This study examined instructional coaching and other variables on student achievement as perceived by teachers. The independent variables in the study were teacher efficacy, coaching individual teachers, coaching groups of teachers, instructional strategies, teacher-coach interpersonal relationships and teacher demographics. The dependent variable was student achievement. A quantitative survey was given to all third through fifth grade teachers of students participating in free, academic-based, elementary level classrooms in a large Atlanta metropolitan public school district. The three selected schools were Title I schools with over 85% student eligibility for free or reduced lunch and 92% minority student enrollment. Twenty-eight teachers responded to the coaching questionnaire. The results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between teachers receiving individualized professional development and student achievement. A regression analysis found that the most impacting variables on student achievement in reading were ethnicity, teacher efficacy, individualized professional development and class size. A regression analysis was used to further determine which independent variables had the strongest impact on student achievement in English language arts. The regression showed that the strongest impacting variables again were ethnicity, teacher efficacy, individualized professional development and class size. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended that the district should provide more individualized professional development in the classroom and additional coaches are needed in order to spend significant amount of time to perform instructional strategies with teachers. To improve teacher efficacy in the classroom, the system needs to strengthen their professional development by providing the kind of instructional strategies that was used in this study. In order to meet the diverse needs of students and increase student achievement, it is recommended that the High Definition Lesson Planning Model and the Observation-Based Instructional Assessment (OBIA) be implemented. In order for a coaching program to remain effective, district officials and building level administrators need to provide clear, explicit, and consistent support. Finally, this study, showed that interpersonal relationships played a significant role in teacher perceptions of a coaches' effectiveness. Therefore, before hiring a coach the school should seek one that can balance a pleasant disposition with professional expertise.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:auctr.edu/oai:digitalcommons.auctr.edu:dissertations-1583 |
| Date | 01 December 2008 |
| Creators | Young, Taffeta |
| Publisher | DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center |
| Source Sets | Atlanta University Center |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | ETD Collection for Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center |
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