Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Robert Flanders

Abstract

Elementary students at a Title 1 school district in a south-central state in the United States have scored significantly low on the state assessment, leading to the state’s warning of a district takeover due to little progress in reading scores. This basic qualitative study aimed to explore elementary administrators’ perceptions of supporting teachers’ instructional strategies to improve students’ literacy skills. This study’s conceptual framework used Hallinger’s model of instructional leadership, which conceptualized instructional leadership as a two-dimensional construct comprised of leadership functions and processes. The chosen methodology used data collection through Zoom for virtual semi-structured interviews with seven district and building-level administrators guided by two research questions. The guided questions focused on how elementary administrators describe practices, processes, and procedures used to improve teachers’ instructional literacy skills and their perceptions of the challenges to support teachers’ implementation of literacy instructional strategies. The data analysis process included open coding and a three-pronged analysis process to analyze interview transcripts. Key findings revealed that various processes, practices, and procedures come with challenges, including time constraints, teacher self-reflection, and differentiating teacher supports. Recommendations derived from the study included conducting additional research on how teachers respond to the different forms of support, viewpoints of different stakeholders, and a larger participant group. The findings of this study can help guide social change by informing the development of school-level or district-level policies and standards regarding support provisions for teachers as they implement literacy instruction strategies.

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