Building Bridges: Developmental Supervision and Secondary English Curriculum

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  In Roundtable Session: Exploring the Many Facets of Instructional Leadership

Abstract

In this paper, I examine how administrative directives impact the instructional decisions of high school English teachers. Curricular distinctions based on performance on standardized tests lead to varied instructional practices for students who are all being held to the same academic standard. In this study, school leaders boast about teachers’ freedom to implement instruction in classes for students placed in honors, college prep, and remedial classes. However, differentiated curriculum imposes administrative restraints, impeding the instructional liberties of classroom teachers. Through the frame of Developmental Supervision and Critical Literacy, I analyze 9th grade English classes in order to examine how learning activities create opportunities for students to deeply engage with the content and teachers perspectives on administrative expectations for classroom instruction.

Authors

• Natoya Coleman, Rowan University

• Shelley Zion, Rowan University