Roles and Responsibilities of Instructional Coaches That Enhance the Quality of Professional Learning Communities

• In Event: The Role of the Supervisor in the Changing K–12 Landscape

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the perceptions of 78 educators in Texas (67 teachers and 11 school leaders) related to the roles and responsibilities of instructional coaches in professional learning communities that contribute to assisting teachers in making positive changes in their instruction. Additionally, we sought to know the perceived characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) that can assist instructional coaches to provide individualized instructional assistance to individual teachers. Using a qualitative collective case study, we found specific roles and responsibilities of instructional coaches as well as characteristics of those PLCs perceived by participants of the study as necessary to assist teachers in enhancing their instructional capacities.

Authors

• Hamada Ahmed Fahmy Elfarargy, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Elisabeth Kathryn Pugliese, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Beverly J. Irby, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Rafael Lara-Alecio, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Fuhui Tong, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Erin A. Singer, Texas A&M University - College Station