The Power of Instructional Coaches: Novice Coaches' Strategies for Influencing Without Authority

• In Event: Schoolwide Capacity Building: Shaping Teachers and Principals

Abstract

This study explored how novice instructional coaches perceive and navigate authority without power within schools. Through interviews with ten novice coaches across two academic years, we investigated their perceptions of power and strategies for exerting influence. Findings reveal a tension between coaches' perception as being without authority while they are simultaneously engaged in formal and informal leadership activities. Despite a hesitancy to claim authority, novice coaches report ways they leverage relationships and enact delegated responsibilities to influence instructional practices. This study highlights the complex nature of instructional coaching, where individuals must lead without positional power. It suggests a need for clearer role definitions and intentional supports for instructional coaches in navigating this ambiguous space.

Authors

• Kim Evert, Middle Tennessee State University

• Angela Hooser, Middle Tennessee State University

• John Lando Carter, Middle Tennessee State University