The Impact of Collaborative Literacy Coaching on Middle and High School Teachers' Personal and General Sense of Efficacy for Literacy Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative multiple participant case study was to understand the impact of a nine month collaborative literacy coaching (CLC) initiative on middle and high school content teachers' personal and general sense of efficacy for literacy teaching. A variety of data, including but not limited to transcripts of weekly collaborative literacy coaching cadres, individual participant interviews, Initial and Follow-up Questionnaires allowed three middle and high school teachers to describe in their own words how the CLC initiative impacted their sense of efficacy for literacy teaching. Information from the participants were collected and analyzed using the constant-comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). The data organized into themes that suggested the participants believed they were responsible for student learning, framed barriers as instructional problems, not student problems, perceived CLC as a tool to help solve instructional challenges, and engaged in the collaborative process to help realize teaching and learning successes. Their participation resulted in increased levels of confidence, which in turn enhanced their existing positive general efficacy beliefs and changed their low or negative personal efficacy beliefs for literacy teaching. In addition, several aspects of the CLC initiative were perceived as important to participants' efficacy development. More specifically, data indicated that participants' efficacy beliefs for literacy teaching were positively impacted by having access to a variety of professional resources, time to try new practices within the context of their own classrooms, ongoing opportunities for collaboration, and access to and support of a literacy coach.