Congratulations to Ryan R. Kapa who recently defended his Masters Thesis titled:”Exploring Novice Teachers’ Perceptions of Coaching Competency”  (June 20, 2014). Ryan will begin his doctoral studies at The Ohio State University Fall 2014 in the School of Educational Policy and Leadership.

Abstract:  The purpose of this study was to 1) develop a measure of perceptions of coaching competency, 2) explore the effects of novice teachers’ perceptions of instructional coaching, and 3) examine the impact of these perceptions on changes on the instructional domain of Robert Pianta’s CLASS observation system.  With assistance from the North Carolina New Teacher Support Program, 56 beginning teachers responded to a survey of their perceptions of coaching competency developed around the NC Standards for coaching and mentoring. Findings indicate there were no correlations among the five dimensions of perceived coaching competency and initial CLASS scores on the instructional domain.  Perceptions of coaching competency did however exhibit moderate correlations with post scores on the CLASS instructional domain.  Beginning teachers who exhibited consistent growth on the CLASS instructional domain rated their coaches significantly higher in promoting reflection, promoting growth, and meeting individual needs compared to beginning teachers who declined on this domain. Finally beginning teacher shared their perceptions of what made their coaches effective and the sources of support the desired, but did not receive.  Implications for the study of instructional coaching are discussed.