy .

St udent s ar e oftenne g l ecte d when impl e ment ing a new programeven thouOhtheiropinions . val u es .and ne edscan be useful. Full en (1 982) expres sedthe followi ng : ".-But what aboutthe student ?- Innovationsand theirinherent conflicts often become ends in themselves, and studen ts often get thoroug h ly lost in the shu ffle. When adults do think of students, they think of them as the pot entialbeneficiaries of change. They thinkof achieveme nt. results. ski lls .attitudes.

21

andjobs. 'n1ey rarely thinkof studen ts as participants in a process ofchanfJe and orga nizationalli fe.

If student sdemonstra te int ere s t and ent husiasmtowards one proq rarn t.hey ca n prov i de a stro n; mot iva tion for the teachers. Ifthey showno inte r es t and evendi s conte nt with a prog r am the tea c her canbecomefrustratedinattempt ing to do an ef fec t i ve te aching job re ga r dl e s s of how de dica t e d he/she is tothe inn ovation. Leithwoo dand Ma cDonald (19 81 1 dis c overedtha t ove r 60% of teache r s theyst ud i ed us edstudent int e r e s t as the bas i s for curriculum choi c e s and met hod s of te ac hi ng. It wou l d theref ore be appropriat e to consult st udent s in anattempt to unde rstand theirneeds as wel l as the irpercep t i o ns of an innova tioninpractice. Thisstudy of tea cher reac tionto curri culum cha nge thus raise smany que s tions and sug-g estsdf re ctIo ns for fut ure researc h.

Furt herlimitations:

(1) A.nint e rvi ew study of a ra ndom sample wou l d produce infonnationoforea t erdep th.whileanobserva t ion st udy of a ra ndomsampl e of sub j ects wouldprov i de thebest pic tu r eof how th e newproora mispe rce ivedand used.

(2)Anobservationstudyof this scoc e wou l drequ i r eate am of trained observers tovisitthe ecnoo.;e selected. A provinc ial questionnaire.int e rview or observationstudy is not feas i b l e bec a use ofthe costlind timereq ui red.

Chapt er5

!!=lJJ..t..s.

Demoqraph icRes ul ts

The survey whi c h is attached asAppendixAwa s sent to all teachers of element a ry Frenc h inschoolsop erated bythe Pentec os t alAss emb l i e s Board ofEducat:ion. Out ofa total of 41 surveyssent, 35 were completed and includedin thisstudy . Thistr anslates into an 85t respo ns e ra t e.

Anexaminat i o n of frequencydistri butions genera tedf:'cm data coll e c ted in the study ind i c ates that 57.1%of the teachers surveyed are les s tha n 35 years ol d . There are app r ox ima tel y equal numbers of males and females :eachinq elementary Fr e nc h. 48.6\ are male and 51.4%are female.

51.4\of the teacher shavea TeachingCertificate 5wit h28.6\

holding- a Tea c h i n9' Certific a t e 6. NOne of the teachers surveyed held less than a Teaching Certificate 4. Of the teachers surveye d 48 . 6 \ repo r t e d mor e than 10 years of toa ching exp e rienc e. 57.1thavetaug'ht A'leot!lresJ fo r more than thr ee years. 42.9%have taught ~for cor e tha n three ye ars and 20\ have taught Ayen tJlres 3 for more than thre eyears. Si ncethe~mater ialswere pha s e din one ye a r at a time over ebreeye a r s it is tobe expected that fewer teac he r s would have taught Aye ntll r e s 3 formor e than three ye ars thante ache rs wouldhavetaug'htAyentllr es ] and

23

AyentJlres 2 for more than three years . In addition to teachingelementary french , 48.6%of the te ac h e r s surveyed also teach primary French. A lesser numbe r. 22.9%. teach intermediateFrench . On l y.2. 9% of th ete ac h e r s su rveyedalso teach senior high French .

The majorit.y of the te a ch er s surveye d work in small sc hools with less than 100 studen t s. 20%were teaching in scho ol s wi t h popu l ati o n s of 101 to 200 students. This re fl ects the na t ur e of the school district fromwh i ch the tea cherswe r e surveyed. The PentecostalAs s e mbl i e sBoa r d of Ed uc a tio n is a distr ict of small schools and since the pr ovinc e is largely rural, the board is in many way s re pres enta ti ve of the ent ire pr ovinc e. Th e re we r e however responses fr om teache r s in small. medium , andlargesch oo l s.

62 .9%of theteacherssai dthatthe irelementary cla ss e sha ve les s than 20studen ts. As wel l ,60% of the tea c h e rs surveyed reported that they taugh t elementaryFrenchin a multig rade setti ng. Nearly all the tea chers whotaughtin a mult igrade se t t i ng useda themat i cappr oa c h in s t e ad oftryi ng totea ch two sep aratelevels of the reso ur c eat a ti me. The maj ority of the teachers surveyed felt that the recommended 10% of instructionaltime is beingallottedto co re French.

24

Specific r:.raining for teaching Fr en ch vari ed considerably amongst the teachers who were surveyed. 34.3%of theteachers reported havi ng only 2 or 3 one semester uni v e r sity French cred i t s. 25.7%seatedthat they have bet-....een 4 and 6 credits in French. 31. 4% reportedmore thans Lx credits in French.

These number-s indic atetha t app r oxi ma t e l y 57%of the teachers presentlytea ching Frencharequalified . A teacher is defined as quali fiedi fhe/ shehasthe equiva l e nt of a concen tratio n inFrench as definedby the Facultyof Educationat Memori a l Universit y of Newfoundland at the time of the initial imple ment at ion of ~. Si nc etheinitialimplementation , the university has redefined its requirements for a concentration making the requirement s more stringent. Ma ny howeverdo not possess the minimum acceptablequalificat ions for French ins t ruc t ion . The la c k of suitably qualified teachers of French was report ed in theRep ort Of the pol;ey Ady jSOP' Cmrnnittee on fren Ch Progra ms in December of 1986.

74.3%of the teachers sur vey e d have no t taken a methods course in the te a c hi ng of French. Th i s is possib ly a reflect ionof the present situationwherete nur ed teachersar e upgrading their qualific ations in French la ngua ge in orde r to maintain jo b security. These teachers however ha ve ti t tl e opportuni tyto take courses in the teaching ofFre nc h since most of them wouldbe studying the French languageand in most

25

ca sesteachers must MVe e certain min imum back ground in the language befo r e th ey can pu rsue met hod s cours e s in the te achingof Frenc h.

Even thou;happroximat e ly34 \ of the te a c hers surv eyed have a minimumof t.rain ing in French, 71' of all te a ch ers stated th a t they are comfortable or very comforta b l e with usin g the Fre nc h lanquage. Thedegreeof comf or t ispresented in Table 1. When quest ione d about the usefulne ss of th e inservicetha tth ey had rec e ived fo r the element aryprocrc m.

34.3 % sta t e d thatth ey hadre c e i v e d no inservice. Thi:J 13 a refle c tionof the largenumber of teacherswhohave begunto teach fren c hsinc e the initial implementation of the~ programs. Most of these te a c h er s would be new to the profe s sion or they may be experienced teachers who have rece ntlybeguntoteachFr e nch .

Tabl e 1. Teache r Levelof Comfort usingFre n c h Val ue Freque ncy Percen t Valid Cumula tive

Percent Per cent

1.00 2 5.7 5.7 5.7

2.0 0

,

3.00 19 54.3 54.3 82. 9

4. 00 6 17. 1 17. 1 100.0

Total 35 100.0 100 .0

Val 1.dCa ses 35 Mean 2. 83

M1.ss 1.n g Cases 0 StandardDe viat ion .79

26

63%of the teachers surveyedfelt tha t their inservice hadbe e nusef ul. 'reecl.eccommentshowever revealedthe need for more inservice. One teac her comme nt ed that there was a need fo r inservicein the integrati on of cult:ureandano t he r said that inservi ce wasneed ed inAye ntllres 3 metho ds. On e respondent st at e dthat therewasaneed for ins e rv i c e in th e teachingof French in a multi -grade class room and anot he r te ac her woul d like to be inserviced on the cri terion- refere nc ed tes t tha t theDep ar t me nt of Educa t ionisre qu iring all students to write in June of 1996. Still ano t her requ e s t ed inservice onway s to span the gap between~

2.and ,Il,lrentllres 3. Ob viously. work must be done to mee t tea cher requ e s t s for ins e rvi c e.

Cha nge s in Ma t e rials andMethodo l ogyRe s ult s

In th i s se c tio nof thesurv e y, te a c hers we reas ked to rate thei r react i on for ea ch of the th ree le vel s of t:,.:!

lea r n ing re s o ur ce . Fo r eac h var i a ble tea chers responded separat ely for Aye nt m e s 1, AyentllTf5 2 and Ayentllre5 1.

This approach was taken since teachers have ind i c a t e d inf ormallythat th e r e aredifferences inthe three levels of the resource .

Teache r swereaskedtorate the irstudentsI ent hu siasm fo r the study of Frenc h . 68.5% of the students were

27

enthusiast ic in Ayent"rA:; t; 61.4 \ we r e enthu sias t ic in AVentu rAS ' ; and 28.61 were en thusias t i c in AYeot ll res ] Anotherquestionaskedteachers to rate theint e r es t levelof stud ents for the va rio us top i c s , theme s , and uni ts of the three le vel s ofAll.ent..u.t..e. 77.2%of the teachers survey ed felt that the top i c s, th emes, andunitsof AY..e.n..t..J.uwe r e of int e r e s t to the st ude nts . 74.2%,fel t that the topics, theme s . and units of Ayeot llre:; 2were of inte :::est tothe students.

Fo r ~-.lonly37.2%fe lt that the topics. themes, and units·....ere of in t ere st to their students. These fi.ndi.nq n are presented in Table 2and Table 3. One teacher whoha d taught all three levels of the resource for more than three years comment ed :

Ove rall, I haveenjoyedusing the~pr og r a m wi th myFre nc h students. Th e vari o us ac t ivities are interesti ng and enjoyable. Students men t i on how f.as t eac h classse e ms to go.

28

Table 2. Student Enthusiasm forthe Study of French

Value Frequency Pe r c e nt Va li d Cumulative Percen t Percent

0. 00 6 17 .1 17.1 17.1

1.00 1 2.' 2. ' 20.0

:LO D 2 5.7 5.7 25.7

3.00 2 5. 7 5.7 31.4

4.0 0 11 31.4 31.4 62.9

5.0 0 13 37. 1 37.1 100.0

Total 35 100 . 0 0 100.0

VahdCases 35 Mea n 3.43

M1SSJ.ngcases 0 Mea n 1.8 5

Val ue Frequency perc ent Valid Cumu l at i ve Per ce nt Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20 .0 20.0

1.0 0

•

2.00

•

3.0 0 2 5.7 5.7 48.6

4.00

l'

5.00

•

Total 35 100. 0 100.0

Val1d Cases35

Mean 2. 69 Mlsslng Cases 0

Standard De v i a t io n 1.79

29

l>Ventures 3

Value Frequen cy Perce n t Valid Cumulative

Pe r cent Percent

0.0 0 14 40.0 40.0 40. 0

1.0 0 3 8.6 8.6 48.6

2.00 6 17.1 17.1 65.7

J.00 2 5.7 5.7 71.4

4.00

,

5.00 1 2. ' 2. ' 100 .0

Total 3S 100 .0 100. 0

VahdCa s e s 35

Mean 1.77 M1SS1.ngCases 0

StandardDeviation 1.75

Table 3,StudentInteres t in~Units

Value Fr e qu e n cy Pe r c e n t Va li d Cumulative Percent Perc e n t

0.00 7 20.0 20.0 20.0

2.00 2.00

2.' 2.'

4.00 8 22.9 22.9 45 . 7

5.00 19 54 .3 54.3 100.0

To t al 3S 100.0 100.0

Valld Cases35

Mean 3.69 M1.SS1n g Cases 0

St a nda r d Deviation 1.97

30

1SS 9 C

Standard Deviatio n 1.93 Val1d Cases 35

Mean 3.51

Value Frequency Pe r c en t Va lid cumulative Percent Perc ent

0. 00 7 20.0 20 .0 20.0

2.0 0 2 5.7 5.7 25.7

4. 00 11 31.4 ]1.4 "57 . 1

5.0 0 15 42.9 42.9 10 0.0

Total 35 10 0 .0 100 . 0

W in as e s 0

Value Frequency Percent Vali d Cumu l ati v e Percent Percent

0.00 12 34.3 34.3 34.3

1.00 3 8.6 8.6 42.9

2.00 5 14.3 14.3 57.1

].0 0 2 5.7 5.7 62.9

4.00 10 28.6 28.6 91.4

S.Ot! 3 8.6

B .'

To t a l 35 100.0 100.0

Valld Cases35 Mean 2.11

M1.SS1nqCases0 Sta nd ardDeviation1.88

Te a che r s alsores pond e dto manystatementsregardi n gthe of the autho ri ze d lear ning xe s o ur ses. The Te a c he r's Manu a l fo r ea c h of th e th r eele ve l s of there s o urc e co ntains highlyorganizedle s s on plans for all aspectsof the progra m.

It is the teach er wh o decide s whether or no t he/she wil l fol low the les s on pl a ns as ou tlined. Howe v e r, teache rs do

31

app rec i at ethi s aspectof the re s our ce bec auseof the amount ofti me that it saves, With re ga r d to the three levels of

~. 96% areable tofollowthe lessonplansas outlined forth e first le ve l . A teacher who teaches thefi r s t leve l but not the othertwo stated, "Ex c e ll e n t program- 1lovethe organizedway that it is set up.· For~ . 86% are ableto follow the lessonplansasout l ine d. 68% can follow the Leason plans as provided for~.

On another item teachers were asked to give thei r reactiontothe need tosupplement the aut hori=:ed resources withteacher-made andothe r commerci allyproduc ed resou rc es. 57 %felt it wa s nec essary fo r Ay<>nt!!rps 1; 64% felt itwa s necessaryfor~ ,and 74% felt that it was nec essary fo r Ayen tllres J. One teacher responded. -The games and ac ti v i t i es arefrequentlythe sa mein eachunit. May bamore variety in this ar e a is needed. The children are gett ing bo r e d of the same games and activities.- Thi.sparticular teacher would obviously ne e d 1':0 supp lement the au t ho r ized resour ceswith other resources. Anothersimilar corrrnent wa s,

"someactivi ti es inthere s o urce boo kare repetit ive.- Teache r s were alsoasked toind i c a t e the i r reactionto how we llthethr ee levelsof theauthorizedlearning re s ourc e co rrela t e d withthe Depar tment of Education'selem entary core Fre n ch curricu lum guide . Th i s in f o rma t i o n is present e d in

32

Table4. 721 felt that the correla t i onbetween "v e ntll r ...s 1 and th e guide was adequate. 68~felt that th e re wa s ad e qua t e cor r e l a t ion between~and th egui de. 45 \ felt that there wa s good co rr ela t i on betw e e n Avept 1Jr p s 3 and the curric u lum guid e.

Table4. Correlatio nof Curric ul um Guid eand Resou rce

Value Fre q uency Percent Valid Cumulative

Perce nt Percent

0.0 0 10 28.6 28.6 28.6

2. 0 0 4 11.4 11.4 40.0

3.0 0 3 8.6 8.6 48.6

4.00 4 11.4 11.4 60.0

5.0 0 14 40.0 40.0 100. 0

Tot al 35 100 .0 100.0

ValldCases35 Mean 2.94

MJ.SS1n g Cases0 StandardDevi a ti o n 2.13

33

value Frequ en cy Percen t Val id Cumulati ve Percent Per cen t

0.00

1.

2. 00 3

8." 8."

:. .00 s 14.3 14. 3 51.4

4.0 0 3

8." 8."

5.00

1.

Total 35 100.0 100.0

Va1:l.dCas es 35 Mean 2.94

MhSJ..ng Ca s e s0 Stand ard De v ia t ion 2.11 AYfntlltl"s 3

Value Frequency Perc e n t Va H ", Cumulative Percent Percent;

0. 00 13 37.1 37.1 37.1

1.00 1

2.' 2.'

2.00

•

3,00 7 20 .0 20.0 71.4

4.00

,

5.00

"

Tota l 3' 10 0.0 100 .0

Val1.dCases 3S Mean 2.17

M1ss1ng ccaee0 StandardDeviation 1.9S

The authorized learning resource incorporatesa spiral approach in its methodology which allows fo r a continuous reentry and review of previous lylearnedmaterials. According to62.8%of thetea c hers surve y e d, this is truefor~

~. 60%of thete a ch e r s say thatth e reis a spiralepproachin

34

Ayep r Jlre s 2. 31.S\of th e teachers agree tha t there.is a spiralapproach in i\venturps3. One teacher comnented that there is a large gap betweenAyentnres 2andlyentJltes J. Another stated, -lyentJlre, 1is toodifficult. .·

Themajority of teache r s feel :.hatthe authorizedlearning resources emphas ize primarilythe ski l ls of listen i ngand speaki ng; and to ale ss e r extent. re.!ldingan d writingin all th r e e le v e ls of the ~program. Likewise th ey fe el that theau t hor i zed learning resources adeq u a t e l y allow for the deve lopmen t ofa knowledgeof thest r uctu r e of t.heFr e n c h language in all th r ee le v e l s of ~. One tea cher, however , comnentedthat , "I believestud en ts findthegr a d e 6 program. too overwhelmin gforthi s developmentof a knowledge ofthe structureto take place.·

Teachers have alsoindicatedthat ehele arn i ngres our c e s providefo r continuieyfrom grade togradefor~and 2.but not for~. A frequency dist r i but i o nof this informationis presentedin Table5. Only 35 % feltthatthe r e wa s gradetogradeco ntinu ityprovidedbyAy en t llre s 3 wherea s for ~and2. an: feltthatthere was grade to grade cont i nu ity, One respondent stated that there is toomu c h variety inAventure' 3 and tha t con tinui ty islo st at the pric e of va rie t y. Another re s pond e d, • Grade 6 French

(AxJm.tJ.u:.e.s.) tends to causesome problemsfor teachers. ·

35

Table 5. Continuity BetweenGr a d es

Va l u e Frequency Percent Va li d Cumulative Percent. Percent

0.00 7 20. 0 20,0 20.0

1.00 1 2.9 2.9 22 . 9

2.00 1 2.9 2.9 25. 7

3.00 1 2.9 2.9 28.6

4.00 3 8. 6 8.6 37.1

5.00 22 62.9 62 .9 100. 0

Total 15 10 0.0 100.0

VahdCas es 35 Mean 3.66

M1.S51.ngCase s a StandardDeviation 2. 06

Value Frequency Percent Va lid Cumul a t ive Percent Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20.0 20.0

1.00 1 2.9 2.9 22.9

2.00 2 5.7 5.7 28.6

3.00 1 2.9 2.9 31.4

4.00 7 20.0 20.0 51.4

5.00 17 48.6 48.6 100.0

Total 35 100 .0 100 .0

Val1d Cases 35 Mean 3.46

Mlss1ngCa se s 0 Mean 2.01

J6

Val ue Frequency Percen t. Valid Cumulat ive Percent Percen t

0.0 0 13 37.1 37.1 37.1

1.00 8 22.9 22.9 60.0

2.00 J 8. ' 8.6 68.6

3.00 J 8. ' 8.6 77 .1

4.00

,

5. 00 2 5.7 5.7 100.0

Total J5 100.0 10 0.0

Val1dCases 35 Mean 1.63

M~ $ S lngCases 0 Standa rdDeviation 1.72

Approximately65% ofeeecn e r -e felt that thethree levels taugh t in f orma tion fr om other subject areas as well as French. S1% of those surveyed feltthat iWentJlresJ and2.do a coed job teachingth e culture of the peoplewho speak theFr e nc h lan gua gewhere a s40 % believe thatAvent ll r es 3 does agoo d job te ach i ng cul t ure. For "ventu res 1 58% beli ev e th a t th e re s ou r c e helps stu dent s deve l o p their reasoning skill s and thei r ability toinfer,deduce , andobserve. For ~ the number inc reas e s to62%. 50%fe l t tha t Ayeotllres3helps stud en t s to dev e lop thei r reasoningskillsand thei r abilit y to inf er ,de duce, andobs e rve. Overa l l. teache r s fel t tha t the authorizedlear ninq re s ourc e s did a good jobrel a t ing to student s' expe r ienc e and drew on that experience whe never

17

possibleat the three levels of~. Teachers findt.hat theauthorizedres ources provide oppor tuni t ies forstudents to ta l kabout thems elves to a ve ryhighdeq ree in~and 2 andtoa slightlylesserdegr e e inAyeDt ll"~S3.

At the elementaryleve l,app roxima tel y 80% of class t ime should be allo t t e d to listen ing and speaking skill s . Teac h e r s feel tha tthis isthecas e at all three levelsof ~ but that for~there is slight l ylesspossibi li tyto all ot thisamoun t of time to listening andsp ea ki n g akiLla ,

Teachers feel tha t the euthcr dced le arn ing resou r c es provi de fo r the oppo rtuni ty to use visuals and concrete example s to in t r od uc e new material in all thr ee levels of

~. The nwnb e r s who responded positively to this sta temen t ra ng ed fromahi g h of 100' for lyentm " 5 1 toa low of 71% forAve nt nres 3. Teache r s state that the authori zed learning res ource s pro vi de for the presentationof the French la nquage inco nt ext. Howeve raga in inth is cas e , ~ and 2.are rated hig he r than Aye nWres 3. 85% fee l tha t

~and 2 pro vi de for th e pres en t atio n of theFr e nch language incontextwherea s 70% feelthat ~pro vides for the presentation of the French language in ccncexe . Teache rs responded positively to the statement that the authorized learningresourcesprovidefor the use ofa variety ofactivities inevery le s so n so as to maintain interestand

J8

to ensure that every student enj oy s a measu re of success.

Aga i n howeverinthis case . ~and2. were rat edmuc h morehighlythan~ . 93%of respondentsstatedthat AJl..e.lltJJ..l:elL-1. and 81% of respondentsstated thatAy entllres 2 maintained int e r est and allowedst udents to enjoy success. Only 65% stated thi s for~.

The authorizedlearningresourcesshoul d provide for the proper sequencing- of intense ac t i v it i es and moderate acti vities. Teachers feel thatthisistheca s e for~

.l.and2.but notso much sofor ~ . 88%f~lt that

there wee a proper sequen cing of intense and moderate act i vities in~u.r.e.s.J. ;79%in '\Vent ures 2;and43%in A.yentllres 3. Te ac he r s felt that all three levels of the re s our c e provide for the par ticipation of all students in class activities. 93% of responden ts fel t that AventlJres1 provi d e s for th e participation of all students in class ac t i vi t i e s. 82% felt that AV ent1!res 2 pr o vi de s for the pa r ticip a t i on of all etudentsin class activit-ies and78% felt t.hat AYent ll r e s 1 pr ovi des for the pa r t i c i pat i o n of all students in cl a ss activi ties . Teachers stated that the re s our c e s provide for the introduction of some new contentin ev ery le s son . However,againin this case,teachers felt that thiswas the situat ion to a greater extent in~and AyeprJlreS 2 tha nin AyenhlreS 3. The authorized learn in g

39

resou r ces pro videstuden ts wit hoppor tunities towerle with the language in a meani ng f ul way in all three levels of

~. However , ecst; fel t tha t thi swas thesi tua t i o nto a much grea terextent inlevels one and twothanin leve l three. Ta b le 6 pres ent s this informationas a fr equency dist ribution. Only8.6%str o ng lyag reedwi ththisstat ement for~. The majorit y ofth o s e surveyedfelt that th e aut h o ri zed re sources provide for re gula r opportuni ti es for incor porati ng ma t e r ia l and exper i enc e int o stud ents ' daily

live s inbot h~and~. Thiswas no t true

for Ayeot llr es 3. On ly 17% fe l t that this was true for

~. with reqard tothe maintenanceof anappropriate pace. teachers fe l t that the fi r st ewele vels of thepr ogram did thiswellwi t h 96\ stating that~maintainedan appropriatepace. Only 38\agr eed that~maintained an appr opriate pe ce. Table 7 presents the frequ ency dis tributionof teacher attitudetowards themaint enanceof appr opria t e pace. me majo rityof teachers felt that the authorized lea rn ingre s o urcesallow for cont in uousprov i s i on of feedback to ensur e tha t st ud ent s are awa r e of the ir progr ess. 89\ fel t thatthiswas so for~.86\ felt

that thi s wa strue for~. 61%feltthat~

Jprovides tor con tinu o u sprov is ion of feedbacktoensuretha t studentsareawareof their proar e s s. 100% of teac he r sfelt

40

tha t the organ izat ion ofthe lear n ing res o ur ce s allo ws for eas e of long- range pl anning,medi um-ran ge planning . and short- te rmpl a nni ng forbot h~an dAve ntlltfs 2. 74 %fel t that this was ;;0 for Ay en t 11tfts J.

Table6. Meani ngful Language Opportunities

Value P'requency Percent Val id Cumulati ve Percent Percent

0.0 0 7 20.0 20. 0 20 .0

2.00 2 5.7 5.7 25.7

].00 1 2.9 2.9 28.6

4.00 8 22.9 22.9 51.4

5.00 '7 48.6 48.6 100 .0

Total 35 100 .0 100 . 0

Valld Cas e s 35

Mean 3.54 ^MlSS

~n gCases0 Standard Dev i ation 1.96

Value Frequency Percent Va lid Cumulative Percent Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20.0 20.0

2.00 4 11.4 11.4 31.4

3.00 1 2.9 2.9 34. 3

4. 0 0 10 28 .6 28.6 62.9

5.00 13 37.1 37.1 100.0

Total 35 100.0 100 . 0

VahdCases35 Mean 3,31

M1S5J..ngCases 0 StandardDev i at i on 1.92

41

S5 g Ca 0

Standar d Deviat i on 1. 90 Va lld Cas es3S

Mean 2.23 Avent UTes3

Va l u e Frequency Percent Va lid Cumulative Percent Perce n t

0.00 12 34.3 34.3 34. 3

1.00 2 5.' 5.7 40. 0

2. 00

,

3,00 3 8.6 8.6 60.0

4. 00 11 31. 4 31.4 91.4

5. 01) 3 8.6 8.6 100.0

Total 35 100.0 100,(I

Hi m sea

Avent 'lreS1

Table 7.Lear ni ng / ~eac h ingPa c e

1SS q Va esI)

Standard Devi a tion 2.01

al ases 5

Mean 3.69

Value Frequency Percent Vali d Cumu l a t. i ve

Percent Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20.0 20.0

1.00 1 2.9 2.9 22.9

4,00 7 20. 0 20. 0 42.9

5.00 20 57.1 20. 0 42 .9

To t al 35 10 0. 0 100.0

V id C 3 M" in lu

42

Av e pt\l r ps2

M~ss l n g Cases 0 Standard nevtcctc n 1,99 Val ue Frequency sercenc Valid Cumulative

Percent. Percent

o.oa ,

1.00 1 2.9 2. 9 22.9

2. 00 1 2.9 2.9 25.7

3. 00

, _{5 .' 5.'}

4. 00

,

5. 00 17 48. 6 48. 6 100 . 0

Total 35 10 0 .0 100.0

ValldCases

,

Val u e Frequency Percent Vali d Cwnulat i ve

Percent. eercen e

0. 00 12 34. 3 34.3 34. 3

l.00

--

2. 00 J 8.6 8.6 57.1

3,1)0 6 17, 1 17.1 74.3

4,0 0 6 17.1 17 .1 91.4

5.00 3 8.6 8.6 100 . 0

Total 35 10 0. 0 10 0 . 0

Va l1 d Cases 35 Mean 1. 94

M~sSlngCases(}

Me an 1.80

Te ache r swer e asked i fthey needed to ereaee materials for use intheircl asse s. 68% felt that t.his was necessary for "ventures I, 71% fel t that th i s was necessary for

43

Ayent Jlr ps 2. 9~%fe l t. that this wasnecessary for~

1. Resultsweresimi~arwhente a c hers were askediE it was necessary to de v ise appropriate acti vi tiesforuse inthe i r clas s e s. 56%fel t that this was neces eery inAyenl:." rps 1. 59% fel t i t necessary inAv e n t!Ire s '. However for~ .1 95%of respond ents fe lt t.hat i twa s necess a ry to dev i s e activi t ies for usein class. Wh enas k ed the convers e. tihe res u l ts weresimilar. 39% of resp ondent s fel t that~'1 .30 provi de s al l the activi t.ies that they ne ed for thei t:

classes . 71% fel t that Avent"nes 2 provides all th e act i vities tha t they need for their classes and 89% of respondent sfel t that ~prcvfde sall the activ i t i es tha t they needfor theirclas ses. Similarres ultswe resta ted when tea c her s were asked if th e act iviti e s found in the aut h ori z e dlea r n ing reso ur c e requiredadaptat.ion be f o re they could be us ed inthei r classe s. 57% felt that. it was nec easerytoadaptacti vi ties at least someof the ti mefor bothbyentll res J and 2.. ForAvent1!r<>5 " B2%of teachers felt tha t itwasnec essary toadaptactivi t i esat lea st some of thetime. Tables8,9, an d 10 representthis inf ormation.

Table 8. Need toDevis e Activities Ave ntllr"'s 1

Va l ue Frequency Perce nt:. Va lid Cumul ative Percent Per cent:.

0. 00

,

1.00 9 25. 7 25."1 48.6

2.00 1 2.9 2. 9 51.4

3. 00 2 5.7 5.7 57.1

.4. 00 II 37. 1 37.1 94.3

5.00 2 5.7 5.7 100.

a

Tota l 35 100.0 100.0

I/al ldCa s e s35 Mea n 2.26

Aven t llrp:s2

Mlss~ nqCases0 Standard Devia tion 1.80

Value Frequency Per cent Valid Cumu l at ive Perc ent Perc ent

0.00

,

1. 00

,

2. 00 1 2.9 2.9 48.6

3.00 2 5. 7 5.7 54. 3

4..00

I'

5.00 2 5. 7 5.7 100.0

Tot al 35 100.0 100.0

Val~dCases 35 Mean 2.34

Mlssinq Cases0 Sta ndard Deviati on 1.81

45

A"entllr e s 3

Val u e Freq uency Per cent. Vali d Cumul ative Percent Per cent

0.00 13 37, 1 37, 1 37.1

3,00 1 2. 9 2.9 40. 0

4.00 16 45. 7 45.7 85.7

5. 00 5 14.1 14. 1 100.0

Total J5 10 0 , 0 100.0

Va ildCases35 Mean 2.61

MJ..S Slnq cesee 0 Standard Deviati on 2,09

Table9. AllAct.ivities Neededin Resource AVentJlre s

Va l ue Frequ en cy Percent Valid Cumul a t i v e Pe r ce nt. Pe r cent.

0.00 7 20,0 20.0 20.0

1.00 3 8.6 8.6 28 ,6

4.00 15 42 . 9 42.9 71,4

5,00 10 28 . 6 28 ,6 100. 0

To t al 35 100. 0 10 0. 0

ValldCases 35 Mean 3.23

M],s s mg Cases 0 Stan dard Devia tion 1.94

46

Val ue Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative

Percent Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20. 0 20.0

1.00 5 14.3 14.3 34,3

2. 00 2 5.7 5.7 40.0

3.00 1 2.5 2.9 42.9

4.00 11 31.4 31. 4 74. 3

5.00 9 25 . 7 25.7 100. 0

Tot al 35 100.0 100 .0

Valld Cases35 Mea n 2.89

M..ssanqCases 0 Sta nd a r d Devia ti o n 1.97

Valu e Frequenc y Percent Va lid Cumula ti v e

Percent Percent

0.00 12 34.3 34.3 34.3

1. 00 7 20.0 20 . 0 S4.3

2.00 5 14.3 14.3 68.6

3.00 2 5.7 5.7 74.3

4. 0 0 8 22. 9 22.9 97.1

5.0 0 1 2. 9 2.9 100.0

Tot al 35 100 .0 10 0.0

Va l1 d Cases 35

Mean 1.7 1 MJ.ssl.ng Ca s e s 0

St andardDevia t ion 1.67

47

Ta b l e 10. Need to Adapt Activities

Value frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent

0.00 7 20. 0 20. 0 20.0

1.00 10 28.6 28.6 48.6

2.00 1 2.9 2.9' 51.<I

]. 00 1 2. 9 2.9 54,]

4.01) 12 34.3 34.3 88.6

5.00 4 11.4 11.4 100.0

Total 35 100. 0 100. 0

Val1.dCa s es 35 Mean 2.37

M1.SS1ng Cases0 Standard De v iat i o n 1.86

Value Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative

Pe r c e nt Percent

0.00 7 20.0 20.0 20.0

1.00 10 28.6 28.6 48.6

2.00 2 5.7 5.7 54. 3

4.0 0 13 37.1 37.1 91. 4

5.00 3 8.G a.G 100.0

Total 35 100.0 100.0

Vall.d Cases 35

Mea n 2,]1 Ml.ssl.ngCases 0

St anda r d Deviation 1.83

4B

Value Frequ ency Pe r c e n t Valid Cumulat ive Percent Perc en t

0.00 12 34.3 34 . 3 34.3

1.00 3

B.' B .'

3.00 1 2.9 2.9 45.7

4.00 12 34.3 34.3 80.0

5.00 7 20.0 20.0 100.0

Total 35 100.0 100.a

Vahd Cases h Mean 2.54

MJ.ss J.n g Cas es

a

Sta ndardDeviatio n 2.1 2 At all three levels , 78 % of teachers felttha t it was necessary toevalua t e the affect i ve factors. However, they felt that it was much ea s i e r to fo ster the development of positive attitudes by using Ayen t tl r"'s 1 and 2.rather than AY.en.t..u.r..e. With regardtothe assessment of speaking skills that must be done individually. 64%of respondents felt that this was ea s ily accomplished in Ayent 1!res 1. 57%felt that thiswas easily ac complishedintwentJlre::;2 and 50% felt that this wa s easily accomplished in Ay entnres 3. One te a c he r expres s e d theconcern that in larger groupschildrenget bored so the ind ividua l assessmentmust be done over a period of time. This teacher also commentedthat this is very time consuming. 'let another commented that this is extremely difficUlt, i f no t impossible, in large classes. 40%of

49

res ponde n ts felt. thata te ache r couldbe expectedtocompl e te a prof i l e of oral achieve me nt for each student. in both lw entll res 1an d 2.. 53% felt that this wa s possi b l e for AyentllteS 3. 61% of respon de nts felt that the uni t tests provi de d in the stu dentworkbooksareadequateforassessi ng the skillsof li st e n ing, reading, and wri t ing in~.

64% felt that. they aread e qua t e inlwe ntl Jr es 2 and 43%fe l t that they areadequatein~. On e te a ch e r stated,

~I feel that they provide partial evaluation, but I find it necessary to supplement."

In accordancewith the Special Education Policyof the Departmentof Educ a t ion,special needsstudentsmust have the opportunityto participatein theCo r e French Program, Grades 4 - 6. i f app roved by their programplanning team. The ma j ori t y of teachers stated tha t there we r e spec ial ne e ds students in their classes at all three levels. 9l~ of respondents had sp ec ial needs stude n t s inthe ir class es in

~. 82% of respo nden t s had specialneeds studen tsin their classes in~. 73%ha dspecial ne e d s students in their cla s s e s in Aventllres J. Whenas ke d if the core Frenc hpr ogramis appropriatefor specialne e ds stude nts, 82\

feltth a t it was appr o priate forAve ntllte" 1. 63%felt tha t it wa s app ropria te fo r Av e nt ures 2. 41% fe lt that it was appr opria t efo r~. Fur t he rmore , they felttha t the r e

50

wasanappropria tevarietyof ac t i vit i es inAyentl1rps1 and2.

sotha t spe c i al needsstuden tscould beac commoda t ed in their classes. A tea c herwhois te a ching^{llyen tllres} J andAJ£eD..t1l.J:.e 2. but not "vent ur es1 commented tha t the programis good for we ake r stude nts. Another stated that written tasks can be frustratingfor spec i alneedsstuden t sandthat at time sth e level of Frenchis toohigh forthesestudents. Teache rs did not feelthat therewe r e sufficient activit ies in~ to accommodatespecial needs studen ts . Whenasked ifthey had part icipated as a member of a progra mpl anning team for special needsstudent swhohave been placedin t;"eir cla s s e s.

very few te a c h e rs stated t.hat they had parti c ipated.

Whenaske d if French is integrat ed intoot¹,le r areas of the curriculumsuch as music or art . 52%sta tedtha t thi s was soin~. 40% stated tha t integrationtakes placeat Ayen tll re3 2. 42% st ated tha t int eg r ation takes place in Aye nt ll r es J. One te ac he r commented that becau s e Fren ch is taughtbya~renchteacher and not the homeroomtea c her, it is difficul t to int e gra t e Fr e nch into other areas of the curriculum . Anothe r teac he r responded. "ramabl e to swit c h ba c k and fort h as I deem practical.^M Opportu n i ti es for integrat:~unthus varygrea tlydepend ingon who teachesFrenc h in apa r ti cular class. It is muchmore li kelyforinteg rat ion totake place i fclas s r oomte ac he r scan tea ch Frenc hintheir