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Abstract
The educational facilities survey is undertaken by many K-12 school districts as the initial step in the facilities planning process. In order to provide facilities that will remain appropriate and adequate for changing program and service needs, information concerning both existing conditions and desired future conditions must be integral parts of the data collected in the facilities survey.
Exploratory futures research methods, which extrapolate current and historical conditions to determine future conditions, are commonly used in the facilities survey. However, normative futures research methods, which enable generation of desired future conditions, are not commonly used in the facilities survey. Therefore, the information base used to anticipate and plan for future facility needs in times of dramatic change is incomplete.
This research was undertaken to develop and utilize a normative futures research method as part of an educational facilities survey. The Qualitative Controlled Feedback (QCF) process (Press, 1979) served as the model for development of the process and instrument to be used. Similar to the Delphi technique, the QCF process consists of administering an instrument across several rounds to participants in the study. Unlike the Delphi, the QCF supplies qualitative rather than quantitative feedback to participants on succeeding rounds, and group consensus is neither requested nor implied.
The subjects in the study were members of a K-12 public school district's citizens' strategic planning committee. Items on the instrument to which committee members responded elicited their opinions of the schools' future program and service offerings.
The findings of this study indicated that the method shows promise as a tool for collecting information about desired future conditions and that this information could enhance the planning recommendations made in an educational facilities survey. However, additional refinement, utilization, and analysis of the method would be necessary before it could be routinely included in educational facilities surveys.
