| For the past two decades, educational systems have been undergoing significant institutional change. Over three-fourths of U.S. states have enacted teacher evaluation laws that link student growth on state standardized tests to performance rating. At the local level, federally legislated standards-based accountability regimes have shifted the attention of policymakers away from resource inputs and towards educational outputs. Accountability policies (e.g., high-stakes testing, teacher evaluation, merit-based pay, etc.) based on academic performance link standardized state assessments with evaluations of schools and teachers and apply constant pressure on educational leaders to improve student test scores. In response, research suggests that districts and schools are building capacities that professionalize teaching. Many districts have responded by hiring instructional coaches. Instructional coaches are typically experienced educators who, either on a part-time or full-time basis, provide ongoing, site-based professional development to teachers. This study examines political and institutional factors that influence district-level instructional coaching. This analysis is presented in a 3-essay format.;The first essay analyzes the evolution of macro-level policymaking trends through the lens of idea-based politics. Drawing on data from U.S. Congressional hearings, this study employs a longitudinal social network influence model to determine factors that supported opposing teacher quality policies. Findings support arguments that educational accountability reforms in the U.S. are ideologically driven as opposed to being based on research. The second essay is a single qualitative case study of one six-member instructional coaching team in a high-performing school district in Indiana. This study shows that coaches can be a catalyst for a shift towards teacher professionalization. However, accountability pressures also forced policy choices that constrained teacher autonomy, restricted innovation, and limited knowledge exchange, particularly in mathematics. Finally, the third essay utilizes comparative case study analysis to investigate how instructional coach teams in two Indiana districts contribute to knowledge-building for standards-based policy implementation. My findings describe how coach teams develop institutional capacities that facilitate district policy implementation and teacher collaboration. Taken together, my second and third essays indicate the importance of new forms of knowledge-building and evidence use for professional learning. |
