Running Head: RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 1

Research Problem and Rationale: Exploring How School Districts, Principals, and Teacher

Leaders Support the Implementation of 21st Century Teaching Practices

Meredith Mitchell
George Mason University
EDLE 802, Fall 2014
Dr. Richard Moniuszko
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 2

Research Problem and Rationale: Exploring How School Districts, Principals, and Teacher

Leaders Support the Implementation of 21st Century Teaching Practices

Introduction

In the past several decades, public education in America has been increasingly driven

by testing and accountability measures which impact the daily lives of schools, teachers, and

most importantly, students (Au, 2007; Hursh, 2007). While testing and accountability

measures aim to quantify student learning in an effort to enhance the educational experience of

our nations young people, many people have felt the effects and consequences of a test driven

culture and these consequences do not always directly relate to what is best for children and

their futures (Au, 2007). In recent years, educational experts have rallied support and

conducted research to investigate what really matters for students. Organizations such as the

Partnership for 21st Century Learning, and many other research based organizations, have

begun to highlight the necessity of refocusing our educational system on something that truly

matters: equipping students with the skillsets they need to be productive in todays global

economy (Kay & Greenhill, 2011; Voogt & Roblin, 2012). Their research suggests that it is

not rote memorization of facts and content knowledge, which is what the majority of mandated

national and state standardized assessments currently measure, that matters; it is the ability to

create, collaborate, communicate and think critically that will allow young scholars to be

equipped with what they need in todays job market (Supovitz, 2009; Kay & Greenhill, 2011;

Voogt & Roblin, 2012).

As the body of research on 21st century teaching and learning gains momentum, many
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 3

school districts have adopted measures and practices to commit to teaching these educational

ideals, which is an important first step in reforming education (Gunn & Hollingsworth, 2013).

While the explicit adoption of a shared vision of 21st century learning is important, merely

stating our intention of better equipping students for the future cannot and will not suffice.

School districts that have adopted the vision will need to have clear and strategic plans in place

as to how to integrate these skillsets with current curricular programs and how to interact with

school based administrators and other instructional leaders in order to ensure the actual work

of this vision is carried out (Gunn & Hollingsworth, 2013). It will be important to understand

the work of multiple levels of educational leaders in following through on the vision of

promoting 21st century teaching and learning in the classroom (Neumerski, 2012).

If the purposes of education actually change in America and, as a nation, we can find

a way to recommit to learning goals and measures that are more meaningful in the lives of

students, it will be important for researchers to explore these questions:

1. In what ways do school districts, principals, teachers, and other instructional leaders

support the implementation of 21st century teaching and learning in the classroom?

2. How are visions for reform translated into actions within schools?

3. What types of support or resources do teachers need in order to regularly incorporate

creativity, communication, critical thinking and collaboration skills into their

instruction?

Purpose

While it is important that schools look towards adopting these authentic and

researched based attitudes and practices towards teaching, learning, and assessment, the

purpose behind these research questions are to explore how this work may be accomplished.
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 4

Research from Bolman and Deal on educational leadership suggests that effective leadership

first must establish and gain support for a clear and concise vision (2008), but the

implementation of this vision will be critical in understanding how this ideal might fully

integrate into the work of teachers. Teachers are the gatekeepers between this vision and

students themselves, but there are multiple important players in between (Neumerski, 2012).

Neumerski explains that extensive research in the field of education leadership has described

the role and effective practices of various levels of instructional leaders, namely district central

office administrators, principals, instructional coaches and teacher leaders, but it is critical to

understand the ways in which these leaders can interact and integrate their roles that will yield

important findings and implications for the field (2013). Principals, administrators, and other

instructional leaders have the ability to serve as instructional leaders to teachers and will

therefore serve an important role for both disseminating the intent of school districts and

communicating teacher feedback back to those in the central offices that are making the

decisions (May & Supovitz, 2009; Neumerski, 2013). It will be important to understand the

work and needs of teachers themselves, because as the actual implementers of curricular

change, their understanding of and access to resources for implementing 21st century teaching

practices will be paramount.

Through my research, I hope to understand the key factors that contribute to the

collaboration and communication among these multiple levels of educational players and

better understand what tools, strategies, and interactions facilitate organizational learning that

results in real changes in classroom activities. By looking at the work and decision making at

each level of leadership and also understanding the responsiveness between these levels, it

would be possible to develop a model of how educational change occurs and what types of
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 5

communication and collaboration contribute to positive outcomes for students, teachers, and

the district as a whole.

Significance

This research will be significant in that it aims to not only explore a particular

phenomenon within education today, the inclusion of 21st century learning skills in the

classroom, but will also more broadly understand how players within a district can work

together efficiently for the benefit of students. Currently, significant research would suggest

creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration are skillsets that are important

for our students (Kay & Greenhill, 2011; Jacobsen-Lundeberg, 2013), but it would be

shortsighted and nave to say that such skills will always be an educational focus. If we can

understand the mechanism through which a district adapts to research, we can understand how

to develop organizations for this particular reform, and whichever other reform initiatives are

to come in the future. Educational researchers will continue to strive towards uncovering what

is best for students in the classroom and it will be important to see how current reform efforts

unfold within an organization. Practically speaking, in the here and now it is both timely and

important to understand what districts and their stakeholders do to promote the current

initiative of 21st century skill building and ensure that these goals are actually put into practice.

Future Research

It is my hope that my future research will contribute to an understanding of how

educational leaders can work together to implement 21st century learning. Given the

complexity of these interactions and the multiple levels of leaders and work involved, it will be

important to consider the following questions:

1. How do school districts establish and share a vision of 21st century learning with a
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 6

school system? How is this vision communicated, what related resources should the

district provide, and how do they ensure the intentions of this vision are carried out?

2. How do school based administrators translate the vision of 21st century learning in a

school district into actual teaching practices within their school? How do principals

reflexively communicate between the central office and teachers themselves?

3. How do teachers experience a 21st century reform movement within their school

district? What resources, tools, training or support is necessary in order for teachers

to effectively integrate the vision into their teaching practice? Through what avenues

can teachers express their needs for implementing the reform? What obstacles stand in

the way for reform efforts to actually take place?

4. How will teachers, schools, and the district account for the extent to which

implementation of 21st century teaching and learning actually takes place?

This future study could potentially be framed as a case study and be explored with a

mixed method research design. I would purposefully investigate one particular school district

that has adopted 21st century teaching as part of the districts core vision and could then

explore interactions at the district level and within schools that have begun the discussion and

implementation of these skillsets into their curricular programs. I could use interview

protocols at multiple levels as well as survey information to gather rich information in an

effort to understand the experience of multiple stakeholders through the implementation

process. While the design and logistics of the proposed study would certainly adapt as my

research questions narrow and change, at this time I am greatly interested in the experiences of

educational leaders and the ways in which they can facilitate change within schools.
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 7

Conclusion

As educational research continues to help point to ways that educators can improve

the experience of students, it will be important to understand how educational leaders at

multiple levels can interact in a way to fully implement best practices in teaching, learning,

and assessment. Many educators are currently frustrated with the current state of education

and its test-driven nature, and are looking at 21st century teaching practices as a framework for

realigning teaching practices to meet students real life needs.

My potential study will allow for me to explore how these change efforts might be

accomplished and could likely bridge some gaps in the literature (Neumerski, 2013).

Currently, there is much research devoted to what instructional leaders do within their

assigned roles, but little understanding of how these roles integrate to produce change

(Neumerski, 2013). It will be important to understand the work of multiple levels of

educational leaders in following through on the vision of promoting 21st century teaching and

learning in the classroom.

My next steps will necessitate that I continue to read literature related to 21 st teaching

and learning and also continue to expand into literature related to instructional leadership. It

would also serve me well to explore literature that explains how previous initiatives or reforms

have been integrated within a school district and focus on the structures that contributed to this

integration as well as the obstacles that districts face in the process. Finally, it would be of

value for me to explore research related to schools and school districts that have explicitly

delineated their mission and vision to focus on the development of 21st century learning skills,

and successfully done so, as the literature on these exemplar schools may help to uncover

characteristics and practices that have facilitated the integration of 21st century skills into their
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 8

curricular programs.

The goal for my future study is to help positively contribute to a body of research that

I believe will help change the experience of children in schools today. It is my hope that

districts, schools, and teachers may find a way to liberate themselves from the rigidity and

constraints that standardized testing in its current form often imposes, and that the body of

research related to 21st century skills proves to be truly transformational in the educational

experience of todays students. While teachers will always be of paramount importance for

change to actually occur, I firmly believe that all levels of todays educational leaders must

necessarily work together to positively influence and support teachers in the implementation of

21st century learning in the classroom.

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 9

References

Au, W. (2007). High-stakes testing and curricular control: a qualitative metasynthesis.

Educational Researcher, 36(5), 258-267.

Bolman, L. G. & Deal, T. E. (2008). Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership

(4th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gunn, T. & Hollingsworth, M. (2013). The implementation and assessment of shared 21st

century learning vision: A district-based approach. Journal of Research on Technology

in Education, 45(3), 201-228. doi:10.1080/15391523.2013.10782603

Hursh, D. (2007). Assessing No Child Left Behind and the rise of neoliberal education

policies. American Educational Research Journal, 44(3), 493-518.

Jacobsen-Lundeberg, V. (2013). Communication, collaboration and credibility: Empowering

marginalized youth with 21st century skills. International Journal of Vocational

Education & Training, 21(2).

Kay, K. & Greenhill, V. (2011). Twenty-first century students need 21st century skills. In G. Wan

& D. Gut (Eds.), Bringing schools into the 21st century (pp. 41-65). Netherlands:

Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0268-4_3

Linn, R.L. (1993). Educational assessment: Expanded expectations and challenges. Educational

Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 15, 1-16. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1164248

May, H. & Supovitz, J. (2011). The scope of principal efforts to improve instruction.

Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(2), 332-352. doi: 10.1177/0013161X10383411

Neumerski, C. (2012). Rethinking instructional leadership, a review: What do we know about

principal, teacher, and coach instructional leadership, and where should we go from here?

Educational Administration Quarterly, 49(2), 310-347. doi: 10.1177/0013161X12456700

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 10

Supovitz, J. (2009). Can high stakes testing leverage educational improvement? Prospects from

the last decade of testing and accountability reform. Journal of Educational Change, 10,

211-227.

Voogt, J. & Roblin, N. (2012). A comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21st

century competences: Implications for national curriculum policies. Journal of

Curriculum Studies, 44(3), 299-321. doi:10.1080/00220272.2012.668938

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 11

Evaluation Summary for Required Assignments: Research Problem and Rationale

Final Score: 3.95 (out of 4) See Calculation

Overall comments: You have a substantive topic, and some good ideas for how to look
into it. The specific focus for your research is still a bit up in the air,
and a deeper dive into the change literature and 21st century skills
movement will probably help you clarify your direction.

Detailed Results (Rubric used: EDLE 802 Research Problem and Rationale)
Introduction (10%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Draws reader into the
paper. Thesis is clear and
analytical, dealing directly
with significance, and
requires demonstration
through coherent
arguments and support
from published literature.
Introduction orients the Introduction explains what Introduction is weak. The
reader to the paper. Thesis is in the paper, but lacks a paper lacks a clear thesis.
is apparent, though not clear and analytical thesis.
entirely clear; may be more
descriptive than analytical
and unclear in terms of
significance.

Criterion Score:3.50 (Weight 10%)

Comments on this criterion (optional): Good introduction to the questions and issues involved.
What type of research will you conduct?
Purpose (25%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Clear, compelling, and well Purpose of research is clear Purpose is apparent, but Purpose is missing or
supported by published and engaging. confusing. unclear.
literature (if possible) and
explained from multiple
perspectives (e.g., practical
and academic) in a logical
and persuasive manner.

Criterion Score:4.00 (Weight 25%)

Significance (25%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Clear, compelling, and well
supported by published
literature; explained from
multiple perspectives (e.g.,
practical and academic) in
logical, persuasive manner
linked to purpose.
The author weaves together
persuasive arguments
regarding the significance of
the topic that follow logically
from the stated purpose.
Significance is apparent, but Significance is unclear or
not well supported by missing.
literature and/or seems
unrelated to purpose.

Criterion Score:4.00 (Weight 25%)

Comments on this criterion (optional): Good case for the research from an academic and
RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RATIONALE 12

practical standpoint.
Potential Research Questions (15%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Inclusive and stimulating; Reasonable set of questions List of questions is brief and List of questions is
clearly and persuasively is presented; clearly follow not very imaginative. Links inadequate.
linked to purpose and from purpose and to purpose and significance
significance. significance. unclear.

Criterion Score:4.00 (Weight 15%)

Comments on this criterion (optional): Good thinking regarding possibilities for future research--
-a number of directions could be pursued.
Conclusion (15%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Begins with restatement of
thesis in new language and
summary of main points;
broadens to discuss studys
direction and future
literature needs to support
purpose and/or significance.
Conclusion summarizes the
content of the paper well
and restates the thesis in a
manner that seems to flow
logically from the body of
the paper. Future direction
is apparent.
Conclusion merely Paper fails to conclude
summarizes what has come properly.
before. Thesis may be
stated in same words as at
the beginning or altogether
missing from conclusion.

Criterion Score:4.00 (Weight 15%)

Mechanics& APA (10%)

(4) Exceeds (3) Meets (2) Approaching (1) Falls Below

Expectations (4) Expectations (3) Expectations (2) Expectations (1)

Accurate and precise. Nearly
error-free. Reflects clear
understanding of APA
format and thorough
proofreading.
Occasional grammatical
errors, questionable word
choice. Minor APA errors.
Errors in grammar and
punctuation, but spelling
has been proofread.
Difficulty conforming to APA
rules.
Frequent errors in spelling,
grammar, punctuation, and
APA format.

Criterion Score:4.00 (Weight 10%)