Instructional Coaching as a Tool for Professional Development: Coaches’ Roles and Considerations

Authors

Siaw Hui Kho, Universiti Sains MalaysiaFollow
Karwan Mustafa Saeed, Koya UniversityFollow
Abdul Rashid Mohamed, Albukhary International UniversityFollow

Abstract

In this study, we primarily aimed to investigate coaches’ roles and their considerations in shifting coaching roles they perform. Employing a qualitative descriptive research, we conducted semi-structured interview sessions with ten instructional coaches to determine their roles and considerations in shifting roles during coaching English teachers in primary schools. Utilizing Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase approach, we employed thematic analysis to analyse the desired data collected in the study. The findings suggested that there were three roles instructional coaches enacted, namely, the role of the implementer, advocate, and educator. The roles were influenced by coaches’ considerations of teacher readiness, coaching style and coaches’ qualities. The findings also showed that the coaches performed a non-authoritative approach in their coaching and constantly role-shifted between the roles according to the demand of different situations. Influencing their decision in role-shifting, the coaches’ roles and their considerations provide insights into instructional coaching. As such, practitioners and stake holders can reflect and enhance the implementation of the coaching programme to encourage supportive coaching activities. Because there is a need to conduct adequate research on instructional coaching specifically in the context of Malaysia, this study offers an insight into coaches’ specific roles in Malaysia. Future research can take a closer look at the “in-the-moment” coaching process to determine the professional development programmes designed based on coaches’ understanding of role-shifting.

Keywords

Instructional Coaching, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Qualitative Research, Coaching Roles, Elementary Education and Teaching, In-service Teacher Training, Coaching and Mentoring in Education

Author Bio(s)

Kho Siaw Hui is currently a Ph.D. student in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. She obtained her B.Ed. (TESL) degree in Primary Education from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2008, and her M.Ed. degree from Open University Malaysia in 2013. Her research interest is in teacher professional development and instructional coaching. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: kylin11@hotmail.com.

Karwan Mustafa Saeed earned his B.A. degree in Translation from Koya University in 2008, his master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Universiti Utara Malaysia in 2013, and his Ph.D. in TESOL from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 2018. He currently works at the Faculty of Education in Koya University. His professional interest is in the realm of, TESOL education, teacher professional development, English language teaching, speaking proficiency and language testing. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: karwansaeed15@yahoo.com.

Abdul Rashid Mohamed currently is the deputy vice chancellor of Albukhary International University. Rashid does research in teaching English to second language learners, basic education, teacher education, and teaching methods. His current project is “READS - Reading Evaluation and Decoding System,” GrAMS - Grammar Assessment and Management System and Online Assessment. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: richsesusm@gmail.com.

Publication Date

5-26-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3774

Recommended APA Citation

Kho, S., Saeed, K. M., & Mohamed, A. R. (2019). Instructional Coaching as a Tool for Professional Development: Coaches’ Roles and Considerations. The Qualitative Report, 24(5), 1106-1132. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3774