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theses

For the last several years the topic of literacy coaching as a form of professional development for improving teacher practice and raising student achievement has dominated the research landscape. Findings from a wide range of studies focusing on literacy coaching have provided a clear description of factors that can be useful in determining what effective literacy coaches do (Thao, 2013; Collett, 2012). On the other hand an equal amount of evidence exists describing the different roles of literacy coaches that often result in coaches being ineffective by spreading themselves too thin. (Bean & Dagen, 2012; Kissell, Mraz, Algozzine, & Stover, 2011). To date, literacy coaching roles remain ill defined. Role inconsistencies coupled with shrinking budgets have caused many districts to eliminate or change the coach’s position (Ippolito, 2012). Most of what has been gathered regarding literacy coaching has focused on coaches working in elementary schools with little research on the role of the middle school literacy coach (Marsh et al, 2008). The purpose of this study was to determine and define the middle school coaching roles and responsibilities that teachers, literacy coaches, and principals perceived as most important and the types of support and challenges experienced by the coach. In addition, this study addressed the need for research that centers on the perspectives of those being coached (Shanklin, 2007). More importantly, previous research has determined that knowing stakeholders' precepts might help middle school literacy coaches become more efficient and valuable resources for teachers, principals, and coaches (Thao, 2013). In this narrative, cased-based, and descriptive study, data analysis of semi-structured interviews, the literacy coach’s monthly activity coaching logs, and field observational notes were triangulated to determine which roles and responsibilities were perceived to be most important. Resultant composite narratives of all participants were consistent. The three roles perceived as most important by middle school literacy coaches were identified as Coach as Collaborative Resource Manager, Coach as Coplanner and Coach as Administrative Task Manager (Moran, 2007). Compared to previous understanding of effective coaching roles these roles have the least impact in changing teacher practice. Types of support identified included principal and district-wide support. Challenges identified were funding, teacher resistance, role ambiguity, and establishing relationships. Implications for practice and future research recommendations are discussed.

ETD_6100

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by Thomas A. Chiola

doi:10.7282/T3SJ1NBG

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.