Year-Round Schooling: A Catalyst for Pedagogical Change

Abstract

In this article we argue that the implementation of a year-round school calendar served as a catalyst for innovations in teaching and learning and for school-level capacity-building by facilitating teachers' planning, formal and informal talk about teaching and learning, team-teaching, philosophically based programmatic changes, and a culture that supports innovation. We conclude that receptivity to change and ability to make conceptual links are keys to improving the learning environment for students and that whether the impetus is first- or second-order, structural or conceptual, is less important than is sometimes believed.