School Leaders and Framing the Problem of Improving Student Learning in Middle School Mathematics

• In Event: 56.059 - Examining How Principals Engage With Discipline-Specific Instructional Reforms

Abstract

Several studies have found relationships between principal instructional leadership and higher-than anticipated student performance (Robinson, Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008). One unresolved question is how principals can support instructional improvement (Neumerski, 2012), particularly when policies shift to more ambitious student learning goals (e.g. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics). Thus, what principals need to know and do to support teachers in adapting to the CCSS-M is an important question to address, particularly when shifts in standards require significant reorganization of practice (Cobb & Jackson, 2011a, 2011b).

Prior research has found that principals are more likely to support teacher learning when they understand the goals of inquiry mathematics instruction (Nelson, 1998; Nelson & Sassi, 2005) and frame the problem of improving student learning in ways that align with policy goals (Coburn 2005, 2006). These findings come from a small sample of elementary schools, which makes it uncertain how these relate to instructional improvement at scale and for other school levels. Additionally, findings from mathematics education research suggest that it is important for principals to establish conditions within the school that have the potential to support teachers developing inquiry mathematics practices (e.g. teachers conducting coaching cycles with expert instructors).

In this study, I investigated how middle school principals’ problem framings and strategies related to their understanding of inquiry mathematics instruction and aspects of the school context. Data for this study came from a longitudinal design research project that investigated how to improve middle school mathematics in thirty schools across four large urban districts. Principals in each district were expected to both communicate instructional expectations that aligned with the district’s instructional vision and provide ongoing support to reach these goals.

In the first of two analyses, I coded seventy-one principal interviews to identify problems and strategies that had the potential to improve inquiry mathematics instruction. Then, I ran several logistic regression models to identify relationships between improvement strategies and understanding of inquiry mathematics instruction. For the second analysis, I selected sixteen case study schools based on absence or presence of improvement strategies and functional understanding of inquiry mathematics instruction to assess how aspects of the school context influenced principal instructional leadership.

In the first analysis, I found that two of the school districts provided coherent support for principals through professional development on instructional leadership and ongoing collaboration with district leaders with expertise. Principals in these two districts implemented improvement strategies at greater rates. In the second analysis, I found that principals with a functional understanding of inquiry mathematics had the capacity to identify key problems in instruction, but were more likely to implement improvement strategies when they collaborated frequently with expert instructors.

Findings from this study add to the field’s understanding of instructional leadership as learning goals become more ambitious. First, principals need ongoing support to understand the goals of instruction and develop key practices that regularly diagnose teachers’ instruction. Second, at scale, it is more feasible for principals to support improvement indirectly and delegate ongoing, intensive coaching to those with expertise and time.

Author

• Adrian Mohamed Larbi-Cherif, George Washington University