Defense Date

6-30-2017

Graduation Date

Summer 1-1-2017

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

EdD

Department

Professional Doctorate in Educational Leadership (ProDEL)

School

School of Education

Committee Chair

Deborah Scigliano

Committee Member

Rick McCown

Committee Member

Amy Olson

Keywords

Collective Efficacy; Literacy; Peer coaching; Professional Development; Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Reading is one of the most important foundational skills for academic success, yet the teaching of reading is very complex. There is a need to support teachers with ongoing professional learning for quality literacy instruction. Peer coaching can be a meaningful, personalized, job-embedded form of professional learning for teachers (Robbins, 2015). The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the effects of a professional learning series about peer coaching on teachers’ individual self-efficacy for teaching literacy, teachers’ perceptions of collective efficacy, and teachers’ beliefs and attitudes about peer coaching as a model for professional learning. The participants involved were elementary reading teachers who volunteered to learn about and practice peer coaching. This work details a summary of what was learned about the teachers who participated along with implications for the pursuit of a learning agenda focused on improving professional learning opportunities for teachers of reading.

Key findings from the study revealed that peer coaching provided teachers with mastery and vicarious experiences which may have influenced their teaching self-efficacy. Teachers reported that peer coaching increased opportunities to collaborate with peers resulting in stronger collective efficacy. Peer coaching was found to be a valuable use of professional learning time with many benefits described by the participants in this study. This investigation provided evidence to support the claim that a voluntary peer coaching model is a powerful professional learning opportunity that creates an improvement culture within a school. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research were provided.

Format

PDF

Language

English

Download

Share

COinS