Enhancing Leadership Instructional Practices in Turnaround Schools Using Longitudinal External Root Cause Analyses

• In Event: Education Reform and Equity

Abstract

Billions of dollars have been injected to reform turnaround schools over the past decades with minimal tangible positive outcomes related to improving student achievement, if any. In this qualitative study, we investigated how using longitudinal external root cause analyses (RCAs) contributed to enhancing leadership instructional practices in thee turnaround schools in Texas. Direct and indirect data were collected from three rounds of RCAs conducted in the schools in 2016, 2018, and 2019. Findings indicated that participating in the RCAs provided the leadership teams with evidence about rooted problems at their schools leading to low student achievement, recommendations, and guidance on how to address those problems, which evidently contributed to enhancing their leadership instructional practices.

Authors

• Beverly J. Irby, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author

• Hamada Elfarargy, South Dakota State University
  Presenting Author

• Rafael Lara-Alecio, Texas A&M University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Fuhui Tong, Texas A&M University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matthew J. Etchells, Texas A&M University
  Presenting Author

• Frederick C. Lunenburg, Sam Houston State University
  Presenting Author