Principals' and Teachers' Reports of Instructional Time Allocations in Third Grade Abstract

Using a paired national cross-section of third grade teacher and principal Schools and Staffing Survey data from 2007-2008, comparisons were made regarding teachers’ and elementary principals’ reports of instructional time distributions for English/Language Arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and reading in third grade during a full week of school. Examining how schools’ two most fundamental personnel converge and diverge in their reports of instructional time allocations, allowed researchers to compare, first, how teachers and principals report instructional time uses by subject area, and second, to determine if there were differences in reported time allocations between teachers and principals. Educational problems associated with instructional time emerge as conflicts in: (1) time as a function of administration and (2) time as a function of the classroom.