Literature Review on Four Day School Week (Coursework Sample)

Four-Day School Week Student’ Name Institution Affiliation Literature Review The motivation behind implementing the new four-day school calendar is majorly to cut cost in daily running of the school. Although cost reduction is the primary concern, other small factors have pushed for the adoption of that decision. In a research brief conducted by Donis-Keller & Silvernail (2009), the Four-Day school week was introduced in a bid to address budget shortfalls. More so, implementation of this structure has seen some improvement in most school districts with an increase in attendance for both teachers and students. Student discipline has also increased significantly (Hewitt & Denny, 2011). In most parts of the United States of America, there are currently unstable prices of essential commodities like energy and fuel (Donis-Keller & Silvernail, 2009). The two commodities are frequently used in schools and the hike in their price will further increase expenditure in schools. That is why schools are adopting new techniques of ensuring they are effectively utilizing scarce resources. The new four-day school calendar was suggested to help solve existing challenges in schools budget. For example, Hewitt & Denny (2011) highlights that four-day week rotates around financial saving on various aspects. In most cases, it saves on transportation costs as well as utilities. However, it is worth mentioning that four-day school calendar started in small, and rural school districts as they were trying to cut to the annual budget. The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effectiveness of the four-day school program in response to increased cost of energy and fuels. In this study, the hypothesis is based on the fact that “we are convinced that implementing four-day school calendar will positively influence the following areas in all schools: Financial savings, Student achievements, Outcomes on both students and teachers, and Stakeholder satisfaction.” At this point, it is important to explore each concept separately in the process of understanding the effectiveness of four-day school week program. Definition of Key terms FS: Financial satisfaction: the concept involves various elements, which include cash-flow, savings, management practices as well as investments. According to Coşkuner (2016), financial satisfaction is considered to be human behavior that focuses on many management. In this case, budget management initiatives usually focus on increasing people's overall financial satisfaction. SA: Students achievement: the term is used to describe knowledge acquired by students, skills as well as attitudes that prepare them to live a happy and successful life. OSTO: Other Student and teachers outcomes: the term goes beyond achievements by students to include teachers. In relation to four-day school week calendar, students learn economic skills and other aspects such as values attitudes and great abilities. Teachers are always happy to see their students thrive. SS: Stakeholder Satisfaction: while reflecting on the four-day school week policy, stakeholders’ satisfaction is measured on the basis of cost savings (Hewitt & Denny, 2011). FDSW: Four-day School Week: this term is used by various schools in different states in the U.S that allows them to open for four days a week rather than five. The policy focuses on saving money (Mark & Walker, 2015). Finance Savings Studies have shown that in districts that implemented a FDSW have achieved in saving cost on school buses, utilities, long-term expenses on building due to wear and tear (Blankenship, 1984; Fager, 1997; Koki, 1992). More so, evaluation that was done specifically on 62 of Colorado district schools have seen a very reliable financial trend in staff, food services, transportation, and utilities where transportation was seen to reduce by 20% (Dam, 2006). In the study conducted by Heyward (2018) most of the districts that implemented four-day school week indicate that there is an improvement on student and teacher attendance as well as decline rates when it comes to student discipline. More so, the study reveals that the increase of attendance in much seen in rural schools compared to their urban peers. Furthermore, studies indicate that most students, their families, and teachers are happy with the calendar, but comprehensive research is still lacking. According to Donis-Keller & Silvernail (2009), opening schools for four days has allowed additional energy as well as saving. Whereas most schools consider four-day school week as an opportunity to save money, Heyward (2018) explains that there are usually little to save because of one day. However, the study highlight that there are several other ways schools save money, and they include cutting on transportation, staff salaries to mention but a few. Though the method is good at cutting costs, the saves were not up to the expected standards, and as a result, some districts abandoned the plan (Michael, 2013). Student achievement According to most research, there is no great impact on test performance on introduction of FDSW (Daly & Richburg, 1984). However, Koki (2002) explains that performance of students on standardized tests was constantly above average on both state and national (Koki, 2002). In their study, Mark & Walker (2015) speculates that student opinions are mixed, but their achievements are measured on their performance on test scores. In this case, Mark & Walker (2015)'s investigation used econometric technique in the process of analyzing the relationship between students achievements such as performance and four-day school week policy. Based on their results, there are positive effects brought about by the policy although more investigation is still needed on this subject. Other Students and Teacher Outcomes One common finding in almost all studies is the increased percentage of both teachers and student attendance (Sagness & Salzman, 1993; Koki, 2002; Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987). On the same note, introduction of FDSW has also seen a decrease in the number of students dropping out of school at high school level (Grau & Shaughnessy, 1987). In one way or the other, there is no doubt that the four-day program in schools has facilitated a clear separation of both academic and extra-curricular activities (Feaster, 2002). While reflecting on the study conducted by Donis-Keller & Silvernail (2009) various schools have use...