Coaching School Leaders |
Contreras' work focused on identifying and ranking the skills , knowledge and behaviours of coaches for principal leaders. A group of sixty four coaches and sixty principals were selected to respond to separate surveys consisting of twenty-eight items linked to a Likert scale. Not surprisingly both groups recognized the value and importance of utilizing technology coaches to support school leaders. Of particular interest to me is the significant differences in the perceptions of those skills and behaviours by both groups. Coaches self efficacy was rather low while the principals felt that they have all of the necessary communication and collaboration skills to meet the challenges. To me this reflects a leaders satisfaction in receiving any support but in this study it is revealed that from the coaches perspective the coaching and mentoring was only an initial step. As Contrera's concludes there is much more work and study that has to be conducted to provide ongoing support for school leaders.
Contreras, Y. M. (2008). A descriptive study: Coaching school leaders for 21st century schools: A new context for leadership. UMI Dissertations Publishing, 233.