Volume 1 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership - Page 14

12 commitment by both elementary instructional coaches and elementary teachers toward the work of education. All 15 elementary instructional coaches and all 15 elementary teachers believed in implementing curriculum with fideli - ty so that student achievement was positively impacted. References to curriculum by both instructional coaches and teachers participants in the study involved knowledge and implementation of the District curriculum and curriculum writing. Statements referencing curriculum also acknowl - edged professional development and training regarding el- ements of the District curriculum and state standards. Summary of Findings The study and findings were limited to one large, suburban school district in North Texas, referred to as the District, and were based on two guiding questions, previously present - ed. Prior to the date of the study, there had been a lack of clarity in the District on whether elementary instructional coaches’ roles and practices on individual elementary cam- puses aligned with District expectations. Data had also not been collected in the District to determine if elementary in- structional coaches felt adequately trained to facilitate the expectations of instructional coaches set forth by the District or if elementary teachers supported the use of instructional coaching as a form of professional development in the Dis- trict. Based upon the findings of the study, determinations can be made regarding these concerns. Findings of the study established that the practices of elementary instructional coaches in the District do align with expectations set by District leaders for the elementary instructional coaching program. While information gath- ered from study participants indicated that there was much role confusion and variation in instructional coach practice during the initial implementation of the program, data re- vealed that there is now much more clarity in practice. All elementary instructional coach and elementary teacher par- ticipants reported that District expectations and elementary instructional coach actions now matched. Findings of the study also indicated that the elementa- ry instructional coaches have had extensive training in both curriculum and coaching areas. The elementary instruction- al coach participants all felt they were adequately prepared for their coaching role. The elementary teacher participants also revealed they felt elementary instructional coaches in the District had received proper professional development to facilitate their roles. A final finding of the study indicated that elementary teachers found value in the elementary instructional coach- ing program. Elementary teacher participants expressed they supported the use of elementary instructional coach- es in the District. Elementary teachers felt the elementary instructional coaching program was an effective form of job-embedded professional development. Generalizations The current study used a qualitative, interview design, was completed in one school district setting, and was considered action research. Despite the difficulty in generalizing this form of research, there is some useful information that the current study can provide. The themes and subcategories that emerged from the interviews of elementary instruction - al coaches and elementary teachers clearly illustrated that the support of an instructional coach was appreciated by educators when instructional coaching involved planning, teaching, reflecting, and sharing instructional practices. Also, teachers respected the role of the instructional coach when trust had been established and valued instructional coach activities that provided support to classroom practice, collaborative campus culture, and reflective practice. When the aforementioned characteristics and practices were in place, teachers were more likely to initiate change in their own practice. This confirmed the belief and findings of other research studies that report educators who received coaching are more likely to implement the desired teach- ing practices and apply them more appropriately than are teachers who participate in district-directed traditional pro - fessional development workshops (Guskey & Yoon, 2009; Joyce & Showers, 2002; Knight, 2007; Shidler, 2009). Implications Although there were limitations for generalizability because of the action research nature of the study, the implications for the research findings in the study are broad. School dis - tricts may benefit by an increased understanding of an ele - mentary instructional coaching program which may allow for identifying ways in which instructional coaches are Mindy K. Tolbert, Ed.D.