The purpose of this qualitative study was twofold. First, using a qualitative, single case study design, I explored the roles and responsibilities of a middle school reading coach to understand how the coach distributed her time to support content area teachers in improving literacy instruction within their content areas. In addition to understanding her role, I examined contextual factors at the middle school level that may have shaped her work and how she spent her time. Secondly, in this study I sought to examine the instructional leadership role of the principal to understand how the principal supported or impeded the success of the coach. One reading coach situated in an urban middle school located in Florida was purposefully selected to participate in this study. Formal and informal interviews were conducted with the reading coach to understand how she viewed her role and what conditions she believed enabled or impeded her success in fulfilling her role in supporting classroom teachers. Approximately 134 hours of direct observations of the coach's work were documented along with detailed analysis of her coaching log, all which was reviewed to understand how she distributed her time. Using semi- structured protocols, interviews, and a survey with the principal were conducted as well as a focus group discussion with the eight reading teachers to learn from their perspectives the role of the reading coach and how she supported them in incorporating reading and literacy strategies in their content areas. Implications from this study can be used in assisting district and school leaders in better understanding the roles and work of secondary reading coaches as well as the instructional leadership support needed for their success. Findings from this study can also be used to help district and school leaders develop policies, procedures, and adequate training necessary for successful implementation of literacy coaching within their schools in order to ensure coaches are performing the most important tasks--providing training and instructional support for teachers. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Education. / Spring Semester, 2012. / March 12, 2012. / adolescent literacy, principal support, reading coach / Includes bibliographical references. / Judith Irvin, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pamela Carroll, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Tamara Bertrand-Jones, Committee Member; Linda Schrader, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183206 |
| Contributors | Young, Mia L. (Mia Latasha) (authoraut), Irvin, Judith (professor directing dissertation), Carroll, Pamela (university representative), Rutledge, Stacey (committee member), Bertrand-Jones, Tamara (committee member), Schrader, Linda (committee member), Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds