School Capacity and Learner-Centered Pedagogy: A Mixed-Methods Study

• In Event: Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Division L Section 3 Poster Session

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between organizational and relational school capacity—a school’s human and material resources and its relationships deployable for institutional goals, and the classroom implementation of learner-centered psychological principles. Qualitative and quantitative data include: attribution scores from holistic observations of learner-centered pedagogy in reading and math, stakeholder interviews, and school case studies. A one-way ANOVA on school regression factor scores, extracted from attribution score data, compared pedagogical approaches. Post hoc analyses revealed statistically significant differences in reading and math:: the school with strong organizational and relational capacity was more likely to implement learner-centered principles. A joint display mixed-method analysis found that organizational capacity, if collaborative and fostering of relational capacity, explains a likelihood of learner-centered practices.
 

Authors

• Bradley Quarles, University of Maryland College Park

• Neil Dhingra, University of Maryland - College Park