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Dissertations & Theses
2013
Characteristics of Contemporary U.S. Progressive
Middle Schools
Jan Ware Russell
Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change
Follow this and additional works at:http://aura.antioch.edu/etds
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Education Administration Commons,Inequality and Stratification Commons,Junior High,
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Theory Commons, and theSocial and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons
Recommended Citation
Russell, Jan Ware, "Characteristics of Contemporary U.S. Progressive Middle Schools" (2013).Dissertations & Theses. 11.
http://aura.antioch.edu/etds/11
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CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY U. S. PROGRESSIVE MIDDLE SCHOOLS
JAN WARE RUSSELL
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program
of Antioch University
in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
October, 2012
This is to certify that the Dissertation entitled:
CHARACTERISTICS OF CONTEMPORARY U.S. PROGRESSIVE MIDDLE SCHOOLS
prepared by
Jan Ware Russell
Is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Leadership and Change.
Approved by:
______________________________________________________________________________
Carol Baron, Ph.D., Chair date
______________________________________________________________________________
Elizabeth Holloway, Ph. D., Committee Member date
______________________________________________________________________________
Charis Sharp, Ph. D., Committee Member date
______________________________________________________________________________
Jane Miller, Ed. D., External Reader date
Copyright 2012 Jan Ware Russell
All rights reserved
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my appreciation to the faculty of the Antioch University,
Leadership and Change program. My doctoral journey could not have been accomplished
without each faculty member’s input along the way. I would like to offer my special thanks to
Dr. Laurien Alexandre (Program Director) and Dr. Al Guskin (President Emeritus) for their
pioneering spirit that birthed this program. Their continued passion for the progressive
philosophies—student-centered learning, community integration, and democratic decision-
making—that are a model of the learning environment explored in this dissertation.
I am grateful to Dr. Mitch Kusy who conducted my screening interview. His humor
coupled with his business-like manner quickly put me at ease allowing me to ask and have
answers to ALL my questions. I am particularly grateful to my first faculty advisor, Dr. Jon
Wergin who helped guide me from being an impetuous doer into a pragmatic thinker. Jon’s
work surrounding Progressive Education, John Dewey, and Place-Based Leadership also shaped
my inquiry along this journey.
I am appreciative to Dr. Elizabeth Holloway who stepped in as my second faculty advisor
during Jon’s sabbatical and guided me through my entrance into candidacy and selection of a
dissertation chair. Elizabeth’s background in organizational leadership was a valuable asset that
allowed her to ask me questions from a perspective that strengthened my dissertation.
A well deserved thank you and heartfelt appreciation goes to my dissertation committee,
Dr. Carol Baron (Chair), Dr. Elizabeth Holloway (Faculty), Dr. Charis Sharp (Content Expert),
and Dr. Jane Miller (External Reader) for providing feedback and direction that have made this
study so much richer. First, a thank you to Carol for her hard work in explaining the nuances of
technical writing surrounding regression analysis language, her dedication to returning draft after
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draft after draft in a timely manner, and her unwavering deadlines that guided me throughout a
heavy load of multi-tasking. I’ve already mentioned my appreciation to Elizabeth, but want to
acknowledge the great teamwork that she and Carol maintained in supporting my mixed method
study that embodies the many residency workshops they conduct together.
I am very thankful to Dr. Charis Sharp for her continued support in directing me to look
at various progressive school organizations and philosophies. I appreciate the conversations we
had that informed me of the importance of my work and that I really was making a contribution
to a gap that does exist in the literature. Thank you to Dr. Jane Miller for providing a fresh set of
eyes that were needed after being enmeshed in the literature close to five years. Her
encouragement and additional confirmation that I was addressing a phenomenon she has
experienced while attempting to maintain progressive education field placements have increased
my excitement for the future.
Special thanks must be given to Deb Baldwin (AM, AMLS) and Dr. Elaine Gale (MFA)
who both provided invaluable support, direction, and friendship. Without Deb as “my” personal
librarian, I might not have started this journey. She gave assurance from day one that she would
be available and she was. Deb’s expertise of the literary world and how to access it
electronically ushered me into the world of “cyber libraries” so needed after moving to the
Bahamas. Elaine, as “my” writing coach, helped me develop my voice and a confidence for
future writing projects.
I want to say thank you to Lucinda Leugers (Cohort 5) for sitting with me one afternoon
and telling me about Ph.D. Antioch Leadership and Change. It was Lucinda’s description of the
program and its flexibility that led me to complete the application. No journey can begin without
the first step. Thank you again. I want to thank Cohort 7 and my other cohort friends (2-10) for
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being a collaborative learning community. I learned so much from each individual and am so
grateful that this was not a solitary effort.
Thank you to Dr. Cheryl Fenno for the many hours spent conducting the final edits on
this document. Last, but not least, I want to thank my husband, Craig W. Russell, for his
dedication and hard work to take the load off of me so that I could study. His gracious sacrifices
did not go unnoticed.
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Dedication
My first and foremost dedication of this work is “to praise God, because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made” (Psalms 139:14). Without the talents, personality, and providential grace
provided by God, I would not have come this far. I dedicate this body of work to the many
wonderful teachers who encouraged me to dream big. I could not have made it to this point in
life without the loving support of my parents, John V. and Joan (Carter) Ware. I pray this study
will impact and inspire my children, Shane L. Ferryman and Ashley R. Ferryman, and my
grandchildren, James D. Breneman Jr., Breeze A. Breneman, and Shane Michael Ferryman. I
also want to dedicate this book to my favorite sister, Joy Ware Miller, and her family who have
given me first-hand experience in providing education that captures the aspects of play, passion,
and purpose. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to all my students that have had me in the past
and those who will have me in the future. I hope that your life will be different because of our
time together.
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Abstract
Progressive education has a long history within the American K-12 education system
dating back to the late 1800s. During this period, two very distinct ideologies represented
progressive education: 1) administrative progressives supporting standardization as a means of
efficiency and 2) pedagogical progressives supporting child-centered learning based upon a well-
rounded education. This study looks at 82 contemporary pedagogical progressive schools to
identify common characteristics. Child-centered learning, community integration, and
democratic decision-making were the three overarching philosophies covered in this study. Data
was collected through an online survey of school leaders. The majority of research surrounding
progressive education is qualitative and focuses on the experience of teachers, students, parents,
or administrators, and not the characteristics of the school. This study is a mixed methods study
that uses quantitative and qualitative methods to identify qualities found in contemporary
progressive schools. Findings are intended to help school leaders plan for growth and
sustainability. A 6-point scale was used to gather school leaders’ level of disagreement or
agreement about whether particular educational practices associated with each philosophy occur
within their school. Mean scores for the educational practice items for each philosophy were the
independent variables in the regression analyses. A 10-point semantic differential rating scale
was used to identify the school leaders’ perceptions of whether their school was adhering to each
philosophy. These ratings were used as the dependent variable in the regression analyses.
Significant educational practice items for each philosophy include: Child-Centered Learning
Practices—Student learning is assessed through formative assessments (progress with feedback)
versus summative assessments (grade or percentage scores), Student learning is based upon
discovery through an independent learning process, Small group student interaction creates
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learning opportunities; Community Integration Practices—Student community service is used as
a learning experience, Education occurs within the local community at various businesses and/or
organizations; Democratic Decision-Making Practices—Stakeholders have equal voting power in
decisions, Decisions are made based upon the greatest good for the greatest number, Consensus
is preferred to majority rule, Decisions are made that create inclusion versus exclusion of
stakeholders. This dissertation is accompanied by an MP4 video of the author’s introduction.
The electronic version of this Dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd.
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Description:Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Assessment, Evaluation, in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of AURA - Antioch Wergin who helped guide me from being an impetuous doer into a Progressive education has a long history within the American K-12
