Principal Coaching in Central Office Supervisory Roles: Exploring Persistent Tensions

Abstract

Scholars have increasingly focused on the practice of central office administrators. Principal supervisors, who often work in central offices, have received attention as scholars view these administrators as an essential source of support for school principals. This study employed a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 principal supervisors who participated in coaching partnership facilitated by a private, mid-sized university over three academic years. Additionally, the data set included 127 hours of non-participant observation and 59 documents. The findings indicate that principal supervisors had difficulty reconciling coaching behaviors within the context of their supervisory roles. In particular, supervisors found the expectations associated with their role more prescriptive than anticipated and thus an impediment to the adoption of coaching behaviors in their work. Supervisors thus sought to adjust their practice to accommodate coaching behaviors. However, given expectations associated with their role, supervisors often resorted to directive and supervisory behaviors. A primary conclusion of this study is that leadership coaching behaviors might not be readily implemented within the context of supervisory practice unless adequate support, training, and organizational reforms occur. The findings thus have implications for the configuration of central office supervisory roles as well as how leadership preparation programs prepare candidates for central office supervisory positions.