Teacher perceptions of collegial coaching: A case study of a secondary English department

The purpose of this study was to examine the collegial coaching model of staff development used by 8 English teachers at one Georgia high school. The 8 teachers worked in 4 groups of 2 to develop curriculum, design lessons, and create assessments for one grade level of students. The theoretical foundation for the collegial coaching model dates back to the work of John Dewey, who posited that learning should be more active and that teaching should be more reflective. Previous studies have found this model to be more effective than the traditional paradigm of teachers working in isolation. Unlike previous studies, this study focused exclusively on high school English teachers and their experiences and reactions. The study's research questions examined the impact of the collegial coaching model on classroom instruction, teacher morale, staff development, and student academic performance. Data were collected over a 5-week period from journals, small-group interviews, and questionnaires with open-ended responses. Triangulation and member checking were used to ensure the validity of the results. Results indicated that the collegial coaching method is most effective when used by teachers who previously established mutual trust. The team that responded the least positively to collegial coaching was the team that lacked these preconditions. Most importantly, the participants unanimously supported using the collegial coaching model as a means of staff development, shifting the focus of staff development from traditional administrative meetings to a more collaborative, teacher-centered approach. This new model of staff development would impact social change by empowering teachers to become more reflective of their teaching practices and thus more effective teachers.