Helping Staff during a School Self-Study Prepare to Examine Curriculum Design: Vicarious Participation in Debates through Script Reading.
This study examined the effects on schema organiza tion and communication during a school self-study associated with vicarious participation by members of school faculties in debates related to the topic of pro gram design. Faculty in schools preparing for formal ac creditation by a regional accrediting agency participated in the study. The experimental group participated in script reading sessions featuring a debate over the relative merits of several forms of program designs. Word association measures showed significantly greater gain in schema development by the experimental group. After several months, faculty opinions about the nature of the communication process during the self-study showed no meaningful effects on the schema develop ment. ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE PERIODS of in volvement of school staff with curriculum-related issues occurs during a self-study conducted in the context of formal accreditation. For both the school and the ac crediting agency the institutional self-study is an impor tant part of the total accreditation process. The self study is viewed as worthwhile in itself because it pro vides the basis for program improvement and staff development. In addition, a self-study is an essential component in the accreditation process because it pro vides data to guide visiting committees. These crucial roles of the self-study invite consideration of factors which can contribute to improving this key element of a total school improvement program. Preparation for the self-study is one factor that deserves careful attention. Preparation is of such impor tance that some agencies, such as the Commission on Elementary Schools of the Southern Association of Col leges and Schools, require schools to secure the services of a professionally trained and experienced consultant to help develop readiness (9). Readiness is itself a com plex concept. It involves both a willingness and desire to engage in an activity as well as an ability to carry out the activity. Thus, readiness has a general attitudinal com ponent which could be viewed as an emotional set with respect to the self-study process. But readiness also has specific cognitive dimensions which are related to par ticular tasks of the study. It is this second side of readiness, the cognitive state or knowledge base necessary to engage in the self-study process, to which