| Many school districts nationally and in South Carolina have created alternative schools in an effort to address the problem posed by at-risk students. The purpose of this study is to identify the differences between traditional schools and alternative schools as perceived by the students, parents, and teachers of alternative school programs. The study was guided by the following questions: (1) What do alternative school students perceive as the differences between traditional schools and alternative schools? (2) What do parents of alternative school students perceive as the differences between traditional schools and alternative schools? (3) What do teachers in alternative schools perceive as the differences between traditional schools and alternative schools? (4) What are the differences between and among the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers relative to traditional schools and alternative schools? (a) What are the differences among the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers relative to traditional schools? (b) What are the differences among the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers relative to alternative schools? (c) What are the differences among the students, parents, and teachers relative to their perceived differences between traditional schools and alternative schools?;Data were gathered using survey instruments and interviews which measured the perceptions of students, parents, and teachers relative to the variables School Relationships, School Culture, and Curriculum and Instruction. The findings of the study indicated that teachers, parents, and schools perceived significant differences between traditional and alternative schools on all variables. All survey items were rated more positively in alternative schools than in traditional schools. Teachers in alternative schools were identified as the most important difference between alternative schools and traditional schools. Close student and teacher relationships, small school and class size, individual attention given to students, flexible curriculum, use of a variety of methods and materials, and better communication between the alternative schools and students' homes were other factors found to contribute to the differences between traditional schools and alternative schools. None of the students, parents, or teachers in the alternative schools indicated a desire to return to their traditional schools. |
