Instructional Coach Job Satisfaction: An Exploration of Role Stressors

Abstract

This mixed methods dissertation examines the relationships between role conflict and job satisfaction, role ambiguity and job satisfaction, and role conflict and job satisfaction within a convenience sample of American instructional coaches (n = 46). Theoretically, this analysis is formed by Merton's idea of role-sets and how instructional coaches, because of their boundary spanning roles in schools, have role-sets that overlap those of teachers and administrators. Because of these overlapping roles, role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload are likely to influence instructional coach job satisfaction without structures in place to moderate these roles. Through bivariate analyses between role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, and job satisfaction measures, strong, negative correlations were found between role conflict and supervision satisfaction and role ambiguity and supervision satisfaction, and medium, negative correlations between role conflict and growth satisfaction and role ambiguity and growth satisfaction. Qualitative data collected through structured interviews (n = 6) support quantitative findings and provide a pattern of experiences common to highly satisfied instructional coaches.