Bitesize Research: Impact Of Coaching

By Jaya Carrier

I hope you’re all having a good week so far. A few years ago at WA, we decided to offer opportunities for middle leaders to train in using coaching skills. Ahead of our next coaching course in November, I was interested to read this research about the use of coaching in schools. Objectives: To understand the existing research available about the impact of teacher coaching in schools and consider the effectiveness of specific coaching models in school improvement Summary:

• This article recognises that there are many different coaching models used in schools - including, but not limited to, instructional coaching.
• The authors examined specifically the impact of ‘contextual coaching’ whereby coaching practices are connected to specific school contexts and features.
• The research conducted by the authors suggests that there is a link between coaching and school improvement, and that this link is particularly strong where there was an alignment between coaching and other forms of collaborative professionalism (a term coined by Hargreaves and O’Connor, 2018). This idea is about how colleagues work together in solidarity by developing deeper relationships with each other.
• The article argues that, in particular, good leadership development was strongly linked to effective contextual coaching.

How does this impact me and my practice?:

Some reflections arising from this that might be helpful to consider are:

• What do I already know about coaching? How might it help develop me as a teacher, or as a leader?
• How might I use coaching skills with students? What benefits might it have?
• What would I like to find about coaching?

If you are interested in coaching, or have any questions, please do get in touch! Remember, also, we have a MLT drop in every Friday in G06 from 8am - coffee and pastries provided!