This study examines the intersectionality between professional identities and race/ethnicity among Latina/o school leaders. Stemming from a larger study at the National Latina/o Leadership Project, we examine the contributions of Latina/o school administrators in the state of Texas in relation to their leadership in K-12 schools. Two hundred twenty-six respondents inform this study. Descriptive and content analyses of data revealed that the intersectionality of race and class as influencing the work of school administrators and described how, among major influences, their own schooling experiences had an impact in the development of their professional identities.
This case study examines pilot year implementation activities associated with an innovative school and university partnership effort to improve the instructional leadership competencies of aspiring assistant principals in an urban school district. This original study highlights the learning of multiple partners involved in a collaborative effort to create a Principal Fellows Partnership (PFP) Program, which provides aspiring school principals with one year of job-embedded and tuition-supported assistant principal internship experience in an elementary or secondary campus setting in the partnering school district. The focus of the program was on developing instructional coaching and leadership skills in administrative interns to challenge status quo practices that negated student learning mastery. Nationally recognized principal preparation programs and research findings on effective leadership along with contextual district partner needs drove the creation and goals of the program. Findings revealed that learning for both educational partners and stakeholders was crucial to reach instructional leadership goals. Mentor principals assigned to the administrative interns reflected on their own development as current school leaders, and university educational leadership faculty addressed curriculum innovation and flexibility in the professoriate to support learning in complex school environments. Recommendations for assistant principals who will be effective 21 st century instructional leaders are provided in the conclusion of the study.
Purpose: Aspiring leaders need to be equipped to transform schools with both the understanding and skills to purposefully increase implementation of a rigorous curriculum in every classroom as they learn to lead diverse schools. To provide a rigorous curriculum, principals need effective skills to grow teachers' instructional and pedagogical competencies. The development of these necessary skills should begin during the principal preparation program with the candidate's ability to demonstrate instructional coaching competencies. Methods: The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to determine whether there was an improvement in principal candidates' performance on the linear combinations of the indicators across the four examined Evaluation Cycles and in a qualitative phase, to pinpoint the significant improvements in principal candidates' performances on observed indicators. Findings: The quantitative data showed that as candidates received ongoing coaching specific to their needs, their ratings improved. The qualitative results furthered the finding. This article argues that transforming schools must include developing human capital through instructional leadership and it must begin during principal preparation. Implications: Principal preparation programs and school districts should emphasize the importance for the principal's instructional leadership skills as they are responsible for hiring, growing, and retaining effective teachers.
This single-case study examined the impact of instructional coaching (IC) on middle school teacher self-efficacy to advance our grasp of how middle school teacher self-efficacy operates. The findings indicated that IC produces important influences on middle school teachers' self-efficacy in all the areas the principal interns (PIs) coached them. Additionally, the study found that feedback—be it praise or criticism—is perceived to be the most effective tool/component in raising teacher self-efficacy, whereas collaborating (at the beginning of the school year when trust has not yet been built) and modeling are considered the least effective. These results have implications for practice and research.
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