School documents such as the administrative directives, district vision and
mission statements, teacher lesson plans as well as curricular records were reviewed prior
to the observations and interviews. These documents and artifacts offer the researcher
insight in the articulation and alignment of the program’s intentions and implementation.
One of the benefits in using documents is its stability. These objective sources of data
contribute descriptive information that not only enhance the interview process but add to
developing theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The researcher then deciphered meaning
and discovered insights relevant to the research problem. In this case, the researcher was
specifically looking for alignment between the lesson planning, instructional practices
and the administrative expectations of promoting a high quality 21 st century education.
By examining the learning and behavioral objectives in the plans, the researcher