A CASE STUDY OF AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL-WITHIN-A-SCHOOL AFTER SEVEN YEARS

Abstract

The purposes of this case study were (1) to describe how, by whom, and why an alternative, criminal justice magnet school was made part of a traditional, inner-city high school, and (2) to ascertain how its implementation affected the following areas: curriculum, specifically content and instructional methodology; students, their attitudes toward school and specific school-related behaviors; and teachers, their attitudes toward work, students, and curriculum development. Questions posed in each of the target areas were investigated by the researcher.;Within the framework of curriculum development, decision-making, leadership, and motivational theory, the researcher utilized a multi-method approach to obtain and analyze data. These included an analysis of interview, questionnaire, and file data; comparisons of Student Opinion Inventory of attitudes, and disciplinary records evaluated with a "degree of seriousness scale;" and teacher-job satisfaction evaluated on a Likert-type scale. Data-gathering occurred in 1980 and 1981.