Exploration of the Perceptions and Attitudes of School District Administrators Regarding Instructional Coaching in Central New York State Urban/Suburban Public School Districts

The purpose of this study was to gather perceptions and attitudes from school district administrators regarding an instructional coach’s role, the components that influence the utilization of instructional coaches, and the specialized professional development for instructional coaches. Exploratory-descriptive qualitative research sought to identify the critical components necessary for comprehensive implementation of instructional coaching. The study utilized semi-structured interviews with seven tenured urban and suburban Central New York State (NYS) school district administrators in positions such as assistant superintendents, directors, or supervisors of professional development or curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Four themes emerged from the data. The themes related to the implementation of instructional coaching were (a) job depiction, (b) capacity building, (c) interactions, and (d) organizational structure. The themes found aligned with Taylor’s (1911) scientific management theory principles for improving employee productivity. The critical components identified included (a) identifying clear roles and responsibilities for the instructional coach, (b) hiring the right people, (c) ongoing training, (d) building strong trusting relationships, and (e) having an organizational structure. The recommendations for improving the implementation of instructional coaching among the school districts included (a) a standardized set of selection criteria, (b) a clear job description for instructional coaches, (c) a standard training program, and (d) a standard evaluation tool to support the development of the instructional coach. In addition, the results of this study recommend a need for policy development in creating a certification and tracking system for instructional coaches to aid in the determination of the effectiveness of the school improvement strategy