Assessing the effectiveness of the implementation of 'functional skills curriculum' in Oxnard Union High Schools

This case study examined the implementation of a functional skills curriculum program in Oxnard Union High Schools using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) and a Quality Indicators Checklist (QIC). The Oxnard Union High School District adopted and started implementation of Functional Skills Curriculum programs in 1993. No formal research-based evaluation of the curriculum and the implementation process had been conducted. It was the first research effort that evaluated the Functional Skills Curriculum program in the school district. The case study also investigated the variables of years of experience and training conditions for differences in effectiveness of teacher program implementation. Finally, this research focused attention upon actual practice of functional skills curriculum instruction, which is vital to the success of students with severe disabilities.;This case study examined implementation of the Functional Curriculum using three measures of program implementation and concerns: Levels of Use, Program Quality Indicators, and Stages of Concern. To more closely determine the associations among measures of implementation of the Functional Curriculum, this study examined subjects' years of teaching experience, Levels of Use, Program Quality Indicators, and Stages of Concern. The Mann-Whitney U Test of between-group average difference could not be performed due to the differences in within-group variability. In all cases, the variability of scores was too large to yield meaningful differences by levels of experience. Therefore, qualitative and summary descriptive statistics were used to compare and contrast subjects.;There was no significant differences in the level of use and concerns of experienced teachers and less experienced teachers implementing the Functional Skills Curriculum program. However, both unexpected and transverse group patterns appeared in relationship to experienced and less experienced teachers. The analysis indicated no significant relationship to higher program quality resulting from higher Levels of Use and lower Stages of Concerns. All groups ranged from either acceptable to ideal program quality in most cases with high Levels of Use and high Stages of Concerns. The high Stages of Concerns signaled a problem with program implementation.;The main research conclusion was implementation of this Functional Skills Curriculum program indicated major areas of specific concerns. The concerns were district expectation, policies, procedures related to effective implementation of the Functional Skills Curriculum program. Effective program implementation in this case were negatively affected by these concerns.