Perceptions of a change process relating to the institutionalization and implementation of a peer coaching program at Carl Sandburg High School: A case study

Abstract

This research was designed to study the perceptions of administrators and faculty involving an institutionalized change, peer coaching, in Carl Sandburg High School. This change has survived over a 10-year period of time and serves as both a teacher self-evaluation tool and as means for professional growth. Therefore, the perceptions of the parties involved in peer coaching emerged to fit the categories of administrative support, collegiality, collaboration, empowerment, turnover, restructuring contrived collegiality, and staff development as they affected the institutionalization of the change.

A case study design was utilized whereby data were collected through the interview process and reviewing a variety of documents, resulting in both a descriptive and evaluative case study of the innovation at Carl Sandburg High School. The school is the largest of the three high schools located in District 230 where 18 interviews were conducted with teachers, administrators, the current principal, the former assistant superintendent, and the superintendent. Sessions were conducted with two focus groups--14 teachers and administrators. Research questions evolved from the concepts emerging from those group sessions.

Categories which shaped the research were a result of the research of Little (1982), collegiality and collaboration; Fullan (1991) and Huberman and Miles (1984), administrator support, restructuring, staff development, and turnover; Louis and Miles (1990), empowerment; and Hargreaves (1991), contrived collegiality. This study supported, to varying degrees, the change research regarding institutionalized change and the factors which affect the continuation of a change. In particular, the study reinforced the need for administrator support in the form of financial, time, and staff development support as critical to the continuation of the change. Further, the category of empowerment emerged as a significant factor in the change becoming the norm. The change was complicated, and it was concluded that the self-evaluation and peer coaching model resulted in teacher empowerment. It was evident that, together, these factors were important in the implementation and the institutionalization of the change.

An area for future research might be in whether peer coaching by itself, without the self-evaluation component, would result in institutionalized change in a similar setting, and what factors play an important role.