Session Information
26 SES 17 A, Perspectives of Educational Leadership
Paper Session
Contribution
This doctoral research study explores the ways in which leaders within second level education in Ireland are experiencing mentoring and coaching and in how far (and in what ways) it impacts their leadership identities and leadership practice. It is clear from this research and literature (Riley, 2015) that a lack of consideration exists in the support and training provided for principals on how to develop their leadership identities and responsibilities. While compulsory leadership training exists for all principal teachers in Ireland ongoing provisions that assist principals by incorporating the necessary practical supports and supportive frameworks in developing fundamental leadership ideologies within their school are frequently lacking (CSL Report, 2015). Significant evidence from international research recognises mentoring and coaching supports as positive influences on productivity and longevity in the career of school leaders and as important contributors to the development of leadership proficiencies as well as the improvement of school culture (Riley, 2009; Searby, 2009; McCallum & Price, 2010; Gurr, 2015). Given the additional challenges that the Covid-19 pandemic has created for educators and learners in building human connection (Soskil, 2021), mentoring supports for educational leaders provides valuable opportunities in reconnecting and rebuilding our education system. The Centre of School Leadership in Ireland firmly identifies mentoring and coaching as integral components to all school leadership programmes and has introduced mentoring supports since 2016. However, the impact of mentoring supports for educational leaders in Ireland has, so far, not been researched. This study explores the following research questions:
“What are the expectations, experiences and motivations of mentors and mentees in/for school leaders(hip) in Ireland. What mentoring approaches are currently used and what are the implications of mentoring experiences for practices in second-level school leadership in Ireland?
With coaching and mentoring services still in its infancy for newly appointed and existing school principals in Ireland, the findings from this research identify expectations and experiences of mentors and mentees as well as benefits and challenges related to mentoring relationships among school leaders. Additionally, this research can support the design and delivery of mentoring programmes and/or guidelines that seek to enhance professional development for school leaders. With a growing consensus that leadership in schools must focus on teaching, learning and people (CSL Report, 2015), findings from this research also identify the wide spectrum of professional supports available for educational leaders which nearly all participants regarded as ad-hoc, disjointed and lacking any system-wide framework. The urgent need for diverse supports is further compounded by the pace of change for school leaders and challenges that include the aftermath of a global pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, restrained leadership roles, positions and resources, school accountability and self-evaluation, curricular reform, addressing disadvantage, diversity within school communities and child wellbeing and welfare. Findings from this study explore in depth the impact that mentoring experiences have on bridging the gap for newly appointed school leaders in Ireland in order to support them in dealing with the complexity and extensive nature of the expectations of their leadership roles.
Method
Defined as ‘the class of research where the researcher mixes or combines quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts or language into a single study’ (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p.17) mixed methods is presented ‘as the third research paradigm in educational research’ where ‘both quantitative and qualitative research are important and useful’. This research uses mixed methods in order to corroborate the results from different methods and thus follows Greene et al.’s (1989) five major purposes’ for conducting mixed methods research, namely; triangulation, complementarity, initiation, development and expansion of research findings. Defined as a three phase exploratory sequential mixed methods design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018), this research began with a qualitative phase consisting of interview data and analysis. The findings of this initial phase will contribute themes to be explored and tested further in a subsequent quantitative phase. During the presentation the PhD researcher will provide an overview of the study design and findings from the semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with second-level principals who engaged with the CSL mentoring programme both as mentees and mentors. Interview questions from the semi-structured interviews were designed with the research question and sub questions in mind and informed from the literature review conducted in the area of leadership mentoring in education. The qualitative strand was identified as the most suitable for initial findings as a result of the absence of empirical research conducted in this area specific to the Irish context and post-primary leadership. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and reflective thematic analysis techniques were employed to identify and reflect on key themes (Braun and Clarke, 2021) In keeping with the overarching topic of educational leadership, this research pays special attention to the themes of professional development, attraction and retainment of educational leaders in addition to the theme of research into leadership in schools in challenging circumstances.
Expected Outcomes
Findings from the qualitative phase of the interviews are outlined under the following themes; mentoring structure, training and supports for educational leaders, the nature of the mentoring relationships, complexity of needs with a specific focus on newly appointed principals and the impact of mentoring experiences on the wider school community. Many of the described experiences indicate informal mentoring relationships which do not follow a more formal structure promoted by mentoring programmes and literature. Key qualities of a good relationship identified include trust and confidentiality, the mentor’s ability to listen deeply while ‘bracketing’ their own experiences and thoughts about problems as well as respecting each other’s professionalism. Productive mentoring relationships described as collaborative were recognised as highly beneficial. They were seen to support the development of positive professional behaviours and directly linked to enhanced leadership effectiveness and identity. Some challenges noted in the research that negatively impact on both mentee and mentor experiences included challenges within the relationship over their own role and responsibility in sustaining mutual commitments to the programme, a lack of clear guidelines as to the diversity of needs of the mentee, the administrative experiences of the mentor and unrealistic expectations and assumptions from both parties in the mentoring relationship. These mentoring experiences were seen to hinder development of leadership identity, increase feelings of isolation and indicate additional consequences to newly appointed principals willingness to engage in alternative leadership support programmes thereafter.
References
•Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. London: Sage •CSL (2015) A Professional Learning Continuum for School Leadership in the Irish Context: Centre for School Leadership Report. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zY8v7ae4KAM_lmjlJ4j2eAGn8uMmRnDx/view (Accessed: 19 June 2019). •Fletcher, S.J., and Mullen, C.A. (2012) The sage handbook of Mentoring and Coaching in Education. Thousand Oaks, C.A.: Sage Publications. •Hollingworth, L., Olsen, D., Asikin-Garmager, A. and Winn, K.M. (2018) ‘Initiating conversations and opening doors: How principals establish a positive building culture to sustain school improvement efforts’, Educational Management Administration and Leadership, 46(6), pp.1014-1034. •Irby, B.J. (2020) ‘Vision and mission of mentoring and coaching focused on school leaders’, Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 28(2), p.99-103. •Lackritz, A.D. (2019) ‘Leadership coaching: a multiple-case study of urban public charter school principal’s experiences’, Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 27(1), p.5-25. •Miscenko, D., Guenter, H. and Day, D.V. (2017) ‘Am I a leader? Examining leader identity development over time’, The Leadership Quarterly, 28(5), pp.605-620. •McMillan, D.J., McConnell, B. and O’Sullivan, H., (2014) ‘Continuing professional development – why bother? Perceptions and motivations of teachers in Ireland’, Professional Development in Education, 42(1), pp.150-167. •Parylo, O., Zepeda, S.J. and Bengtson, E. (2012) ‘The different faces of principal mentorship’, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 1(2), pp.120-135. •Qian, H., Walker, A. and Bryant, D.A. (2017) Global trends and issues in the development of educational leaders. In: Crow MDYGM (ed.) Handbook of Research on the Education of School Leaders. 2nd edn. New York, NY: Routledge. •Service, B., Dalgic, G.E. and Thornton, K. (2016) ‘Implications of a shadowing/mentoring programme for aspiring principals’, International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching Education, 5(3), pp.253-271. •Silver, M., Lochmiller, C. R., Copland, M. A., & Tripps, A. M. (2009) ‘Supporting new school leaders: Findings from a university-based leadership coaching program for new administrators’, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 17(3), pp.215-232. •Stander, A.S. and Stander, M.W. (2016) ‘Retention of Educators: The Role Of Leadership, Empowerment and Work Engagement’, International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 8(1), pp.1309-8036. •Sugrue, C. (2011) ‘Irish teachers’ experience of professional development: performative or transformative learning?’, Professional Development in Education, 37(5) pp.793-815. •Wise, D., & Cavazos, B. (2017) ‘Leadership coaching for principals: A national study’. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership In Learning, 25(2), pp.223-245.
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