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A Study Of Fifth Grade Students’ Perceptions And Attitudes Of A Self-Contained Versus A Departmentalized Middle School Classroom, Mitzi Hanks

Master of Education Research Theses

This study examines students’ perceptions and attitudes toward entering a departmentalized middle school program after experiencing a self-contained elementary setting and if those perceptions and attitudes are reflected in their overall grades. In this longitudinal qualitative study, forty students were surveyed at the end of their last year in a self-contained classroom regarding their perceptions of entering the focus school’s departmentalized fifth grade program. Students remaining in the study group were surveyed again at the end of their fifth grade year to gain information on their attitudes toward departmentalization after completing the program. Data was collected from students’ end of …