THE ROLE OF A READING FIRST READING COACH IN A RURAL PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL DISTRICT AS PERCEIVED BY THE TEACHERS AND THE ADMINISTRATORS
Open Access
- Author:
- Fillman, Robin M
- Graduate Program:
- Curriculum and Instruction
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 04, 2005
- Committee Members:
- James Ewald Johnson, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Jacqueline Edmondson, Committee Member
Daniel Dean Hade, Committee Member
John W Tippeconnic, Iii, Committee Member - Keywords:
- literacy coach
reading first
rural schools - Abstract:
- Abstract Reading First, a six-year, $184 billion, federally funded grant program, under the No Child Left Behind Act, was available to school districts with the highest percentage of low-income families, with more than 30% of students scoring below basic on the fifth-grade state reading assessment, or who were identified for school improvement through the state empowerment list. Funding per district was allocated based on student enrollment figures: $400 per student in grades k-3 and $2,000 per classroom teacher. The goal of Reading First was to enable every child to read by the third grade, through a scientifically research-based program of instruction and assessment. My school district, which was the subject of this dissertation study, was one of the 43 in Pennsylvania that qualified for and was awarded a Reading First grant. As a local grant recipient, we were required to set up scientifically research-based reading programs and methods to test and track student achievement and progress and to provide professional development for kindergarten through third-grade teachers as well as to special education teachers. We were also mandated to hire one reading coach based on the number of teachers in our grant schools, who would implement the grant and provide the professional development. Although the roles of the coach were not articulated, they were expected to work directly with the teachers as a peer coach in their classrooms to help them improve reading instruction. This dissertation study examined my role as a Reading First reading coach in a rural Pennsylvania elementary school during the first year of the program’s grant implementation in 2003-2004. In order to holistically investigate my role as a reading coach and its meaning for those involved, I used a qualitative case study research design to systematically explore the phenomenon of the reading coach. Using systematic interviewing, as well data collected through my daily written log, I focused on discovering and interpreting my role as the reading coach in the classroom. I used a descriptive case study methodology that allowed for an examination of the program and the individuals involved. The bounded system selected for description and explanation included those directly responsible for implementing the Reading First grant in my school district. These included the three primary teachers (kindergarten, second, and third grade) in the elementary school along with the building administrator (the principal, curriculum coordinator, and the superintendent of schools). The specific aim of this research was to examine my role as a Reading First coach during the first year of the program’s grant implementation. The interviews allowed me to analyze the beliefs and attitudes of the teachers and the district administrators with respect to the Reading First policy implementation. My daily written log enabled me to compare the time I spent in certain roles and activities as a coach with their perceptions. The following were the research questions in the study: 1. What were the perceptions of the district’s teachers concerning the role of the Reading First reading coach? 2. What were the perceptions of the district’s administrators concerning the role of the Reading First reading coach? 3. Were there differences in the ways the district’s teachers and administrators perceived the role of the reading coach? 4. Which roles of the teachers did the reading coach take responsibility for? 5. Which roles of the administrations did the reading coach take responsibility for? 6. What professional development opportunities did the reading coach provide to the Reading First teachers? 7. How much time did the reading coach spend in each of the coaching roles? For the data collection in this study, I interviewed the six participants throughout the year of grant implementation (at the beginning, middle, and end), using open-ended questions. The interviews ranged from 30 minutes to over an hour. The data analysis consisted of three components: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. Through this process, I identified six specific themes that revealed the perceptions of the district’s administrators and teachers regarding the roles of the reading coach. At the same time, in my daily written log I documented the amount of time (in minutes) that I spent each day on specific tasks as the reading coach. I broke down these tasks into 18 categories and reformulated them into graphic documents to represent the information derived from my daily coaching log. Six themes emerged from my analysis of the interview data, which indicated that the study participants perceived the coach’s role to include: ensuring fidelity to the grant, coordinating assessments required for the grant, modeling instruction for the Reading First teachers, and being a voice, mentor/encourager for them as well. The administrators and teachers strongly agreed that my role was to ensure fidelity to the Reading First grant initiative, including the core reading instruction and assessments. In addition, the teachers viewed my roles as being a resource and a voice. The administrators viewed my role differently, identifying my roles as voice, assessment coordinator, and model for instruction. The transcribed interviews confirmed that the teachers and administrators agreed that the coach’s role did not take responsibility away from the teachers. In fact, the administrators thought that my role as coach empowered the teachers. My daily written logs did document the time I spent in roles that had previously been the responsibility of the teachers: parent trainings, meetings with parents, assessment of students, and data analysis. The three administrators believed that as the Reading First coach, I took on some of their responsibilities, including the coordination of assessment, informing the administrators about the grant status, and serving as a “pseudo-administrator” in the outlying buildings. The data from my coaching logs documented the administrative duties I assumed as the reading coach, i.e., taking on general administrative duties, planning professional development for teachers, performing grant writing and doing outreach. The perceptions of the teachers and administrators that I gathered from my interviews were that all of the professional development opportunities that I provided for the teachers centered on the newly adopted reading series (Open Court) and the use of the mandatory Reading First assessments (DIBELS). My coaching logs documented that my time spent providing professional development included the planning, preparation, presentation, and organization of trainings provided by the Open Court consultant and myself. My analysis of the data from my daily written log indicated that I spent the majority of my time during the year of the grant implementation in coordinating and administering student assessments, and providing and planning professional development for the teachers. I spent the least amount of my time engaged in peer coaching activities, i.e., co-teaching, observing, and modeling in the classroom. One of the main conclusions from my findings in this study is that the reading coach cannot be solely responsible for grant implementation, i.e., predominantly administrative tasks and assessment, and still support classroom teachers in developing their practices to carry out the goals of Reading First and the No Child Left Behind Act. To be effective in facilitating the students’ improvement in reading that Reading First promotes, the reading coach must spend the majority of her time working with teachers in their classrooms ensuring the transfer of learning. It was vital to explore the six participants’ perceptions since the roles of the reading coach in each district were largely defined by the way in which the administrators interpreted them. Additionally, how the classroom teachers perceived the role of the reading coach was important in regard to eliminating barriers to our driving forces for school reform, as well as for improving students’ reading and academic achievement generally. Potentially, similar studies examining the perceptions of administrators and teachers on the role of the coach and identification of the reading coach’s specific roles can help other school districts make informed decisions about how to incorporate the use of reading coaches into their school improvement plans. With this information, school districts can better integrate the coaching model into their existing structures.