The Principal Collegial Coaching Experience: Insider, Outsider and Beyond

Abstract

This study explored the influence of collegial coaching on instructional leadership of principals through a qualitative self-study approach. Collegial coaching is described here as: A professional formal relationship whereby a school principal (coach), works with another practicing principal (coachee), helping to elevate instructional practice in the context of the coachee’s school, through intentional and systematic interactions. Self-study includes elements of ongoing inquiry, respects personal experiences, and emphasizes the role of knowledge construction. Three research questions served as the framework for the analysis of the research data: (1) What influence does collegial coaching have on the instructional leadership of school principals? (2) How does collegial coaching impact the principal’s influence on their leadership teams? (3) What are key components to a collegial coaching partnership? The central focus of data collection and analysis documented the voices from three principals (coachees), these principal’s respective leadership teams, and myself as the coach/researcher. By triangulating the documentation data – coachee responses, leadership team input, and my own experiences and perspectives as a coach – four themes emerged from the collegial coaching experience. These themes were: (1) Reflective Questioning, (2) Diagnosis of School Systems, (3) Sense of Urgency, and (4) Attention to Outcomes. Each theme arose through collegial coaching as job-embedded professional development support. Reflective questioning served as a way to stimulate thought to create a shared pool of meaning. Visiting classrooms helped to diagnose each school’s instructional system. Prioritizing longer-term goals and shorter-term objectives along with “touching things once” characterized having a sense of urgency. Attention to outcomes identified whether or not instructional leadership interventions were leading to desired outcomes. Integral to collegial coaching was maintaining a collegial peer relationship between the coachees and the coach.