A Community of Practice for School Leaders: Its Impact on their Perceptions of Collaborative Practice, Levels of Trust, Self-Awareness, and Self-Efficacy

• Main Author: Smith, Richard Michael
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 2019
• Subjects: Education
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1563898765; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6779&context=etd

“There is a marked difference between possessing knowledge and skills and being able to use them well under taxing conditions. Personal accomplishments require not only skills but self-beliefs of efficacy to use them well” (Bandura, 1993, p. 119). Low school leader self-efficacy leads to the poor performance of school leaders and declining climates in their schools (Versland, 2013). The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to examine the influence of the use of a collaborative community of practice (LCoP) on school leaders’ perceptions of their levels of trust, self-awareness, and self-efficacy. Measurement instruments included semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews, participants’ reflection journals, and a researcher’s field journal. The analysis of data included coding methods as prescribed by Saldana (2016). After participating in the LCoP, members describe their optimism that their collaboration diminishes feelings of isolation and builds trust among the members of the cohort. Members express that collaboration in the LCoP strengthens awareness of one another’s needs and provides avenues for effective communication. The LCoP shifts members’ focus from discussing issues to finding solutions, from sharing problems to sharing best practices, from distrust to trust, and from working in isolation to working collaboratively. Obstacles to collaboration exist that potentially erode members’ self-efficacy. However, LCoP members are optimistic that the LCoP will continue to evolve into a vehicle that will strengthen relationships among its members, leading to increased sharing of skills that will lead to a stronger confidence and commitment among the members to address the needs of their schools.