Perceptions of the effects of the implementation of the Alabama instructional partners pilot program on the reflective practice of educators

Abstract

This study assessed the impact of the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot Program (AIPP) upon the perceived levels of reflective practices of the instructional coaches (also referred to as instructional partners) and the school principals participating in the program. The intent of this study was to gain insight into the perceived use of reflective practices among instructional coaches and school principals and to expand and broaden the prior research of Scott (2015) whose research examined the impact of the AIPP on the perceived levels of reflective practices of classroom teachers. This study was motivated by four research questions: (1) Are there differences in the perceptions of reflective practice for instructional coaches participating in the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot Program as compared to the reflective practices of instructional coaches not involved with the program? (2) Are there differences in the perceptions of reflective practice for principals of schools participating in the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot Program as compared to the reflective practices of principals not involved with the program? (3) Does the number of years of participation in the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot Program affect perceptions of reflective practice for the instructional partner? (4) Does the number of years of participation in the Alabama Instructional Partners Pilot Program affect perceptions of reflective practice for the school principal? This study identified principals and instructional coaches in schools in fourteen school districts that were participating in the Alabama Instructional Partner Pilot Program. The Reflective, Ethical, and Moral Assessment Survey (REMAS, Arredondo Rucinski & Bauch, 2006) was administered to participants via a mail-out survey. A total of 104 surveys were returned for a return rate of 52%. With two surveys eliminated due to incomplete surveys, data for 102 surveys were entered into SPSS and analyzed for the factor analysis. An additional 7 surveys were omitted due to missing or multiple item responses. Survey data from 50 instructional coaches and 45 principals were compared using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Based on the study findings, there was not a significant difference in the perceptions of reflective practice among the surveyed instructional coaches who participated in the Alabama Instructional Partner Pilot Program as compared to those who did not participate in the program. There was not a significant difference in the perceptions of reflective practice among the surveyed school principals who participated in the Alabama Instructional Partner Pilot Program as compared to those who did not participate in the program. There was not a significant difference in the perceptions of reflective practice among the instructional coaches and school principals based on the number of years of participation in the Alabama Instructional Partner Pilot Program.