Three Ways That Literacy Coaches Balance Responsive and Directive Relationships with Teachers

Abstract

Building on recent studies of literacy coaches' roles in schools and relationships with teachers, this article provides empirical descriptions of 3 ways that literacy coaches in an urban, midsized East Coast school district described balancing coaching behaviors they identified as responsive (coaching for teacher self-reflection) and directive (coaching for the implementation of particular practices). School reform literature suggests that a mixture of pressure and support from school leaders and literacy coaches may be most effective in helping teachers shift instructional practices, but few empirical descriptions exist illustrating how coaches balance those positions. Drawing on qualitative focus group, interview, and observation data collected during the 2007–2008 academic year, the current study identifies 3 ways that literacy coaches negotiated the tension between supporting individual teachers' goals and encouraging particular literacy practices. Circumstances and mechanisms that support balanced coaching are described through narrative case examples, and brief recommendations are provided for future research.