From Praise to Procedures: Topic Modeling the Content and Context of Principal Feedback

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  In Roundtable Session: Developing Reflective Leadership Practices: Mentoring, Feedback, and Well-Being

Abstract

Principal feedback is a cornerstone of teacher evaluation, yet its impact on instructional improvement is often limited. This study uses computational text analysis on 1,108 authentic feedback documents to investigate the content of principals' written feedback. Our analysis reveals that feedback is overwhelmingly non-instructional, dominated by generic and atmospheric feedback, while specific, content-focused pedagogical guidance is scarce. The content of feedback varies systematically with school context, with early-career teachers and teachers in higher-poverty schools receiving less general pedagogical guidance. Relational feedback is associated with improved teacher perceptions of professional development and school climate, but not with feedback quality. Our findings reveal a critical disconnect between feedback’s intended instructional purpose and its actual use, highlighting the need to better support principals.

Authors

• Zixi Chen, NYU Shanghai

• Jihyun Kim, Sungshin Women's University

• Xintong Li, University of Missouri