The Impact of Literacy Coaching on Teacher Efficacy When Employing a Balanced Literacy Framework

The primary goal of literacy coaching is to improve student learning. Meeting this goal requires an understanding of, and attention to, research on effective district, school, and teacher practices including a guaranteed and viable curriculum and challenging goals and effective feedback (Marzano, 2003). Research has shown that the impact of literacy coaching has increased teacher efficacy in the teaching of reading. This dissertation employed a mixed-methods study to determine the impact of literacy coaching on teacher efficacy when employing a balanced literacy framework. The participants were Grades 3–5 English/language arts (ELA) teachers from five Title 1 elementary schools within the same school district located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina. Quantitative data were collected using a five-point Likert scale survey distributed via Survey Monkey. The data were collected to determine the impact of literacy coaching when employing all tenets of balanced literacy instruction. The researcher designed the survey around tenets of balanced literacy instruction. The tenets included guided reading, shared reading, independent reading, independent writing, setting a clear purpose for reading, and modeling think-alouds for students. Focus-group questions were developed to verify survey data. Data analysis of focus-group responses entailed the researcher identifying themes and patterns, which further validated survey responses. The researcher found that literacy coaching had a positive impact on most teachers when implementing a balanced approach in their ELA classrooms. Recommendations for future research included conducting a study with ELA teachers in Grades Kindergarten through 3 to further determine the impact of literacy coaching on teacher efficacy.