Date of Award

2001

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Larry McNeal, Ph.D

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of an alternative education program on the grade point averages, attendance, and suspensions of secondary school students. In order to meet this purpose, the study tested two research questions that focused on the grade point average, attendance, and suspensions of disruptive secondary school students prior to their intervention of an alternative education program and after their return to home school for two consecutive nine weeks. Length of enrollment and its impact on grade point averages, attendance, and suspensions were also examined. The study also investigated to what extent the characteristics of organization, instruction, and interpersonal were present in the students' alternative education program and in their home schools, which was the third research question of this study. The research design used in this study was a quasi-experimental cohort study with a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) design. The sample included students who had attended an alternative program during a semester and who had subsequently returned to home school the next semester. Grade point averages, attendance, and suspension data were collected from school records for periods identified in the study. The questionnaire data was analyzed by frequency counts and percentages. There was no statistical significant difference at the 0.05 level in the grade point averages, attendance, or suspension outcomes for disruptive students prior to or after their assignment to an alternative education program. The questionnaire results revealed positive findings for both the alternative program and the home school.

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