| Summary: | Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boston University === PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. === The focus of this study was to create a living portrait of the work life ofliteracy
coaches, a new and evolving occupation for staff developers. Coaches with expertise in
literacy curriculum, instruction, and assessment have been hired to work with teachers
and administrators in urban elementary schools and help them to improve instruction for
urban youth.
Coaches, teachers, and principals in four northeastern cities participated in this
study. Coaches were observed, interviews were conducted, and participants were asked
to provide samples of student work, schedules, or other documents that were used to
triangulate data obtained from observation and interviews.
Of the five coaches in the study (three part-time, external coaches and two fulltime,
internal coaches), reports indicate that two of the part-time coaches were most
successful. Supervisory or administrative responsibilities, particularly identification and
remediation of problematic teachers, created an obstacle for both of the full-time coaches.
It created the perception among other members of the faculty that the coaches were
forcing a top-down agenda for change. The effectiveness of the principal as an
instructional leader, the coaches' ability to manage their daily work, the personality of
individual coaches, and process by which they choose to engage teachers also had an
effect on their ability to promote change.
The successful coaches appealed to the intrinsic motivation of teachers to improve
instruction by explicitly demonstrating how some practices are beneficial to students.
Having gained the initial commitment of teachers, the successful coaches focused on
helping teachers to internalize strategies that would allow them to become more reflective
about their practice and better able to adapt instruction to the diverse needs of their
students.
The successful coaches were working in districts with organized reform
initiatives, and were working in schools with principals who were knowledgeable about,
and dedicated to literacy reform. Their principals had created time for teacher
collaboration and professional development to be part of the teachers' workday. === 2031-01-01
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