Chapter 4: Comparison of Teacher’s Perceptions of Perceived Barriers Regarding the Implementation of Common Planning Time at Two Middle Schools

This research study focused on the perceived barriers to effective common planning time (CPT) in 2 middle schools in north central Mississippi. Interview and observation protocols from Phase I of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) research project on CPT (Mertens, Roney, Anfara, & Caskey, 2007) were used, resulting in 40 interviews and 9 formal observations. Six themes or areas of challenge to effective CPT were identified: (a) interruptions of CPT meetings, (b) school and CPT structure, (c) teacher buy-in, (d) off-task behaviors, (e) lack of time, and (f) interference. Barriers are discussed with emphasis on the impact on professional practice.