OPENING DOORS THROUGH INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING: EXPLORING HOW SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY ENHANCES COLLEGIAL FOCUS AND INTENTIONAL STRUCTURES IN AN INSTRUCTIONAL COACHING MODEL

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Christine Hallmark Catalano (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Abstract: Teachers working in silos and in isolation from their colleagues characterize how we have always done business in education. Closed classroom doors are the norm. In today's educational environment of high stakes accountability , school districts across the nation are grasping for techniques to improve teacher effectiveness. Many school districts have adopted instructional coaching models to improve teacher practice. Current models of instructional coaching oftentimes do not result in institutionalized changes in educator practice , improved student achievement , nor do they build collective teacher efficacy. Haphazard implementation of instructional coaching models often leaves coaching structures that lack focus and intentionality and are ineffectively overlaid onto the social network of a school. The challenge lies in leveraging the social capital that coaching could potentially offer to educators. The purpose of this case study was to determine if a multi-tiered coaching model , viewed through the construct of social capital theory , contribute to high teacher efficacy and , by association , to high student achievement. The study examined coaching processes and teased out how these processes harnessed the social capital of the professionals in the building , thereby creating an achievement oriented environment. The study served to benchmark the elements of a coaching model that contribute to changes in educator practice. Social network analysis and grounded theory were used to triangulate findings. A multi-tiered instructional coaching theory emerged from the data collected through the analysis of four social networks within a school , analysis of collective efficacy , and a detailed consideration of interview data. Results from this study warrant the inclusion of four main concepts into any instructional coaching model--whether it is a small-scale implementation in an individual school or large-scale implementation across a district. These concepts include: expanded inclusion of social capital constructs , simultaneously embedded human capital constructs , refined collegial focus , and inclusion of peer coaching processes in a coaching model. Educational leaders will benefit from this study as it will provide a lens through which current coaching models can be evaluated and will ultimately provide a framework of best practices to leverage social capital within schools through instructional coaching.

Additional Information

Publication

Dissertation

Language: English

Date: 2018

Keywords

peer instructional coaching

Subjects

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