The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the systems, structures, and behaviors district leaders employ and enact to assist elementary school principals' relationship with their school instructional coach. Through the synthesis of current research, the conceptual framework was developed with a focus on district leadership behaviors and instructional coaching programs. The conceptual framework consisted of professional capital theory, instructional coaching model, and principal leadership skills. This study assessed the perceptions of six instructional coaches, six elementary principals, and three district leaders from Comet ISD regarding the specific behaviors district leaders use to support the relationship between the school principal and instructional coach. The three-part data collection process included document analysis, face-to-face interviews, and focus group interviews to support the triangulation of data. Through the a priori coding process, four themes emerged that identified key district structures and leadership behaviors needed to support the relationship between the school principal and instructional coach: program clarity, principal leadership skills, professional learning opportunities, and culture of continuous learning. This study revealed a specific need to understand program implementation, accountability, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the instructional coaching program in a fast-growth district.

The creation of professional development that provides ongoing support to teachers so that they can continue to develop has been increasingly promoted in past years. With the onset of No Child Left Behind and Reading First, teacher professional development gained renewed interest in many school districts. One key component of professional development that received increased attention is professional development through instructional coaching. In a Reading First setting, coaches were supposed to provide teachers with ongoing support in implementing high quality reading instruction for teachers in grades K-3. However, little research on teacher perceptions in this setting has been undertaken. This study sought to discover teacher perceptions of the role, contribution, and value of coaching in grade levels K-3 by answering the following research questions: 1) How do teachers understand the role of instructional coaching? 2) What changes do teachers perceive in their practice as a result of instructional coaching? 3) Which components of instructional coaching do teachers believe they benefit from most? 4) Do teachers perceive a relationship between student learning and instructional coaching? A cross-case analysis was performed on two elementary schools. Data came from the perspective of eight teachers through personal interviews and focus group interviews. Coaching logs provided by instructional coaches were also used. Data collection and analysis was guided by Dewey’s (1938/1998) theory of experience, focusing on continuity and interaction. The results of this research revealed perceived diverse benefits of coaching on teacher practice in a Reading First setting, as well as issues and challenges within the coach-teacher relationship. Teachers’ views and attitudes regarding coaching were similar in some ways. Teacher interaction with coaches varied by experience and grade level. Most of the teacher participants wanted more interaction with the instructional coach assisting, modeling, and observing in the classroom. / text

Administrative support of the instructional coach is critical to the success of instructional coaches in each building (Hall and Simeral, 2008; Knight, 2011; Sweeney, 2018). Effective instructional coaches support the transfer of new skills into practice to positively impact student learning outcomes (Costa and Garmston, 1994; Desimone and Pak, 2017; Knight and Cornett, 2007; Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, 2019; Showers and Joyce, 1996). The purpose of this study was to identify instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support and the factors that contribute to those perceptions. The study aimed to address the following research questions: 1) What do instructional coaches perceive as principals' knowledge of the role of the instructional coach? 2) How do instructional coaches perceive the actions of principals in support of their work? This descriptive study examined instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support given to instructional coaches in one large, suburban school division in Virginia. Data were collected through an online survey and optional participation in focus groups. Findings included a misalignment between the instructional coaches' knowledge of the role of an instructional coach and that of the principal. Findings indicated the instructional coaches perceived support from the principal as including a shared knowledge of the role of the instructional coach, including the instructional coach in the vision for the school, maintaining regular communication and meetings, following up with teachers after a professional development led by the coach, providing professional development opportunities for the instructional coach, providing access to instructional resources, providing feedback on the work of the instructional coach, and building a relationship with the instructional coach. Implications outlined in the study identify specific actions principals can take to positively impact the instructional coaching in schools. / Doctor of Education / Instructional coaching is a growing method for building the capacity of teachers in schools. Administrative knowledge of the role of an instructional coach and principal support of the work of the instructional coach is critical to the success of the role of the instructional coach. Actions taken by the principal directly impact the perception of support for the work of the instructional coach and either negatively or positively impact the potential for the instructional coach to build capacity in the school. The work of instructional coaches is often interrupted by task assignments by the principal that engage instructional coaches in activities that detract from the instructional coach's role as instructional support. The purpose of this study was to identify instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support and the factors that contribute to those perceptions. Instructional coaches from one school division in Virginia participated in the study. The study yielded eight findings and eight implications for principal actions that improve the instructional coaches' perception of principal support for the role of the instructional coach. Findings from the study indicated the instructional coaches perceived support from the principal as including a shared knowledge of the role of the instructional coach, including the instructional coach in the vision for the school, maintaining regular communication and meetings, following up with teachers after a professional development led by the coach, providing professional development opportunities for the instructional coach, providing access to instructional resources, providing feedback on the work of the instructional coach, and building a relationship with the instructional coach. Implications outlined in the study identify specific actions principals can take to positively impact the instructional coaching in schools. Future researchers may want to consider completing this study with instructional coaches from various school divisions. Additionally, future researchers may also want to compare instructional coaches' perception of principal support with principals' perception of the actions of support given to the instructional coaches.

Thesis advisor: Robert J. Starratt / Despite its provision of sustained, targeted, job-embedded professional development to teachers, instructional coaching, which school districts across the United States have introduced in efforts to midwife instructional improvement, has occasionally suffered the same fate as countless other attempts at school reform. While programs of instructional coaching have endured and become institutionalized in many districts, they have been discontinued in others. Additionally, while the literature reports that instructional coaching in this country originated, and has remained popular, in urban school districts, it is all-but-silent about programs in suburban settings. The present, qualitative research study examined three suburban school districts in efforts to answer the following research question: How do suburban school districts' unique contexts impact the implementation, maintenance, and success of their instructional coaching programs? Case studies of three suburban school districts in Massachusetts were assembled from data collected during semi-structured interviews with twenty-two educators from across the three districts. Resulting data were analyzed across cases through the lens of complexity science, in order that the three school districts, and their programs of instructional coaching, could be explored - if not completely understood - in all their complexity. This investigation found that, while the roll-out of a district's instructional coaching program need not have been a grand event, it was nevertheless essential for faculty members to understand the rationale for the establishment of the program and the role to be played by their schools' coaches. It confirmed assertions in the existing literature that trust is an essential ingredient in any instructional coaching program. It also served to confirm that administrators contribute to the success of instructional coaching programs when they are actively engaged in supporting them. This investigation found, further, that instructional coaching programs, and the schools in which they function, demonstrate key aspects of complex systems. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Education.

In 2007, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported in their 2004-2005 Teacher Follow-up Survey that nearly 20% of U.S. teachers leave the profession after their first year of teaching and almost 30% leave after the fourth year of teaching. These percentages are even greater for mathematics teachers. Using symbolic interactionism, adult learning, and partnership as a theoretical framework, this ethnographic case study investigated and examined the factors that influenced second-career mathematics teachers to remain in the teaching profession and their experiences with instructional coaching. The following guiding research question and sub-questions were pursued in the study: Why have four second-career mathematics teachers remained in their role for 5 or more years? What are the teachers’ experiences with instructional coaching? How would they describe coaching? Which aspects of coaching do the teachers find least and most beneficial? How would you improve the coaching program? A purposeful sampling was used in the selection of participants. The four participants were African-American mathematics teachers; three women and one man. The participants are second-career teachers, and they all have been coached. The research is based on data collected from teacher narratives, participant observation, photo elicitation, and focus groups. Data were analyzed and categorized as follows: making a difference in a student’s life, teacher resiliency, job satisfaction, and support. Data analysis showed evidence of all four factors of retention for one or more of the participants, although the factors have varying degrees of influence.

Changing student demographics in the state of Texas as well as across the nation make it imperative for educators in K-12 public school settings to develop instructional strategies to meet the needs of increasingly diverse students in multicultural classrooms. To develop greater understandings of this complex issue, culturally responsive teaching was considered through the lens of the instructional coaching professional development model. For purposes of this research study, the culturally responsive/relevant theoretical frameworks of Geneva Gay (2000, 2001, 2004), Ana Maria Villegas & Tamara Lucas (2002), and Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994, 1995) were foundational. Instructional coaching is a job-embedded professional development model for teachers which is gaining increasing attention in K-12 educational settings (Bloom, Castagna, Moir, & Warren, 2005; Kise, 2006; Knight, 2007; Lindsey, Martinez, Lindsey, 2007; Showers, 1984; West & Staub, 2003). Proponents of instructional coaching suggest that coaching is a way to support the reflective practice of educators through a coaching cycle of planning, observation, and reflection. Lindsey, Martinez & Lindsey (2007) further propose a culturally proficient coaching model focused on teachers being responsive to diverse populations of students, and they assert that “coaching and cultural proficiency are integrated sets of tools for guiding individuals and groups to meet cross-cultural issues as opportunities and assets rather than as challenges and deficits” (p. 4). To implement culturally responsive teaching in multicultural classrooms, teachers must develop many skills including the ability to analyze the curriculum-in-use and the ability to implement instructional practices that are efficacious in diverse cultural settings. To support this work, it is further essential that teachers examine their own beliefs and values regarding cultural diversity to enhance their ability to meet the needs of increasingly diverse students. There is strong evidence (Payne & Allen, 2006; Neufeld & Roper, 2003) that instructional coaching contributes to improved teaching and student learning, however, it should be noted that instructional coaching must also be accompanied by rigorous curriculum, on-going formative assessment and feedback for students, strategic planning, and strong local, state and national leadership if educators are to eliminate existing gaps in opportunities to learn between White students and students of color. / text

abstract: An integral part of teacher development are teacher observations. Many teachers are observed once or twice a year to evaluate their performance and hold them accountable for meeting standards. Instructional coaches, however, observe and work with teachers to help them reflect on their performance, with the goal of improving their practice. Video-based evidence has long been used in connection with teacher reflection and as the technology necessary to record video has become more readily available, video recordings have found an increasing presence in teacher observations. In addition, more and more schools are turning to mobile technology to help record evidence during teacher observations. Several mobile applications have been developed, which are designed to help instructional coaches, administrators, and teachers make the most of teacher observations. This study looked at the use of the DataCapture mobile application to record video-based evidence in teacher observations as part of an instructional coaching program in a large public school district in the Southwestern United States. Six instructional coaches and two teachers participated in interviews at the end of the study period. Additional data was collected from the DataCapture mobile application and from a survey of instructional coaches conducted by the school district in connection with its Title I programs. Results show that instructional coaches feel that using video-based evidence for teacher reflection is effective in a number of ways. Teachers who have experienced seeing themselves on video also felt that video-based evidence is effective at improving teacher reflection, while teachers who have not yet experienced seeing themselves on video displayed extreme apprehensiveness about being video recorded in the classroom. Instructional coaches felt the DataCapture mobile application was beneficial in teacher evaluation, but there were several issues that impacted the use of the mobile application and video-based evidence, including logistics, time requirements, and administrative support. The discussion focuses on recommendations for successfully using video-based evidence in an instructional coaching context, as well as some suggestions for other researchers attempting to study how video-based evidence impacts teachers' ability to reflect on their own teaching. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Technology 2013

In the U.S., there is increased awareness that what teachers know and are able to do play a significant role in the achievement of their students (Sanders & Rivers, 1996). Consequently, there is an unprecedented interest in improving instruction, a job that is normally assumed by the schools and school districts where teachers are employed. However, long-established professional development options provided by school districts usually fail to have any significant positive impact on teachers' instructional practices and often have the unintended consequence of making teachers feel more like workers on an assembly line than professionals doing emotionally complicated work (Borko & Putnam, Cohen & Hill, 1995; Darling-Hammond, 2009. Arete Charter School, a rapidly growing charter school franchise, does not currently have a clearly defined model of professional development that supports its unique instructional model. Results of the Standards Assessment Inventory 2 and higher than average teacher attrition due to both voluntary and involuntary leavers indicate that a change initiative is needed. With little time and limited resources available for professional development, it is of particular importance to develop an unambiguous model for teacher learning at Arete that leads to program choices with a high probability of increasing teacher capacity as well as improving student learning. The purpose of this dissertation in practice is to advance/promote a viable model for professional development at Arete Charter School that will "alter the professional practices, beliefs, and understanding of school persons toward an articulated end" (Griffin, 1983, p. 2). A model for professional development utilizing the Partnership Approach (Knight, 2007, 2011) and aligned to Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Development with the goal of humanizing the profession and offering a clearly articulated philosophy and set of actions is presented. Core elements of the model include the principal as a designer, instructional coaching, workshops that make an impact, intensive learning teams, and partnership communication that, when used together, results in humanizing professional learning that is both focused and leveraged to not only sustain school success but propel it forward. This model has implications for other schools struggling with teacher professional learning including how to maximize professional development to enhance teacher repertoires while simultaneously utilizing it to humanize the profession.

Teachers' ability to integrate technology is a topic of growing concern given the importance of technology and 21st century skills readiness in both academics and the global society of 2014. This study investigated the technology integration barriers that educators faced, the training the educators received, and support needs of educators at a large, prominent, 30-year old international school located in Central America offering grades Pre-K 3 to 12. The social learning theory of Bandura, the constructivist theories of Piaget and Dewey, and the technology constructionism of Papert provided the theoretical framework. The research questions focused on understanding technology integration by assessing key aspects of the teachers' technology proficiency and needs. A nonexperimental quantitative cross-sectional study design was used to examine the educational technology integration practices and deficiencies at the focus school. A Likert-style instrument, comprised of parts from 3 existing instruments, was completed electronically by 62 purposefully sampled certified teachers at the focus school. Descriptive statistics identified technology integration levels, training factors, and support needs of focus school educators. Correlational analyses failed to reveal any significant relationships between technology integration levels of the focus school teachers and the variables of interest: self-perceived barriers to technology integration, self-perceived confidence using technology, and participation in onsite professional development. In light of the survey findings, a 3-phase technology integration improvement plan was designed. The study yields social change for the focus school by improving their technology integration practices based on empirical evidence.

Instructional coaching is designed to positively impact instructional practices, yet not enough is known about whether administrators, teachers, and instructional coaches have similar perceptions about this approach. The purpose of the case study was to examine the perceptions of administrators, teachers, and instructional coaches concerning instructional coaching, the impact instructional coaches have on instructional practices, and barriers encountered by instructional coaches. Guided by Knowles' theory of andragogy, the research questions were designed to explore the relationship between collective and individual actions of adult learners when acquiring information and learning new concepts. The case study involved a purposeful sample consisting of 3 instructional coaches, along with their administrators and teachers who work within the same school district. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Qualitative analysis techniques involved categorizing the data to determine themes regarding the phenomenon of instructional coaching. Identified themes included the following: assistance, receptiveness, instructional benefits, and non-evaluative role. Professional development training sessions were developed to increase administrators' awareness concerning the roles and barriers associated with instructional coaching. Implications for positive social change include increasing educators' understandings of collaborative partnerships among administrators, teachers, and instructional coaches. Such understandings may result in the use of professional learning communities to establish or maintain shared goals for improving classroom instruction and increasing student achievement.