Instructional Leadership Practices

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Data Analysis The data analysis will consist of multiple steps following the method promoted by Corbin and Strauss (1990). “Coding is the fundamental analytic process used by the researcher. In grounded theory research, there are three basic types of coding: open, axial, and selective” (p.12). LaRossa (2005) strongly advocates for the use of all three stating that “GTM (Grounded Theory Methods) are most productive when all three phases of coding are employed” (p. 840). The information gleaned from each interview will guide future interviews and data collection to compare to completed interviews. After a few interviews, categories and relationships between them should begin to emerge. Once all transcriptions are complete, they will again be…show more content…
By gaining an understanding of specific behaviors and practices at work in our Montana school districts, we can then facilitate a collective understanding of best practice for our Montana system of education. Answering the question of what this looks like in a school system is a worthwhile endeavor that will also add to the body of knowledge on superintendent instructional leadership. The strengths of a qualitative research method are in its “rich” data and smaller sample size. While you are utilizing a smaller sample size, you are able to gain a deep and complex understanding of the unit of study. A major weakness of this study is in generalizing to a larger population. Since you would be interviewing relatively few districts, they may not be representative of the diverse Montana school population. Further, you would need to complete enough interviews to reach the “saturation point” and the time commitment may be a barrier. Ensuring you have obtained a representative and redundant sample would be a…show more content…
First, the research on superintendent instructional leadership behaviors and how they create a high reliability system to influence student achievement and success is lacking. While Marzano and Waters were able to identify five leadership practices that demonstrated a significantly statistical correlation of .24 at .05 level through their meta-analysis, this researcher could find no actual studies that employed these five leadership practices directly to student achievement, graduation rates and dropout rates. Thus, it would be prudent to add to the foundational knowledge base of superintendent instructional leadership that would be generalize to a larger sample of school districts. Second, Montana has a wide array of school districts from one room school houses to large urban systems. It will be important to share information learned in this study that would specifically inform all Montana superintendents of what behaviors and practices may produce larger gains in student achievement and success. Providing empirical evidence regarding specific leadership practices and the impact on student achievement, graduation and dropout rates is essential, relevant, and applicable to Montana superintendents. Once a solid foundation is established, “best practices” can be further explored and researched to add to

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