Process Overview

Rollin Hadsell

Action Research

Process Overview

EDLD 5301

Goal: Why are our high school students not financially ready for life after high school? Are the methods we use in our high school to teach financial literacy sufficient enough to get our students ready for post high school and college?

1.      SETTING THE FOUNDATION- After meeting with my site supervisor (principal) and our curriculum director/assistant superintendent, we came up with a myriad of things I could do an administrative inquiry on. We decided that the most important thing for our students with regards to the questions we asked and thought about was their financial literacy. We decided that two questions (and probably many more along the way) will be answered. I first want to find out why our students are not financially literate when getting out of high school. I want to find out the reasons our students are not getting taught financially in other ways. I also want to answer the question of whether the curriculum we use in our school (however basic and small it may be) is sufficient enough to prepare our students to help them on their way to a better path financially before leaving high school. I believe this research is important because our students are going into college and coming out with more debt than they could ever imagine having before their college graduation. I am hoping to be able to take to the district the results of this study to see if we as a district need to change the way we teach financial literacy, and if we need to do more.

2.      ANALYZING DATA- After obtaining pre-test sheets and parent, teacher, and student surveys, I will be able to come to a better idea of what our students need to learn. I will also be able gear my financial lessons towards the things our students do not have a lot of knowledge about. I will also, by analyzing the surveys that have been passed out and returned to me, further be able to analyze the reasons why our students are not being taught about financial literacy. With feedback from parents, teachers, and students, I am sure new questions will arise that I will be able to look further into and research later on after all this is finished. At the end of the research time, after teaching lessons all semester, the post-tests I will give at the end of the semester will give me even more data to analyze. I will use this data to hopefully effect change in the way we teach money matters to our students, or if the lessons we teach are working, then ensure that we keep doing the things we are doing to teach our students effectively.

3.      DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING- In developing a deeper understanding of the problem we are facing, I will analyze the data that I have collected from surveys, observations, interviews, and research that I will do on my own. I will be able to learn why students aren’t being taught, and what we can do to help them- or their parents- learn more and be more effective money managers.  I will conduct interviews with other business teachers, business leaders in the community, as well as doing my own research to further understand the problems that our students are facing. Credit card debt, student loan debt, lack of savings accounts, all this will be researched and discussed when interviewing others. I have already read many articles pertaining to the problems our students are facing when getting into college, without any financial know how.

4.      ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION- This step is used for me to take the time to make sure I am progressing in my action research plan. Is there anything else I need to do to further gain more knowledge about this subject? Are the actions steps I have planned effective? Do I need to go back and change anything, or look forward and change something? These are the questions that I will reflect on. I will also ask for input from the people that are involved in this action research plan. I will ask for feedback concerning the methods, processes being used, and if the plan seems to be progressing the way it should. What improvements can I make in this process to help the overall project?

5.      EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS- At this point in the research, I will  explore the programmatic patterns in our school. I will look at why these students are not learning financial literacy. I will research any school biases that exist in our school or district concerning my plan. Are there racial differences when it comes to way students are learning? Do some students have the opportunity to learn what others learn as far as financial literacy goes? What are some things I need to look at here to help me further understand what the true problem is? I will talk with my supervisor and any other person involved in this research to assess whether they see any biases that I don’t.

6.      DETERMINING DIRECTION- This step will come at the end of my research, as I will have all my data compiled, tabled, and analyzed. I will have given all tests by then, and it is at this point I can conclude whether change needs to be made in the way we teach financial literacy. I can gauge whether we need to find ways to help the parents become more financially responsible to be able to set examples for their students, and if we do conclude that, what can we do to help them? As far as teaching the students, do we need to change our entire way we teach finances, add additional material and teach it for a longer period of time, as right now we don’t teach financial literacy long enough, compared to how important it is in today’s society. Of course this is just my opinion as of right now, with no data to back up this statement.

7.      TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT- After determining the direction we as a school need to take, I will use the data that I have collected during the semester. I will use this data, including interviews, surveys, and pre and post- test data to write a comprehensive plan for what we need to do as a district to get our students ready to face the world financially. I will have all data that I have utilized ready for any questions from anyone that needs more information. I will write this plan with alternatives to what we are doing presently, how to best implement the alternatives, and steps to take to implement the changes we need for our district.

8.      SUSTAINING IMPROVEMENT- This step is of vital importance to the entire action research plan. I can research, determine direction, and take action to improve the situation, but if that improvement can’t be sustained into the future, then all the work would seem meaningless. In my opinion, the CARE model of examining improvement would be the one I would use. I will write my concerns down and pass out to all stakeholders, and what needs to happen for us to sustain school improvement. I will look at the positive things that are happening that must be sustained also, and then give recommendations for effective sustainability. I really like the SMART model that is explained in the Harris et. al text (page 97). It says that recommendations need to be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. I will also conduct evaluations at the beginning and end of each semester by continuing to give pre and post-tests to students to assess where students are with their financial knowledge, continue to look at material we are utilizing, and stay updated on current trends or problems in the financial world that could affect our students. I will also examine what we are doing that does not need to be changed. Many things may need to be different, but we cannot just turn a blind eye to the things that do not need to be changed and forget them.